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Take home messages

Take home messages

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Culture of care and concern

Culture of care and concern

At the University of Newcastle, we value a culture of care and concern: a community where we all have an opportunity to thrive professionally and personally. We are aware that there is no health without mental health, and we know that mental health and wellbeing contribute to students’ academic success and career sustainability. However, about one third of our students report high levels of psychological distress and this is consistent across the tertiary education sector.

We are taking an active approach to promote mental health and wellbeing

As members of staff, we are in privileged positions to increase students’ mental health literacy, to teach them to develop resourcefulness and encourage them to access appropriate support in a timely manner. The toolkit has been divided into 9 different sections:

Background

There is a long history at the University of Newcastle of our staff having the interest, knowledge and expertise to assist students. This suite of resources is offered with complete acceptance and acknowledgement of your current skills. The toolkit may do little more than add to your confidence and reassure you that your decisions accord with best practice but, hopefully, it will add to your repertoire. It is not a prescriptive guide. However, it does concur with current evidence-based practice.

This toolkit is designed to manage the whole spectrum of the most frequently occurring and/or impacting student mental health and wellbeing issues. We aim to cover issues faced by both academic and professional staff with full recognition that there are unique factors to be addressed, depending on your role and the ways in which the students present.

​Each section can be viewed separately or you may choose to read them in order. We have tried not to overload you with multiple suggestions so it may seem simplistic at times. The suggestions are given on the assumption that you will modify them as necessary so that you are comfortable with the words and actions chosen.

Unless your role directly involves managing students’ mental health, do not feel obliged to go beyond your comfort zone. Your job is to recognise that a student may need help; respond in a helpful way; refer on to the appropriate area and, most importantly, renew yourself.

Mental health and wellbeing

We have a wonderful opportunity to raise awareness, enhance resourcefulness and increase the probability that our students will leave University with the strong conviction that, in caring for their own wellbeing, they will also be able to contribute to the wellbeing of the global community.

Mental health and wellbeing is firmly on the radar of universities world-wide. Universities across the world are focusing on Student Mental Health and Wellbeing. The University of Newcastle has traditionally embraced a whole of systems approach to promoting the mental health and wellbeing of our student community consistent with the model of Health Promotion adopted by the Healthy Universities' movement.

Research has consistently identified five factors associated with wellbeing: autonomous motivation, sense of belonging, positive relationships, experiences of autonomy and feelings of competence Enhancing Student Wellbeing Project, M-BRAC(PDF, 289KB).

You do not need to understand a particular diagnosis in order to help a student who has a mental health condition. The same listening skills apply. Your job is to recognise that help is needed and to refer on if appropriate.

Roles and responsibilities