Student mental health: a challenge taken up by the university

Mental Health Week (October 7-13, 2024) aims to raise awareness and provide information on this crucial topic. On this occasion, we took a look at the role of universities, and more specifically at the initiatives of the University of Namur, which supports its students in this area.

Mental health disorders often appear as early as adolescence and can worsen when entering university, a period conducive to fostering behaviors such as smoking, alcohol consumption or poor lifestyle hygiene. Joëlle Berrewaerts and Martin Desseilles, specialists in the field, identify several factors that contribute to this deterioration: stress linked to new lifestyle habits, the pressure of studies, and the abandonment of extra-curricular activities that were often means of escape.

Higher education establishments therefore have a key role to play. According to J. Berrewaerts and M. Desseilles, it's imperative that mental health awareness and prevention be integrated into students' careers, as too few of them dare to ask health professionals for help.

Also according to the authors, "it seems important for universities to both set up prevention activities to avoid the onset of stress-related disorders and offer care to students in difficulty or at risk of presenting these difficulties when carrying out screening enabling identification and awareness of this issue" (Berrewaerts & Desseilles, 2016). Furthermore, these suggest preventive solutions based on a variety of interventions: art therapy, psychological education, behavioral interventions, or mindfulness techniques. These approaches have proved effective in reducing anxiety and preventing burn-out among students. At the University of Namur, the Cellule Médico-Psychologique (CMP) is already taking concrete steps to manage student stress.

Practical work on mental, physical and social well-being for medical students

In 2021, Hélène Givron, Alice Schittek and Martin Desseilles, lecturers at the University of Namur, drew conclusions about the health of medical students, a high-risk profession (Givron & Desseilles, 2021). They observed a close link between medical students' emotional and communication skills, and found that students face increased malaise, which has intensified with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Based on these findings, the teachers suggested setting up a 15-hour practical work (TP) activity focusing on student well-being, aimed at a preventive approach and providing tools to maintain mental, social and physical well-being. This TP revealed encouraging results through a quantitative and qualitative study, both published in the Journal Pédagogie Médicale.

"A 15-hour psychoeducational intervention appears to have positive effects, mitigating increased levels of stress, depression and burn-out, improving the perspective-taking ability (identifying and possibly taking into account the point of view of others) of medical students,"conclude the researchers. The qualitative study, meanwhile, completed the results by specifying the factors influencing student well-being. These fall into three areas; the intrapersonal and interpersonal levels and the environment. Thanks to their study, Hélène Givron, Alice Schittek and Martin Desseilles were able to highlight the benefits of integrating such a psycho-educational initiative right from the start of the university curriculum.

Continuing training in mental health

The University of Namur continues its commitment by offering continuing training in mental health via its Department of Psychology. These courses, delivered by a team of experts, provide professionals with tools to better understand and treat psychological disorders.

Awareness-raising initiatives for UNamur members

From October 7 to 13, the Prevention Service is offering a specific program for UNamur members as part of Mental Health Week.

Joëlle Berrewaerts and Martin Desseilles conclude that although efforts exist, these initiatives remain limited to small groups and for relatively short periods. It would be beneficial to offer this type of support to all students, adapting curricula to better meet their needs.

Together, it is possible to make the mantra "take care of yourself to take care of others" accessible to all, by creating a university environment conducive to mental and physical fulfillment.