The Lay of the Land
From the view of a casual observer, the increasing coverage of mental health issues in the media has been clear to see over recent years, and it is likely that the COVID-19 Pandemic has played a part in this. This appears to be a global change in attitude, and there is certainly much information, data and research from around Europe, North America and Asia; but here I will focus on the UK (and some information may only represent England due to devolution).
According to a House of Commons Research Briefing, “an estimated 1 in 6 adults have experienced a ‘common mental disorder’ like depression or anxiety in the past week … 3.58 million people accessed NHS mental health, learning disability and autism services in 2022/23 … [and] around 20% of children aged 7 to 16 had a probable mental health condition in 2023, up from 12% in 2017” (Baker and Kirk-Wade 2024, p. 4). These data, relating only to England, give an indication of the extent of mental health issues, and the last figure relating to children should not be overlooked as these are our next generation of HE students.
Another recent Commons Briefing deals specifically with the mental health of students in England, and reveals highly unsettling levels of issues: in a confidential survey of students, much higher rates of poor mental health was disclosed than to universities’ own services, and in a 2022 survey by Student Minds (‘the UK’s student mental health charity’) 57% declared a mental health issue whilst 27% shared that they had a diagnosed mental health condition (Lewis and Stiebahl 2024, p. 4). Referring directly to the Students Minds survey, it also shows that 30% of respondents felt that their wellbeing had worsened since beginning their current university course, although this is balanced by a slightly higher 32% feeling that their wellbeing had improved (Student Minds 2023, p. 11).
The Commons Briefing on student mental health also cites a 2023 survey carried out by The Tab, ‘a site covering youth culture and student culture’, and Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), a suicide prevention charity, in which 69% of the 4000 respondents reported having suffered with mental health issues during their studies, and with 61% of the total citing anxiety; but does add that for 80% of these, issues began before commencing university. Worryingly, the survey also reveals that a mere 46% have informed their university of issues (Schifano 2023).
Mind, the mental health charity operating in England and Wales, welcomes this growth in awareness in their 2023 report Attitudes to Mental Illness, but notices a worsening level of stigma more recently as it fell to 2009 levels (Mind 2024, p. 6). This downturn appears to be mostly due to attitudes towards community care (p. 20). The report does not mention students, but encouragingly attitudes within the workplace towards mental illness have consistently become more positive (p. 17).
One question that cannot simply be passed over is whether the rise in known cases is due, at least in part, to the increased awareness and/or the decreased stigma attached to mental health, and Foulkes and Andrews (2023) provide us with a meaningful investigation of this: however, for the purposes of this present project, the fact that mental health issues are know to affect our students is all we should need to drive us into action.
What is apparent from this information is that we have charities such as Mind and Student Minds to support us, we have the NHS, and the Research Briefing on Students’ mental health summarises government policy, including the establishment of a Higher Education Mental Health Implementation Taskforce, and the role of the Office for Students (Lewis and Stiebahl 2024, pp. 31-3). Advance HE has also been proactive in providing reports and resources, and in establishing the Mental Wellbeing in Higher Education Expert Group (although I’m unsure of how active they have been recently). Advance HE, in partnership with Student Minds, the Office for Students, and three English universities, have created the Education for Mental Health Toolkit which particularly addresses how the curriculum can support wellbeing. Universities UK (UUK), the ‘collective voice of 141 universities’, of which UAL is one, also campaign on mental health issues for students and staff.
And individual universities have their part to play too. UAL has a number of services and activities, generally falling under the remit of Counselling, Health Advice and Chaplaincy within Student Services which offers advice, wellbeing sessions, and 24-hour online support, amongst others. There is also Mental Health Awareness training available for staff (Edit: I was able to do this myself in December), and also trains Mental Health First Aiders “to respond when a member of staff, student or the public is experiencing signs or symptoms of a mental health issue and needs urgent support”.