12S: Promoting Mental Health
and Well Being with Colleges and
Universities in Lothian
Lothian Mental Health and Well Being Team
Rachel King
rachel.king@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk
0131 465 5503
Who are we working with?
• Working in 12 Settings- 6 Colleges, 6
Universities (now 9)
• Students plus staff= 75,000 people in
Lothian (full time; part-time; access)= 9%
Lothian’s population, and rising
• Differences in population in each setting
• Over 70 countries are represented- much
higher than BME for Scotland
• Ages 14 to 90+
Project Aims
• Raise awareness of mental health and well
being within college/ university settings
• Increase partnership working and understanding
• Develop expertise to deliver and facilitate
training and education
• Extend and develop networks within and across
agency boundaries
• Share learning within and beyond Lothian
Small Grant Scheme Round 1
Easter Bush Veterinary Centre: Counselling
Services for veterinary students
• Offer access to the student counselling service
for the veterinary students at UoE
Oatridge College, Physical Activity Supporting
Mental Health and Wellbeing Programme
• Implement programme of activities that will
improve the mental and physical health and
well-being of both Oatridge’s residential and
non-residential student body and staff.
Small Grant Scheme Round 1
University of Edinburgh : Development of web based resource for
staff around mental health and wellbeing
•
•
Provide a comprehensive and easily accessible health promotion web portal
for UoE staff- www.ed.ac.uk/staff-students/staff/health-wellbeing
Raise the profile of health promotion in UoE. The website is user focussed
and provides information in a user friendly format.
Heriot Watt University Information on Self-Harm
• Resource about self-harm targeted specifically at students.
• Produced a new resource that is accessible, informative and helpful
to students in Edinburgh who are concerned about self harm
• Improved students’ knowledge about how to access further advice,
information and support services about self harm.
• Improved staff understanding of how to support students
Small Grant Scheme Round 1
• Heriot Watt University International Students
Mental Health Needs and Services
• Improve routes into support services for international students at
Heriot-Watt University and Edinburgh College of Art
• Identify the barriers for international students in accessing
information and support around mental health
• Developed and implemented an information resource (and
appropriate method of dissemination) to help to address these
barriers
Edinburgh College: Settings Approach to Mental Health
and Wellbeing
• Create opportunities for a mentally healthy workplace- staff training
(50 staff trained)
• Signed see me pledge and created action plan
• Raise awareness-ongoing- in student population of mental health/
wellbeing
Small Grant Scheme Round 2
• Built on the learning and outcomes from
the 12S Pilot
• Focused on:
building partnerships; developing networks; training and
capacity building; settings approach; senior buy-in;
highlighting wellbeing
• Seven Projects at six settings fundedmax cost per project £3,000
Small Grant Scheme Round 2
Experiences of students with disabilitiesdevelopment of podcasts
• University of Edinburgh Disability Service
created podcasts with students and staff talking
about what supports their mental health
Experiences of students with disabilitiesdevelopment of training and resources
• Heriot-watt University implemented a
programme of training, developed with SAMH to
increase awareness and knowledge of the
issues faced by students with disabilities.
Small Grant Scheme Round 2
Student Experience- one week of mental health
action
• Queen Margaret University Student Union
delivered a week of events and workshops to
raise awareness of mental health and wellbeing
Student Experience- Stories of Recovery
• Edinburgh College developed events focused on
hearing people’s experiences of mental health
problems and the tools, resources and journeys
of recovery
Small Grant Scheme Round 2
Resource Development- exam stress for
non-traditional students
• Heriot-Watt University developed a leaflet and
resource to support students from a variety of
backgrounds at exam time
Training and Capacity Building- training
for trainers
• Oatridge campus, SRUC, developed a
programme of activity for residential students
and had training programme delivered
concurrently for staff
Challenges for Small Grant Projects
•
•
•
•
•
Changes in personnel
Changes in structure
Taking a settings approach
Timescales and deadlines
Look small on the page, loom large in the
projects..!
Themes of Small Grant Projects
• Inequalities- range and reach was different, but
realisation of need was key to all projects
• Use of people’s experience and own
understanding
• Taking a settings approach
• Linked themes through all the projects• Building capacity in-house
• Building partnerships and relationships
• Linking with third sector agencies, using local
health care agencies
Our Approach for All Areas
• Building networks
• Strengthening partnerships and joint
working
• Building capacity
• Sharing practice/ look at challenges
• Being a resource across the settings
• Small grants scheme
Heriot-Watt and 12 settings:
five projects
• Mental health of international students
• Self harm: development of guidelines for
frontline staff
• Online tools: ‘Overcoming Bulimia Online’
• The impact of disability on student mental
health: increasing awareness and developing
resources for academic staff
• Exam stress packs
International students
• The identification of barriers and solutions for
international students in accessing information and
support around mental health
• To develop and implement an information resource
(and appropriate method of dissemination) to help
to address these barriers, and
• To improve the knowledge of signs and symptoms of
mental health difficulties at a university level
New resources developed
Key findings:
Sense of isolation and not knowing how to get help
Often no previous history of mental health difficulty
Pressure to succeed combined with family expectation and culture shock
were key triggers
Perception of being afraid to ask for help and not knowing the words to use
Different health systems/ support services
Documentary developed by students ‘Breaking isolation’ now
integrated into student induction and web info
Stress help
Development of a training and awareness programme for
academic mentors on the impact of disability on students'
mental health
• raise awareness and understanding of the relationship between
disability and mental health
• provide training for academic mentors and other staff to enable
improved support to disabled students, including spotting signs of
distress and appropriate referral protocols
• promote understanding and responsiveness to the needs of disabled
students
Outcomes
The project and research has helped shape the key messages:
You’re already doing most of this – we’re just helping you to do it a bit
better and know that there is support available to you and to the
students
Simple needs for students:
o
o
o
o
To be understood
To be responded to
To use appropriate language
To be responsible and give the right referral advice
Exam stress guide
The project and research has helped shape the key messages:
You’re already doing most of this – we’re just helping you to do it a bit
better and know that there is support available to you and to the
students
Simple needs for students:
o
o
o
o
To be understood
To be responded to
To use appropriate language
To be responsible and give the right referral advice
The University of Edinburgh
Jacquie Nicholson,
Mental Health Advisor
Student Disability Service
University of Edinburgh
12s project grant
• Student voices and experiences
• What helped
Common pressures
aims
Reduce stigma
Positive messages
short films/podcasts
Electronic Resource
Internationally available
by students for students
Jess
Matt
Ellie
Vlad
Lucy
Jess
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2MEjQf8Lv
o
http://www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/studentdisability-service/student-support/mental-healthexperiences-videos
The films were edited and introduced by the
Rector in 2014 Peter McCall mental health
champion
Flyers produced for 2015-16 Fresher's week with
link to the videos
Aiming to build on previous
success….
• Review original aims
• Reflect on what has worked well and been achieved
• Review most recent event
Aims of the event
• To develop the template for a sustainable educational resource
which will increase the setting’s ability to tackle mental health
issues
• To increase awareness across college students and staff of the
impact of mental health difficulties, using lived experience
• To contribute towards the creation of an inter campus Mental
Health Working Group Network during the period leading up to
and throughout the 3 college merger
• To strengthen existing links with external agencies such as SeeMe
Scotland, Scottish Recovery Network, LGBT Health and Wellbeing
and explore new partnership opportunities
The experience – Stories of
Recovery
• Welcoming, relaxed ambience – positive
energy
• Enough space – 5 tables where volunteer
participants based themselves
• Managing the flow – moving round
• Support for participants and attendees
Positive outcomes
• Great feedback – evidence of attitude
shift/respect for peoples’ experience and
courage
• Focus for cross campus relationship building
• Partnership between new college and new
student association
• Start of a new thread to be continued…..
2015 event
• Widening range of participants (eg b-eat Young
Ambassadors, CAPS as well as Health in Mind, Veterans
First Point)
• Modelled on previous successful template of using
restaurant / café space
However…
• Pitfall of unfamiliar campus to main organising team
• Wrong time of day / academic year
• Too fearful?
• Undaunted and encouraged!
12S: Promoting Mental Health
and Well Being with Colleges and
Universities in Lothian
Lothian Mental Health and Well Being Team
Rachel King
rachel.king@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk
0131 465 5503
any questions