We need to talk about mental health

Living on campus is often the first time many students live with an assortment of peers, most likely none of whom they’ll have met before, and will have to learn (or not) to co-exist with. Apart from being ‘the best time of your life’, which university always has and will be advertised as to the curious sixth former, it is also a time of great vulnerability.

Many of the common psychotic illnesses, such as schizophrenia and manic depression, first present themselves between the ages of 18-25. One in four people will experience a mental health issue while at university.

According to statistics quoted in the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCP) report in 2003 on student mental health and university services, more students were seeking help for a mental health difficulties across a wider spectrum. A more recent report from the Vice Chancellors’ organisation Universities UK claimed that 80 percent of universities had seen a significant rise in students approaching university mental health services in the past five years.

Perhaps this could be considered a result of a reduction in the stigma associated of seeking help. The stigmatising labels of ‘manic’ depressive and ‘psychotic’ breakdown are not something you’d want shouted about you. Could it be related to what the RCP suggests as an answer? They say it’s down to an increase of students from a wider range of social backgrounds going to university, due to the then government’s wider Higher Education participation plan.

40 percent of 18-30 year-olds are today in higher education, in spite of the 2004 Labour target of 50 percent by 2010. However, it seems unlikely that this change has been reflected in services provided. In the AUCC report back in 2004, university counselling services were “ill-equipped to cope with the increase in students suffering depression and other mental health problems”. The lack of support for students who are the first in their family to go to university exacerbates academic pressures. Seeing as universities can decide how to budget their mental health provision, and some universities don’t even have a mental health policy, it is worth wondering whether the changes have been reflected in provision.

But what does Warwick provide? Students are offered Nightline’s 9pm-9am support, professional counselling services and mental health co-ordinators, advice from the Health Centre, Welfare Officer Izzy John’s mental health campaign and the recent ‘Time for Change’ pledge to tackle mental health. Warwick has relatively good student mental health facilities. However, are people aware about them? The problem is that, even if there was better publicity for all these services, people need to come to some realisation within in order to seek help.

If they do, they may realise that going to get counselling is not as scary as it sounds. Although the average waiting time is three weeks, a student that I talked to recently only waited nine days to see a counsellor. Being aware of ‘less serious’ mental health issues concerning yourself and those around you would be something I’d encourage freshers to do. Everyone is aware of meningitis from all of the posters, and yet I would say that mental health affects more students. It is very easy to hide a problem, or to hide entirely, exemplified by the elusive ‘phantom’ student that you have in your kitchen.

The tuition fee rise means more pressure on students to succeed. More high-achieving lower-income students may be put off going to a top university thanks to the tripled fees. Those who do not let this put them off their right to quality higher education will inevitably become more marginalised. A £30,000+ debt is not something that sits lightly, especially considering the economic climate. Will counselling be readily available for those affected? More counsellors are needed in Warwick. This need not be expensive, for example making sure that all residential tutors have done a counselling course.

The warning from the recent RCP report is clear: too much strain is already placed on university-funded mental health provision. If the recent trend of privatisation continues then even more pressure will be put on already limiteduniversity-funded services.

Peter Dunn, Head of Communications at Warwick, stated that “the nature of mental health support required by students will always change and evolve as society changes and evolves.” In order to charge higher fees for 2012/13, universities are meant to increase support for disadvantaged students whether this be income and mental health. Let us hope that this is realised.