Students with mental health difficulties
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You are likely to come across students with a range of mental health difficulties, and these can have a serious impact on their ability to study effectively. The effects may be transitory, periodic, or they may be a fairly constant feature.
This could include students who
- experience a period of mental distress related to the stress of study or a difficult event (e.g. bereavement, relationship breakdown)
- have a serious physical illness or another impairment which causes stress and anxiety
- have a mental illness which is normally well controlled by medication or therapy, but which resurfaces due to the pressures of student life
- experience mental health difficulties for the first time as a student
- have a history of serious mental health problems with recurring periods of illness.
Signals pointing to mental health difficulties
In the course of your teaching you may become aware of certain changes in a student’s demeanour that may be a sign of deteriorating mental health. For example
- not attending classes or being persistently late
- changes in the way a person looks or behaves, including personal hygiene
- change in standard of work or motivation to work
- mood changes, irritability or tearfulness
- sudden weight loss or gain
- bizarre or challenging patterns of behaviour or speech
- social withdrawal
- reliance on alcohol or illegal drugs.
If you become concerned about a particular student, be open and enquire if there is a problem. If the student seems reluctant to discuss the matter you could inform them of other confidential sources of support and advice that are available. Your institutional disability officer or mental health officer may be able to help you in this by discussing the best way for you to initiate such a discussion.
If you are concerned that a student’s behaviour is likely to present a danger to themselves or to other people then you must seek advice.
Key points to remember
- Mental health difficulties cover a very wide range of conditions and needs.
- Students who have the same medical diagnosis may have very different support needs.
- The difficulties experienced by someone with mental ill health are very likely to vary from day to day, so you need to develop a responsive approach.
- Many students with mental health difficulties have developed their own coping strategies and you need to support them to maximise these.
- In many situations, the student is the best expert on their difficulties and how they are affected by them, both in terms of study and everyday life. However, a student should not be expected to justify and advocate for himself or herself in ways which would not be expected of people with other disabilities.
People with mental health difficulties have a range of needs as students. Developing your understanding of ways in which mental health difficulties may affect learning will help you to react appropriately and teach more effectively.