Mental Wellbeing for International Students: Following best practice Ruth Caleb Head of Counselling, Brunel University London Chair, UUK Mental Wellbeing in HE Working Group (MWBHE) Vida Douglas Consultant in Academic Practice Higher Education Academy June 2015

International Students The number of international students in UK HEIs has been steadily rising over the last decade HESA figures indicate that in almost 300,000 international students and over 125,000 EU students were studying here. International student numbers are increasing and now make up over 18% of our university student cohort.

All students have worries… HEA / HEPI survey (10% less happy than the general population) (Time To Change Health check) University support services have seen a large increase in students with serious and complex mental health problems, disproportionate to the rise in student numbers. Over the last five years, the proportion of students who declared a mental health disability increased from 6% in to 10% in Many students prefer not to disclose mental ill health, so we must assume that these figures are a likely to be a considerable underestimate of students with mental health problems. The number of counselling clients in many services has more than doubled in the last 10 years.

Following the international student journey… Exercise Form 5 groups: – Pre-Arrival – Arrival – Year 1 – Year 2 – Final year List all the aspects you can think of to support the mental wellbeing of international students. Write them on a flip chart and feed back.

Pre-arrival Pre-departure events and webinars Outline anticipated challenges – Weather, clothing, food, – educational style – Expense of studying abroad Mailbase to link new students together

Arrival Coping with homesickness and culture shock – Buddy systems – Academic department embedding activities, e.g. ‘treasure hunts’ Challenging loneliness: – Airport Welcome Service – International Orientation Programme

Year 1 Helping international students to embed – concentrate on fresher’s week, or a ‘long thin’ induction? Support for families of students Language difficulties Dealing with problems back home Working with cultural differences in attitudes to accepting support Coping with vacations, whether returning home or not…

Year 2 Sorting out private accommodation Who to live with? How to cope with the year 2 doldrums – Volunteering? – Becoming an international ambassador / buddy? – Joining student union activities?

Final year Supporting concerns for the future Employment opportunities Achievement or failure? Visa problems Helping international students to communicate with their families on their return home

Following best practice Curriculum Design/Delivery – Student induction – Culturally diverse content – Scheduling of examinations Inclusive environments – Services/Support – Culture/Values – Mindfulness University commitment – Policy/strategy – The global student The student experience – Co-production approach to care – Student ambassadors

Wellbeing Initiatives for All

Throughout the course journey … Celebrations of diversity e.g. ‘One World Week’ Offer a wide range of services that all students can benefit from. Engagement in world issues, offering support where required, e.g. international disasters

Finally… Any questions? Thank you for coming to this discussion group!