All You Should Know About Student Mental Health Services
What is Mental Health?
Mental health actually deals with our mind. In some general terms, it is the state of our well-being when our emotional and psychological conditions enable us to function fully in society and meet all demands of everyday life.
Our mental health effects greatly our behavior, the way we think or act. So, it is one of the most important aspects of our life from the childhood and through all adolescent. Our mental health determines also the way we solve problems, handle with some stressful situation, make decisions and get over depressions.
Mental health and its good condition can often be effected by different factor which surround us, for example some biological factors, various life experiences, circumstances etc.
Student Mental Health Services Around the World
Students usually suffer from some problems with their mental health. There are many reasons for it: difficult curriculum, busy studying process, money issues and many others. Are universities taking care of students in this way? The little progress has been already made, as some educational establishments are now creating some mental health services for students aimed to tackle with problems of such type.
We can observe now that universities are introducing some innovative methods which deal with identifying and tackling mental health symptoms and diseases. Here are some universities around the world which do care about it providing mental health services for students.
- Let`s talk about the UK first and the University of Derby.
According to the survey, this university is on the top of the list of universities which care about students` well-being. Here students always get supportive studying methods and well-thought curriculum. The University of Derby takes a special approach in solving mental health issues and works hard on improving students` psychological health. All students depending on the subject they are learning get different kinds of support. The university has also a well-being center aimed to help students with their exam anxiety, public-speaking anxiety and other common problems. Leaders of this service emphasize that they are always looking for something new to support students with all means and keep up-to-date.
- The next one is South Africa and its University of the Western Cape.
To facilitate the process of attending counselling and other meetings for those who are afraid of talking face-to-face, this university has created a special online platform. It speaks of their willingness to assist students with such issues. Those students then get effective professional support either by the meeting or simply using their chat messengers where all mental health peculiarities and fears are discussed.
- The Monash University in Australia also has something special concerning this world-wide problem. It provides all students with training programmes which help to avoid mental health problems. Those who are involved in such trainings can also help their peers and fellow students with the same issues. Students of the Monash University also have an opportunity to attend a two-day mental health first-aid training workshop, and they are strongly encouraged to take it up. They are taught there how to recognize different symptoms of mental health problems and have to deal with them on various stages.
- Penn State University in Pennsylvania, USA, is one of the Center for Collegiate Mental Health members. They take great pains to collect data about all mental issues occurring within students, then analyze them and make significant decisions. If to speak about this university, we can`t but mention a number of services aimed at mental health improving created. One of them is the De-Stress Zone, where each can get some relaxation by means of listening to some stress-relief and mindfulness music. The Penn State University also provides students with the opportunity to attend some sessions where the problems of money, sleep, stress and relationships are widely discussed.
- The Manipal University in India develops mental health issues rapidly as well. It is said that students there are not ready to lead their adult life at once, as they are less equipped to be fully responsible for them being far from their parents. That`s why the importance of mental health services is really important. So, there on the territory of the university students can go to the health care service directly to get immediate support. This center employs professional psychologist who are able to assist students with the most different problems. These consultations are available for all students.
It is very important for universities to pay attention to mental health of students. Their well-being and hard-work will contribute greatly in the end, while people suffering from mental health issues can`t really succeed in their life.