If universities are to address poor mental wellbeing outcomes and mental health inequalities for students and staff we need a culture shift across the sector. The historical approach of siloed intervention and positioning mental health and wellbeing at the margins has failed to address the mental wellbeing needs of either students or staff.
Universities are increasingly recognising how important mental health and wellbeing are for success. Institutions are investing in developing and implementing resources to support student and staff mental health and wellbeing. However, if we focus solely on ‘resources’ and bespoke mental health and wellbeing ‘services’, we fail to ask fundamental questions about our pedagogical approach. We fail to critically evaluate and identify where culture, systems and structures are contributing to the continuation of injustice and marginalisation.
A whole university approach requires us to design universities as places that support positive mental health and wellbeing. It calls for university educators, service providers, and leaders to expect universities to respond compassionately to individual needs. A whole institution approach means eradicating practices of exclusion that contribute to heightened levels of stress and psychological distress. This approach demands that institutions habitually prioritise and support mental health and wellbeing. This commitment must permeate throughout all aspects of the university. A whole university approach calls on universities to proactively identify where institution-based structures are unable to meet the needs of individual students or staff, so the the institution can adapt and respond to individual need - ensuring students and staff get the support they need at the time they need it. If we are to realise the potential of a whole university approach to mental health and wellbeing we must work together and build on existing good-practice.
