UCEM launches mental health strategy

Posted on: 10 May, 2021

UCEM is publishing its first mental health strategy today.

The strategy is designed to benefit both UCEM students and staff, having been written with input from both stakeholder groups.

At the core of the document is the vision which states: ‘UCEM will take a whole institution approach to develop one community that enables students of all levels along with staff to prioritise mental health and wellbeing.

‘The UCEM community will be an open, supportive, healthy, and well-informed environment. It will work to tackle stigma, promote positive mental health, and provide appropriate, timely and easily accessible support to those who need it.’

There are five strategic aims supporting this vision which are:

• to create a supportive whole university community that promotes positive mental health, and ensures mental health is a key strategic priority
• to ensure the UCEM community is informed and aware of the importance of good mental health and works to tackle the stigma surrounding mental health
• to ensure appropriate and timely support is provided to those who need it
• to develop links with external support services and stakeholders
• to use data to evaluate and monitor the effectiveness of mental health interventions and inform future strategic development.

UCEM’s disability and wellbeing adviser, Richard Higgins, is the project lead, and comments: “We have been working on this strategy for a few months and I am very pleased to see it launched to coincide with Mental Health Awareness Week.

“According to [mental health charity] Mind, one in four people will experience some form of mental health difficulty each year in England. That is a huge number of people affected by mental health difficulties which signifies how important it is to proactively take steps to promote positive mental health where possible.

“The strategy document is another step in the right direction, supporting the actions of the disability and wellbeing team and mental health first aiders with words which detail how important mental health is to UCEM as an institution. It cements the work we have been doing to support students and staff, rightly identifying mental health as a whole-institution priority and detailing further steps to ensure it remains this way.”

For more details, take a look at UCEM’s mental health strategy document.