Friday 9th December 2016
The Wesley
81-103 Euston Street London NW1 2EZ
Student Welfare Support: including Well-Being and Mental Health
PROGRAMME AT A GLANCE
09.15 - 09.45 / Registration and Arrival Coffee/Tea09.45 - 10.00 / Welcome and Announcement of 2015 Scholarship winners. Sarah Leach.
10.00- 10.45 / Presentation: “The invisible problems of student welfare support, student well-being and mental health: An Introduction...”Mark Fudge- Keele University
10.45-11.00 / Tea/ Coffee and Biscuits
11.00-12.00 / ‘Delivering Pastoral Care: with only half the picture’. Victoria Pratt. University of Essex
12.00-13.15 / Lunch. AGM (members only) at 12.30
13.15-14.00 / Risky moments, protective factors and supportive relationships when studying in a foreign country. Steve Potter- Psychotherapist
14.00-14.45 / A case study for success in supporting students: working with students with Autism. Newcastle University.
14.45-15.00 / Tea/Coffee & Cake.
15.00-15.30 / Q and A session with panel of presenters
15.30-16.00 / Universities UK International: Update
16.00-16.15 / Workshop closes. Sarah Leach
Presentation: “The invisible problems of student welfare support, student well-being and mental health: An Introduction...”Mark Fudge- Keele University
The session will provide an overview of student mental health in UK universities and discuss the various approaches which institutes have taken in order to meet rising demand and trends. This will also explore NHS provision for talking therapies and how this might be impacting and influencing support in Higher Education.
Our students are often described as lacking resilience and at the same time more vocal about mental health support within their universities. The session will explore some of the factors which might be influencing this and also some criticisms of the wellbeing agenda.
We also have transatlantic partnerships within student counselling and the session will also cover the differences in distress levels within US and UK services and some of the cultural differences in therapies across both countries.
‘Delivering Pastoral Care: with only half the picture’. Victoria Pratt. University of Essex
The University of Essex has a clear strategy to achieve 20% of undergraduate mobility by 2019. The expansion of the year abroad has yielded some distinct challenges of which, student mental health is the most prominent.
The session will be presented around the interactive use of case studies requiring participants to share with one another existing practice within their institution or office on how students with either physical or mental health needs are supported during their period of study abroad.
The ‘real-life’ solution will be presented along with the outcomes both for the student and learning outcomes for the presenter.
We will be looking at identifying best practice in policy for dealing with the often challenging scenarios of;
- Students with undisclosed mental health or wellbeing support needs that become apparent during the mobility.
- Students with disclosed but uncommunicated support needs.
- Students at host institutions whose support services are ill equipped or inadequate.
- Sharing of information across departments whilst respecting data protection and privacy laws.
- Bereavement before or during the mobility period.
A case study for success in supporting students: working with students with Autism. Newcastle University.
Newcastle University was awarded the THE 2015 award for Outstanding Support for Students for enablinglearners with autism spectrum disorder to enjoy the full higher education experience. In this session delegates will learn about this ongoing programme.
Risky moments, protective factors and supportive relationships when studying in a foreign country
Efforts to achieve and discover and integrate new knowledge and skills requires psychological and emotional resources as much as intellectual ones. This session offers a psychotherapeutic view of how we can help ourselves and help others do well and stay well when entering into a culture, system and environment that is new to us. Some of the common risks to our psychological and mental health will be considered in relation to a checklist of protective factors and supportive relationships. A short exercise in writing an imaginary letter home will be included.
Steve Potter is a psychotherapist and leads workshops on International student mental health and has taught psychotherapy within the NHS in the UK and internationally to a wide variety of groups. He was previously for many years Director of Counselling at the University of Manchester.
Universities UK International update