Student Mental Health Strategy Group
The Student Mental Health Strategy Group was established in late 2014 in response to concerns about how best to support the growing number of students with mental health issues.
The group was convened by Professor Helen Cameron (Director of Medical Education) and had a wide representing all areas of the University, including staff with professional expertise in the area of mental health as well as senior staff and students with a strong interest in this area. You can find details of this group in the file below:
The group met 7 times between November 2014 and September 2016, and minutes of each meeting are available from the Student Mental Health Strategy Implementation Wiki.
In developing the strategy, the Group considered in particular:
- the body of evidence and recommendations from major reviews into student mental health commissioned by:
- The Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2011
- Universities UK 2014, and
- The Higher Education Policy Institute, 2016
- the recommendations of a major thematic review into the provision of student mental health services commissioned by the Senate Quality Assurance Committee in 2016
- similar strategies developed by comparable institutions elsewhere in the UK
as well as the wide range of experiences and expertise from members of the group itself.
The group was mindful that prompt and effective response to incidences of student distress and mental illness is one critical element of any mental health strategy. However the group was clear that the strategy must also focus on positive steps for the promotion of wellbeing and good mental health.
The group was mindful throughout its work that student mental health and staff mental health are closely linked issues. The group concluded early in its life that its focus needed to be on student mental health, but was very aware that staff wellbeing is an area that would benefit from further thought and action on the part of the University.