Student Mental Health is woeful. Suicides have soared 79% in ten years[1]. Dropouts by 210% in 5 years[2]. Campus counselling services are at saturation point and, to boot, stigma prevents over half of students seeking help. The stakes are high. Add to this a new Government mental health charter and ultimatums to Vice-Chancellors to make it priority number one.
It’s a zeitgeist moment. Universities are acutely aware we need a radical approach. We’re scratching our heads. ‘How do we fix the Student mental health crisis’ conferences are announced more frequently than 90’s pop band come-back tours. Universities UK tell us the solution is a ‘whole University, whole population approach to Mental Health’[3]. In other words, Mental Health must extend beyond the counselling service. It must permeate our policies, culture and everyday conversations.
Fantastic idea. Now where do we start? This is uncharted territory. Mental Health is still taboo. 50% of students dare not disclose it[4]. How do you trigger a culture change? How do you make it everyday dialogue?
Putting Mental Health on the curriculum is the answer. We need to find ways to bring it to every student’s study plan, as a complement to their academic studies, whether they have a diagnosed Mental illness or not.
I’m off to North America on this very mission. Funded by the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, I’ll spend 6 weeks learning from the world experts; the several American and Canadian Universities that have pioneered in-curricular Mental Health courses, with very positive results. Their rationale is compelling; how can a student flourish academically if they are not emotionally robust?
UK Universities would do well to follow suit. It’s time we recognised the intrinsic link between well-being and learning. We’re making a mistake by focusing on the subject discipline alone.
True, new students spare thoughts on Shakespeare, Pythagoras and test tubes. Overriding these, however, are frets about identity, belonging and culture shock. Later come battles with anxiety, motivation and self-esteem. Disturbingly, some will endure trauma like sexual assault. As important as their academic prowess is their resilience to manage stress, overcome hard times and have optimism for the future.
It’s a tough gig. In fact, it’s the most unstable part of the life span. More students than not have clinical levels of distress in the first 6 weeks[5]. Prevalence of Mental illness is higher during second and third years than first[6], suggesting the University experience is causal. 18-25 is the age bracket most vulnerable to stress, drug and alcohol dependence, personality trait change and schizophrenia. Unsurprisingly, 75% of Mental illnesses develop before age 24.[7]
Why are we not teaching them how to manage their emotional health?
Imagine the benefits. Putting Mental Health on the timetable would normalise it. Students would learn vital lessons in emotional self-care and available supports. They’d learn positive psychology techniques to re-frame their thinking. Sounds scientific, but it’s really about adopting regular habits to focus on their strengths, motivations and the positives in their lives. Evidence has proven this offsets depression and increases happiness. They’d have skills to spot poor Mental Health in their peers, begin a conversation and signpost them to help. They’d be equipped for crisis moments like panic attacks, psychotic episodes and conversations about suicide.
Teaching Mental Health would create empathy, reduce stigma and build solidarity. When half the lecture theatre nods that they too suffer anxiety symptoms, you’d suddenly feel less alone. Strategically, it puts Mental Health in a place where all students must confront it. Unlike any other University well-being intervention so far. It also answers academics’ concerns. They’re overburdened in their pastoral roles. Responding to student mental ill health is simultaneously hampering their well-being[8].
It’s the perfect whole University, whole population Mental Health intervention the Government is crying out for. In fact, a number of UK Universities are keen to give it a go. What we lack is the expertise to make the transition.
This is where North America comes in. My research scholarship will probe deep into the continent’s in-curricular Mental Health successes. I’ll find answers to key practical questions; what consultation and planning were undertaken; how is well-being content made academically rigorous; how is impact measured over time. (Particularly because the UK lacks frameworks to measure the latter).
I’ll talk to students. I’m curious to see what resonates. Why, for example, was Yale’s Science of Happiness course the most popular module in its history?
I’ll find the secret to successful teaching collaborations between Student support Services and academic schools. This is certainly a gulf to bridge in many UK Universities.
I’ll return with a suite of options, longitudinally evidenced and adaptable for the UK climate. I’ll embed the most successful ones at my institution, Queen Mary University. I’ll collaborate with my partners at Universities UK and Student Minds to share the learning across the country. Over time, we’ll build an ecosystem of Universities that value well-being as much as academic performance. We have a chance to change lives here. I can’t wait to get going.
I will share my journey via this blog. Please follow it, or get in touch if you’d like to be part of it.