Thread by @DrJoannaT

Time to switch back to regular programming - this morning I will be live-tweeting #CMMNeededNow session, now opening by @KiftSally, on Student Mental Health & Wellbeing.

Hearing from @ian_hickie, @venessb, Chi Baik, @NLCrawfordTas & @rachaelfield68.

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Ian starts. He points out that contrary to previous systems where people became adults at the age of 18, we recognise now that young people are still developing ages 18-25 - and this is the peak time when mental illness develops.

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Students are being advocates for their needs, and for changes in the system to promote mental health & wellbeing in this period. So how can we respond and organise ourselves to improve student mental health?
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Now @venessb - who is a doctor working in this area & did a Churchill Fellowship - says this is highly needed conversation especially in light of the pandemic and its impact on mental health. There are charters & agreements that Unis could sign up to...

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..which would help provide a yardstick/evaluation measure to guide and support action. Ben says that unis are struggling in many ways at the moment so guidance is helpful - including accreditation on mental health.

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We can also piggyback on initiatives e.g. in Victoria around mental health system reform... Uni is great opportunity to provide structures for mental health support as a connection point and provision for resources - similar to school.

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Chi Baik next from @MelbCSHE. Argues we need a whole of university approach in a proactive and preventative manner to promote wellbeing - not just reactionary to those who need help (which is very much needed & important). We can do much more through curriculum.

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Everyone in the university community can contribute - peers as well as teachers. But back to curricula - learning environments can support wellbeing - belonging, positive peer relationships, autonomous motivation to learn. Teacher's role is really important in this

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Also can consider embedded content throughout the curriculum which develops students as whole, healthy people - who have skills around wellbeing and mental health.

Sally points out not much different to reqs to learn abt acad integrity & sexual harassment.

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Now @NLCrawfordTas who agrees focussing on T&L environment is a good avenue - since this is how students interact with universities. Course & curriculum "done well" involves many aspects - relevance to different situations, assessment, ability to access online.

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Nicole points out importance of embedding in curriculum. Sessions on mental health & wellbeing as an "extra" won't work for many part time/mature age/distance students - could cause more stress, not less.

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Last panellist @rachaelfield68: need to go to where the students are and support them - both standard (for everyone) and additional support (for those in particular situations). She teaches 1st years - many unsure about a lot of things, liminal and unsettled time.

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Cites Ray Land's work about threshold concepts - these are some of the things that could be particularly unsettling/causing them anxiety. So should teach these better. (Also both Nicole & Rachael have mentioned Sally's transition pedagogy work)

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Then, if we have a focus on promoting success and what counts as success - which INCLUDES wellbeing and looking after ourselves. Need to make this explicit in the curriculum (i.e. related to the discipline/profession)

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All of this doesn't happen without supporting academics to take these steps and do the work - which includes ensuring academics' wellbeing as well.

Consider workload, balance btwn teaching & research.

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Sally comments that an FOI to Australia Universities suggests that academics have accessed mental health & wellbeing support in significant numbers so there's a great need for better strategies in this area.

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Discussion of that new payroll tax in Victoria to support mental health initiatives. @ian_hickie questions if the money will be spent usefully, but points out we pay tax to support a great number of health aspects. This is an opportunity for Unis to step up as well.
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Lots of mental illnesses have been exacerbated by the COVID situation - across many industries - and universities have a great societal role not just abt R&D but fostering connections btwn students & social groups. So how can leadership promote this??

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We can seize on opportunities (both internally and potential funding support) and move from awareness to action now in the early intervention and strategy space.

Sally highlights another q relating to this around finding support for holistic curriculum approach.

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Next Q about supporting mental health online, directed to Nicole. She points out that strategies from students in regional & remote areas who were used to online study could inform what we do. Important to ask the qs "who am I including/excluding?"

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The digital divide exists - not all students have access to stable wifi and computing equipment - so need to be mindful of this. Also how to foster connections between students - office hours online, creating opportunities for interaction. Difficult, but important

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So resources need to be allocated appropriately - can't just pay someone for 1hr of discussion board time when more is required to actually have that teacher presence that @copacathy talks about

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Chi talks about importance of normalising and introducing mental health and wellbeing services within Uni orientation - for academics as well as students. Graduate students also important cohort, get counsellors to talk about strategies with supervisors.

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Sally mentions additional resource for HDR students (and I suppose their supervisors) - thewellbeingthesis.org.uk

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Sally asks @venessb about particular disciplines that might be affected. He's hesitant to label any particular discipline but points out that interventions will need to be context specific since learning is configured differently.

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This also presents an opportunity to involve students in solutions/strategies - awareness & interest for mental health has skyrocketed. Can be challenging at times to get consistent student involvement but they should be part of an iterative strategy.

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Ben reflects on how medical background asks us to consider a bio-psycho-socio-cultural model for patient care. While KPIs around availability of counsellors might be necessary, it's clear that a more holistic approach is important.

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Ian jumps in to say that we need to develop a broader environment for help-seeking and support. It's not just putting on more counsellors. Need to also look at the social affordances and multiple channels for support, and link in with the whole healthcare system.

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Then, we need to consider what universities can uniquely provide at a crucial point in young people's development. It's not an either/or question.

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Q around supports for bereavement & grief especially in the current pandemic context.

Ben wonders if group counselling (with appropriate facilitation & supervision) could play a part in this. It could be an opportunity to connect with other young ppl also.

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Oooh. Ian also says that resilience is also a group construct, not an individual thing. So needs to be developed through group environments in facilitated ways rather than individually.

I've never thought about it this way!

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So now the question is about connectedness on-campus vs online support. Nicole says different cohorts (and expectations) so would require different responses. Rachael says online env difficult including cameras on since equity issues about bandwidth etc.
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So it's a tricky problem to solve. Just because having resources online doesn't mean everyone will be able to access them.

Final remarks time!

Rachael: it's a collective endeavour where we need to work together from multiple perspectives, to support each other and our students.

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Nicole: we need to keep talking, thinking, researching *with* students in this area. There are many great things going on in pockets. But we need to make an overall cultural shift to 'healthy universities' as an approach.
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Chi: In taking a whole of uni approach, the drive from the top is important. We need to move leaders to take this seriously through carefully designed metrics and indicators of wellbeing - including connections and opportunities to engage - to track over time.

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Ben: Change starts with individuals. Encourage everyone to think about their institution and send an email to the VC and ask them to have a look at a mental health resource - important topic & would love to discuss with them (or point them to the panel).

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Ian: need to move from wicked to tractable problems, and this one is tractable. Willingness to fix it comes from within. Competition can be healthy - so check out what else is happening. Metrics also important - and relating them to things like completion rates.
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Another super session concluded at #CMMNeededNow! Thanks @KiftSally for chairing.