More students are seeking help for their mental health

Universities have seen a big increase in the number of students seeking help for their mental health. Nationally there's been a 53 per cent rise - despite university populations shrinking slightly. At Anglia Ruskin, which has campuses in Cambridgeshire and Essex, there was a 37 per cent rise in the number of learners asking for support between 2012 and 2017. The University of Bedfordshire and the University of East Anglia saw an 11 per cent increase, while at the University of Cambridge there was a rise of one percent. The University of Suffolk nearly tripled the amount of money it spends on mental health support over those five years.

Eva Crossan Jory, NUS Vice President (Welfare), said: “There is evidence that much of the recent investment into mental health services has been directed towards student wellbeing projects. Although worthwhile, these can be by no means a substitute for much-needed professional counselling services. On many campuses, we hear that these services are chronically overstretched and underfunded.... Although a greater number of students are attempting to access mental health services, there are still structural issues that present barriers to others. There is a stigma attached to mental health: Figures from Universities UK (UUK) found that 40% of students who had attempted to take their own lives had not come forward before. This suggests a much larger, hidden problem of acute stress that is reaching crisis point. There are also cultural issues, reflecting the diversity of the modern student body, which can be poorly understood and often inadequately accommodated for. It can also be a consequence of policy decisions, such as the PREVENT agenda, which can particularly deter Muslim students from seeking mental health support. How services are perceived can also be a factor: The relationship between university and NHS services is often poorly understood.Solutions often appear to be short-term, and negative experiences of accessing the services they need can deter them in future.”

Universities Minister Sam Gyimah, said: “Since I have been in post, I have made student mental health one of my top priorities and I have heard first-hand from both students and institutions about the challenges they have faced in this area. Students invest a considerable amount of money through university fees and should rightly expect mental health support in return should they need it. This isn't about a set figure being spent on wellbeing services – universities must be responsive to the needs of every student. To make sure this happens, leadership from the top is vital and student mental health must be a priority – there is no negotiation on this.”