Mental Health Awareness Week: Experts Share Advice on Supporting University Students Mental Health

1 in 3 Students Struggle: What Cornish Families Need to Know

Heading off to university is supposed to be one of the best times of a young person’s life. The reality, for many, looks very different.

With Mental Health Awareness Week running from 11th to 17th May, training experts High Speed Training have shared guidance on how parents, peers and university staff can support students whose mental health is buckling under the pressure of academic life.

The figures are stark. In 2023, 1 in 3 students self-reported poor mental well-being in a survey by mental health charity Student Minds. 1 in 4 said they would not know where to get mental health support at university.

This year’s Mental Health Awareness Week theme is ‘Take action’, encouraging small steps to support good mental health.

A “perfect storm” of pressures

For young people leaving home for the first time, often hundreds of miles from family in Cornwall, the jump to university life can be brutal.

Dr Richard Anderson, Learning Experience Director at High Speed Training, said: “While university is often a rewarding experience, students face pressures that put their mental health at high-risk.

“From the emotional strain of moving away from home and the isolation of making new friends in a new place, to the intense academic pressure of independent study and looming deadlines, the challenges are significant. When you add the weight of financial pressure and the social expectation to have ‘the best time of your life,’ it’s clear why so many struggle. Recognising these diverse causes is the first step in ensuring every student feels supported through this transition.”

Spotting the signs

Knowing what to look out for can make all the difference, whether you’re a flatmate, a course tutor or a parent on the end of a weekly phone call.

Richard said: “With university students likely to face mental health challenges at some point during their studies, we all have a collective responsibility to look out for one another. Being able to spot the signs, such as a sudden drop in grades, withdrawal from social groups, or changes in sleep and energy, is vital. Whether you are a staff member noticing a student missing lectures or a peer noticing a friend becoming irritable or low, understanding these indicators allows us to step in early and signpost them toward the support they need.”

How to take action

High Speed Training points to three practical ways to support students:

• Encouraging conversations about mental health: Moving beyond surface-level check-ins to create safe spaces where students feel comfortable opening up.
• Signposting and accessibility: Ensuring that Students’ Unions and faculty staff can effectively direct students to university counselling, welfare teams, and external charities and organisations like UMHAN and Student Minds.
• Flexible academic support: Promoting the use of extensions and mitigating circumstances as vital tools for students managing their mental wellbeing alongside their studies.

Richard added: “Mental health problems can be isolating, damaging and incredibly difficult to deal with. At university, these problems can either begin or escalate. Universities have a responsibility to increase awareness and discussions of mental health and ensure students have access to the support and services they need. Whether you work at a university, you’re a parent, peer or are a student yourself, you play an important role in supporting the mental health of university students, and there is always a way to take action.”

More guidance and mental health training courses are available on the High Speed Training Hub and view their range of mental health training courses.