Updates from Mental Wealth UK

Nottingham Students Launch ‘Mental: My Take’

A new documentary, produced by students at Nottingham University Television Station (NUTS), is set to tackle mental health in an all new way.

By talking to practitioners, students and the general public, ‘Mental: My Take’ will focus on the unique strengths which people dealing with a mental health condition often possess.

Executive Producer Thomas Denton explains: “The idea of ‘Mental: My Take’ is to look behind the label of mental health, to bring out the human voice, seek to demystify related issues and fight discrimination. By talking to those affected we want to show that it is not something to be afraid of.

“Great strengths are brought out in people who have suffered from mental health issues. They often have a unique skill set because they have had to not only had to deal with the challenges we all face, but have had to manage their condition on a day-to-day basis.”

Having gained the backing of organisations such as Mental Wealth UK, Nightline Association, Rethink, Mind, Mental Health Foundation and the University,

“Through the use of YouTube, we want to build a repository of information – of first person testimonials – which allow people to hear about the personal feelings and experiences of peers coping with similar issues. By allowing anyone to view it, it will become more than a documentary, it will become a resource.”

To find out more about ‘Mental: My Take’ or get involved in the project yourself, please visit: www.facebook.com/mentalmytake. Find additional information for individuals and professionals online. We also would like to take anonymous testimony.

Please get in touch, Documentary@nutsoline.org.

By Harry Waddle

The University of Nottingham

For the full article, please see the May edition of Exchange Magazine

Exeter’s ‘Mind and Music Project’

Exeter University’s Mental Wealth group ‘Mind Your Head’ have launched the Mind and Music Project - a series of open workshops ran in collaboration with World Music Choir groups. The group held a laughter yoga* workshop and Music for the Mind workshop on 20th & 21st February respectively, aiming to help students have fun, relax and improve their mental health.

The Music for the Mind workshop focussed on the impact music and singing can have on the mind. It featured chants and rounds, percussion and sign language, with an emphasis on togetherness and singing as a group. Singing with others is one way to feel uplifted and happy, and has a proven positive effect on mental wellbeing. This could be from the effects of connecting with others, positive reciprocation, teamwork and belonging.

Connecting with others and feeling like you belong in a group are two of the ‘10 keys to happier living’ developed by friends of Mental Wealth UK, Action for Happiness. For more information visit http://www.actionforhappiness.org/10-keys-to-happier-living

 *Laughter yoga was initiated by the Indian doctor, Madan Kataria in c.1995. It first started out as a physical exercise ritual done by groups of men in Indian parks in the early morning. Kataria then created a small laughter yoga group, and from there the concept grew to the international network of groups. Laughter yoga combines diaphragmatic yogic breathing with group-initiated laughter which then more often than not develops into ‘real’ unstructured contagious laughter. Groups may also include a laughter meditation into their sessions. Laughter is of course renowned for its mood-enhancing ability, and there is some scientific evidence for it providing cardiovascular health benefits (such as reduced blood pressure) also.

What a week for Cambridge Mental Wealth!

For the second year running, Cambridge Mental Wealth organised a fantastic Mental Health Week. Between the 14th-21st February the Cambridge Mental Wealth team organised various activities to help students beat the ‘semester 2 blues’ and learn more about mental health difficulties including depression, eating disorders and autistic spectrum conditions as well as the help available. They also looked into the impact of perfectionism, which is prevalent in highly pressured environments.

The group ran a variety of events, ranging from a drop in ‘coffee morning’ for students to gain information on mental health conditions, to a yoga and positive self-talk workshop. They had talks by the University counselling service to provide informal information and advice, and various other speakers, discussions and seminars. This included a talk from Robert Spoonert, the father of a former Cambridge student who died following a battle with anorexia, as well as a lecture from Simon Baron-Cohen of the Autism Research Centre.

The week was highly successful, with the group leaders acting as fantastic ambassadors for Mental Wealth UK and building the momentum and inspiration for further events.

Watch the Video about the week here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66Rl-siSo7s

Watch Interviews with the speakers, Simon Baron-Cohen and Robert Spoonert here: http://www.cu-tv.co.uk/category/factual/

New Student Mental Health Policy passed by NUS

Last week hundreds of students travelled to Sheffield to represent their university or college at  the National Union of Students annual conference. At the event, students voted on a variety of policy areas which will guide NUS’ work over the next year and influence Students’ Unions across the UK. In the Welfare Zone of conference, a new and comprehensive Mental Health Policy, which was proposed by the University of West England and Kent University Students’ Unions,’ successfully passed and therefore becomes official NUS policy.

 The policy resolves for NUS “To work with organisations such as Mind and Mental Wealth UK to increase NUS’ presence on work in mental health”. The policy also includes praise for peer-led initiatives, like Mental Wealth groups, and makes the commitment “To continue to promote the effectiveness of peer mentoring schemes on campuses and make the case for the positive effect it can have on wellbeing.” We look forward to working further with NUS to break down barriers surrounding student mental health and to establish more student-led groups that create positive change on campuses across the UK.

You can find out more about the NUS conference here: http://www.nusconnect.org.uk/conference/

The full Mental Health Policy can be found below:

Motion No. 612
Policy Area: Mental Health Awareness and Challenging Discrimination
Submitted by: UWE, Kent

Conference Believes:
1. Policy on mental health is due to lapse.
2. Mental health has become an increasingly growing concern among the student population.
3. It is reported that 1 in 4 people will suffer from a mental health condition in their life time.
4. Between 2007 and 2011 suicides by male students in full-time higher education grew by 36%, while female student suicides almost doubled.
5. NUS Scotland has carried out extensive work on mental health, notably the ‘Silently Stressed’ research and ‘Breaking the Silence’ report in 2010 and 2011, respectively.
6. The NUS Disabled Students’ Campaign has also carried out a lot of work in mental health in the last year.
7. One in four adults and one in ten children suffer a Mental Health issue.
8. Severe cuts are being made to psychiatric and mental health recovery services up and down the country.
9. Financial and housing concerns places additional pressures on students and this has been linked to a potential rise in MH issues/stress related illnesses.
10. That businesses could be doing more to address the issues and pressures students and community member’s face in the current environment.
11. NUS Scotland has run a student orientated Mental Health project called Think Positive, which has led to some very informative and successful research into the area, including Silently Stressed (2010) and Breaking the Silence (2011).
12. There needs to be a national campaign for Mental Health training to be implemented at all Higher Education and Further Education Institutions across the country.
13. Undertaking of this training by staff will mean they will be able to better differentiate between varying student welfare demands as well as having a clearer understanding of how mental health conditions can impact upon students, their studies and the relationship of staff and students with each other.
14. This brings numerous benefits to the student experience, because if universities are better trained in Mental Health awareness, then they will be able to better meet the needs of struggling students.
15. Administration of this training to all university and student union staff will increase their knowledge of policies and procedures that are in place to help staff understand boundaries, safe-working practices and communicating clearly with students suffering mental health difficulties.
16. That this training will be informative and helpful, as well improving staff confidence in supporting struggling students.
17. That the University of the West of England, in the partnership with the Students’ Union has been working to implement such training and seriously challenge Mental Health discrimination within the student and staff population, which has included both parties signing the Time To Change pledge to end Mental Health Discrimination.
18. More can be done to promote Mental Health awareness and anti-stigma campaigns at the level of the National Union of Students (NUS).
19. Stigma surrounding Mental Health and active Mental Health Discrimination is beginning to decrease.
20. Although stigma is decreasing, more still proactive campaigning needs to be done to ensure a continuing positive decrease.
21. The existence of campaigns like Time To Change is is very important to challenging Mental Health discrimination in general,
but also specifically in the workplace and in education institutions.
22. That liberation groups are at particular high risk of experiencing Mental Health issues and also the discrimination that goes with it.
23. There is the existence of ‘fit to sit’ polices surrounding exams.
24. This conference believes that some companies actively discriminate against people with mental health issues.

Conference Further Believes:
1. Given the climate of stress faced by students; academic pressures, financial hardship, concern on graduate debt & employment, a change of environment and a total shift of support networks – students are in a far more vulnerable position to suffer from a mental health issue.
2. In a climate of mass cuts to budgets of Colleges and Universities we cannot assume key wellbeing services are safe from cuts.
3. Institutions and Students’ Unions have a responsibility to work in partnership on mental health.
4. Work carried out on mental health must take a pragmatic shift from just running awareness campaigns to winning adequate service provision on our campuses to help those in need, and a serious commitment from a cross section of institutions to recognise and tackle mental health.
5. Whilst activities like ‘mental health weeks’ can be a useful tool for success, we shouldn’t minimise the issue into a week of action as a way to tick a box of tackling the issue. We must discover the next platform for mental health.

Conference Resolves:
1. To ensure that any training or workshops given on mental health give explicit tangible outcomes that can be won on campuses.
2. That the autonomy of the NUS Disabled Students Campaign on this issue is vital and to ensure leadership is derived as such.
3. To work with organisations such as Mind and Mental Wealth UK to increase NUS’ presence on work in mental health taking us from the side lines to the forefront.
4. To continue to promote the effectiveness of peer mentoring schemes on campuses and make the case for the positive effect it can have on wellbeing.
5. To lobby all Higher Education and Further Education institutions up and down the country to introduce and send staff on Mental Health Awareness Training to better understand how they can support students facing difficulties and know where the boundaries are.
6. To recognise the positive work that has been done by NUS Scotland and commission similar research to take place in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
7. To actively declare its support for The Time to Change Campaign and work with them to promote the auditing of educational institutions and businesses on Mental Health awareness practices.
8. To raise awareness of how Mental Health affects individuals from liberation groups and to work with these groups to implement targeted campaigns that address the issues they face.
9. To lobby the government to U-turn on its planned cuts to welfare services and Mental Health wards.
10. To lobby the government to review the Mental Health Act 2007 to provide more protection for individuals committed towards.
11. To continue to lobby to reduce public stigma surrounding Mental Health Discrimination and build upon the work started through the Mental Health Discrimination Bill.
12. To reduce and dispel the stigmas surrounding individuals with mental health issues and ensure they are not discriminated against in the workplace.
13. To call for ‘fit to sit’ policies and any similar practices to be abolished by educational institutions and review its provisions and practices for students affect by Mental Health issues.14. To lobby universities to include relevant information on extenuating/mitigating circumstances to help students get through their studies and not slip through the net.15. To lobby universities to actively oppose companies which display discrimination to students and individuals affected by mental health issues and to work with them to improve their practices.

The Student Wellbeing Web Summit: What’s the Story?

In February 2012, the Mental Wealth UK committee met to discuss a problem that had arisen. The committee planned to hold a conference to explore some of the key issues affecting students’ mental health and to share learnings and best practices, but no one could agree on a date or venue.

We knew that wherever we held it, there would be people that would struggle to make it due to timing and budget constraints. Then one of the committee said, “Hold on. What if we do it online?” After exploring the technology available, it was decided.

The Mental Wealth Web Summit was held in March 2012, and featured workshops on running mental health events and campaigns, a panel discussion with representatives from Healthy Universities, NUS, Mindapples, and Mental Wealth UK, and an ideas sharing forum exploring some of the most creative & effective campus initiatives for promoting mental health from the previous 12 months. Despite technological teething problems, the event proved to be a very effective platform for discussion and ideas sharing, and the feedback from participants was extremely positive.  

On Wednesday March 20th 2013, the Web Summit will be returning, this time hosted by Mental Wealth UK and Open Your Mind. Once again, the event will look to provide guidelines on running campaigns, discussion about how we can improve the sectorial approach to students’ mental health, and a roundup of news and ideas from the past 12 months.

Since the last Web Summit, the conversation about students’ mental health has continued to develop. New data about disclosure rates and suicide figures has brought sharp focus to the issues raised in 2011’s report into student mental health. Journalists and professionals have commented on the mental health of students (here, here, here, here, and here), and on the 20th February, the second annual University Mental Health & Wellbeing Day took place.

Recognising that the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ 2011 report (http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/publications/collegereports/cr/cr166.aspx) provides a marker for students’ mental health, the panel discussion this year will look at one of the report’s most specific recommendations: that all universities ought to have a formal mental health policy in place. The report states:

“This [the university’s mental health policy] should ensure that they meet statutory obligations under disability legislation. It should also cover areas such as health promotion, the provision of advice and counselling services, student support and mentoring, and special arrangements for examinations (Universities UK/GuildHE Working Group for the Promotion of Mental Well-Being in Higher Education, 2006).”

The panel will look at what a mental health policy should look like, and how it can be kept up to date and policed. Appreciating the uniqueness of each institution, and the constantly changing nature of the student population, the panel will also take a step back and explore the usefulness of a mental health policy.  

After the panel discussion, there will be a review of ideas and events from across the UK, particularly those coming out of the growing network of student-led mental health & wellbeing initiatives. The forum will also involve a roundup of useful resources, tools, and tips for running campus based mental health projects. All of the sharings and discussions will shared through social media channels and recorded and made publicly available after the day.

Above all else, the event aims to be a celebration of the work being done to promote good mental health on campuses by staff and students across the UK.

To register for the event, or to find out how you can contribute, visit http://mwukweb.wix.com/mwuk-web-summit.

The Friday Alternative

The Friday Alternative is a series of relaxed social events run by Mental Wealth Nottingham. These aim to provide a supportive, non-judgemental environment for those who may find socialising difficult. We do this by holding the socials in quieter locations such as rooms in the Students’ Union or local cafes and where possible forming a buddy system where a facilitator can meet attendees beforehand to help them feel more comfortable and answer questions. Obtaining feedback from members will be carried out throughout the year to improve their social experience.