What mental health promotion do university students need?

Abstract

Our aim was to find out what university students expect of mental health promotion. 610 young people were asked a few open questions. 81% of respondents expressed an interest in mental health promotion activities. They associated promotional activities with physical, social and/or emotional health care. Basically, these positive expectations are in agreement with the biopsychosocial model of mental health formulated by the WHO (2005). No interest in the idea of promotion (11%) is caused by the erroneous assumption that mental health promotion is targeted at people with mental disorders; therefore, a mentally healthy person does not benefit from participating in such a programme.

Mental health of university students during the pandemic. Threats to their mental health and proposals for university student support in Poland

“…An example of a particular challenge is the sudden epidemic situation in 2020-2022, which is new and therefore requires novel solutions. Many universities in Poland provide support to their students and do so in accordance with the requirements of good practice [35]. It seems important to exchange experienc-es and share ideas and activities that strengthen students' mental health.…”

“…The biggest universities in Poland and all over the word have been providing regular psychological support for their students in their own counselling centres or in cooperation with local public ones for many years. Unfortunately, not every university organizes this kind of support for its students [35]. In June 2021 The Ministry of Education and Science in Poland prepared some recommendations for university authorities to provide such psychological support (https://www.…”

“…Each week during the pandemic workshops were run on Tuesday evenings, at which different techniques for dealing with stress were presented, including Jacobson's relaxation technique, Schultz's autogenic training, and visualisation. The workshops were organised by the APP staff and psychology students at the APS Institute of Psychology, based on a mental health promotion programme previously implemented in on-campus meetings and appropriately evaluated [35]. The APS students and staff were invited to attend each workshop so that they could learn the theoretical basis of the presented technique and practice it during the workshop, as well as share their reflections.…”

“…Positive feedback from the participants was collected as a preliminary to a comprehensive evaluation of the online activities, for future reference. The evaluation canon requires formative qualitative evaluation, i.e., questions about the personally experienced effects of the applied methods of work [35].…”

Studi Pendahuluan: Strategi Promosi Kesehatan Mental Di Lingkungan Kampus Melalui Partisipasi Dosen Wali

“…Menurut WHO Open Access kesehatan mental bukan sekedar bebasnya dari kondisi sakit mental, yaitu mengenai kesejahteraan manusia yang mana individu menyadari potensi yang dimiliki, dalam kehidupan normal mampu mengatasi stres secara umum, dapat bekerja secara produktif dan optimal, dapat memberikan kontribusi di lingkungannya (Kermode et al, 2007). Kesehatan mental disebut juga sebagai kondisi mental dan emosional individu yang dapat memengaruhi seseorang untuk menunjukkan perilaku efektif di lingkungan dan mencapai tujuan serta mengembangkan kepribadian (Wojda-kornacka, 2016). Untuk mewujudkan kesehatan mental berarti perlu melakukan upaya strategis dengan menyusun program promosi sebagai usaha preventif.…”