Mental Health: Delivering Improved, Integrated and Accessible Services
- 27 February 2014
- 08:30 - 16:30
- Contact us for venue
In partnership with
In Partnership With
This conference will break-down the cultures, economic factors, social and institutional pressures contributing to dramatic rises in disclosures of mental health issues and student suicides at universities in the UK.
Delegates will explore why more students are turning to unconventional incomes like gambling and sex work during their studies, how the university experience can compound cultural and environmental conditions that lead students to access and supply drugs; as well as discussing how cross-institutional co-operation as well as legislative review of attitudes towards information sharing could prevent students reaching a point of crisis.
Student Mental Health: Responding to the Crisis is our third national conference bringing together domestic and European HE institute leaders, students, academic/policy researchers, health, social care and counselling services to develop pragmatic approaches to:
Persecutory perfectionism is a blight on the mental health of students. In his presentation at November's conference, Alan Percy introduced delegates to his 'Committee Theory of Self'; a concept that positions the 'Self' as Chairperson of an unruly, conflicted committee that, unless appropriately disciplined, will be overrun by the dominant, persecutory voice of the 'dictator'.
In the conference keynote, Alan, Head of Counselling at Oxford University and Visiting Professor in Psychology at Fudan University, Shanghai, will expand on his committee metaphor - discussing how the pursuit of a balanced, democratic resolution to marginalise the aggressive voice of the committee's persecutory 'dictator' is essential in improving student mental health.
Disabled students are less likely to complete their course, are lower paid as graduates and are more likely to experience loneliness. Despite hard-fought improvements to equalities legislation in recent years, disabled students remain under-represented, frustrated by their experience and achieve outcomes below their potential. Megan Hector leads on operations and research for the Higher Education Commission (HEC) - an independent research commission made up of leaders from the education sector, parliamentary representatives from the major political parties and relevant stakeholders. The HEC has launched an inquiry into the experience of disabled students at university, co-chaired by Lord David Blunkett, former Secretary of State for Education; Commission Chair Lord Norton and Vice Chancellor of the University of Derby, Kathryn Mitchell.
The inquiry is seeking to explore and uncover the reasons as to why the disparities exist, so as to advise government and the HE sector on how to remove barriers and give disabled students the support they need. This presentation will look at the challenges and possible solutions to issues faced by disabled students within the three strands of student life that the inquiry will focus on; teaching and learning, living and social, transition and employment.
White university students in the UK are, on average, more likely to leave university with a First or upper Second-Class degree than those of other ethnicities. This is referred to as the BME attainment gap. Afua Acheampong conducted research into the experiences of BME students at Nottingham Trent University and contrasted the results with the institutes existing data in order to develop an approach to addressing the gap. The research, comprised of 19 one-to-one interviews with BME undergraduate students, submissions from 98 academic representatives of mixed ethnicities, consultations with Nottingham Trent University staff and SU officers, as well as reviewing feedback from attendees of the NTSU's Black History Month event - informed a 23,000 word report, concluding with recommendations for the university to proactively tackle attainment issues. Afua's work has been made available to the university's governance in order to align it with the institute's Race Equality Charter and form an action plan.
This presentation will cover the findings from Afua's research project - exploring how the attainment gap impacts the mental health of BME students and propose recommendations to expand knowledge, strengthen representation and raise awareness of issues restricting BME attainment.
At the Safeguarding Students: Addressing Mental Health Needs conference in Manchester, Megan offered insight into the benefits of utilising peer support as a means to tackle the growing demand for improving student wellbeing. In this presentation, Megan will build on her recent first hand experience of being a student and unpack the University culture and problems that can arise, such as peer pressure, bullying and cliques; attainment issues and isolation of minority groups. The presentation will also delve into the emotional pressures and stress that staff are under and how the use of screening can ensure students access the right support.
Lee Fryatt is an Inspector at Hampshire Constabulary with 30 years of operational experience, including responding to critical incidents, youth offending and police custody management. He has broad experience of responding to people suffering with mental health conditions who are at a point of crisis in their life. Lee’s family has been personally affected by the devastating impact of suicide, when in September 2018 his eldest son, Daniel ended his own life just after starting University.
Combining his professional capabilities and lived experience, Lee has developed a considered approach to the role of confidentiality and data sharing between universities and families based on the principle of public interest to protect outweighing institutional fears of breaching data sharing policies. This presentation will cover:
There is a lack of understanding about the experiences, motivations and needs of students in Higher Education (HE) who are also engaged in sex work. Aiming to fill this knowledge gap, The Student Sex Work Project carried out innovative action research with HE students which included psycho-social service delivery (online/face to face); and artistic dissemination through film. In this session we briefly present key project findings with a focus on student sex worker’s motivations and needs and using a film recreation of a student sex worker’s original testimony we encourage participants to adopt a bio-psycho-social lens to consider her thoughts and experiences. Engendering debate, we also discuss the negative impact of stigma on student sex workers.
Synopsis coming soon...
This slot is reserved for organisations looking to engage delegates with services and opportunities that compliment conference presentation and discussion panel topics. If you're interested in delivering a Case Study, contact Jordan on 0161 376 9007.
A hot, two-course lunch consisting of multiple options will be provided for delegates. We cater for all dietary requirements, including vegetarian, vegan and gluten/dairy-free; just notify us ahead of time should you have any allergens or requirements.
The largest mental health survey ever conducted with UK university students found that of those reporting a serious problem they felt needed professional help, 81.6% reported their symptoms started at secondary school – not university. This suggests they arrived at university predisposed to mental health problems, meaning action is needed BEFORE students start university.
Our research suggests that:
Fortunately, our research suggests a number of ways of reversing these trends, drawing on both new and established approaches, from both the UK and other countries – to help ensure a smoother transition to university and reduce the risk of mental health problems.
Synopsis coming soon...
Speaker TBC
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