Staff wellbeing matters just as much as students’ in our university communities

Higher Education Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) instructor and speaker on mental health and wellbeing, Leyla Okhai, blogs for us on the launch of Higher Education MHFA and the importance of supporting staff mental health. 

With Freshers’ Week activities in full flow all over the country this week, much attention will be given to the issue of student mental health and wellbeing.  

For thousands of young people starting university, the transition from sixth from to university life can be a testing time, as they establish new support networks and adjust to new financial and academic pressures. Any period of change and upheaval like this can be a trigger for mental ill health and figures published earlier this month by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) are testament to this, with five times as many first-year students disclosing mental health issues in 2015-16 compared to ten years ago.  

Although the IPPR’s research is encouraging in that it indicates more young people are feeling able to come forward to discuss mental ill health, it may also mean more is being asked of frontline staff. So whilst student mental health is clearly an important issue in and of itself, equally deserving of attention is the wellbeing of university staff. 

It’s easy to forget that the university is also a workplace, with many staff experiencing traditional workplace pressures – burnout, stress, long hours and isolation can affect everyone, from Post Doctorates   through to Vice-Chancellors. On top of this, many academics feel they operate within a culture where they are expected to have answers and solutions to every problem, meaning that coming forward to ask for help and support with mental health issues can be even more difficult.  

For universities looking for guidance on where to start and where to improve, the StepChange report published last week by Universities UK is as good a place as any. The report lays out a comprehensive framework for adopting a ‘whole organisation' approach to creating a mentally healthy university. This means creating an environment where the whole community works together and at every level in its commitment to wellbeing.  

Many of this report's recommendation specify a need to support staff, promote early intervention, encourage disclosure and ensure effective signposting. To my mind, mental health training for staff has a key role here. Training that raises mental health literacy and instils support skills is also invaluable if we are to stimulate a positive culture change around mental wellbeing in higher education. In my role as a Higher Education Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) instructor with MHFA England, this is exactly what I work with universities to do.  

Higher Education MHFA teaches both staff and students to spot the signs and symptoms of mental ill- health, gives them skills and confidence to support someone experiencing a mental health issue and to then guide that person to further support. It also places significant emphasis on improved approaches to self-care, supporting your own mental health and spreads the important message that we all have mental health. 

In my experience, creating networks of people trained in MHFA skills creates an environment not only where people feel able to come forward to discuss their mental health, but where staff are sufficiently equipped to support both students and colleagues, whilst looking after their own wellbeing. MHFA training should of course be one part of a wider strategy, however it’s my belief that it can be both a great starting point, and addition to, any strategy designed to better support wellbeing in higher education. It follows that if staff are mentally healthy and trained to support students, then the whole community will benefit.  

I believe that creating a mentally healthier society in the future starts in our universities, so as StepChange urges, let's make mental health a strategic imperative this academic year. 

To find out more about MHFA training in a university environment visit mhfaengland.org/organisations/higher-education