Universities improve mental health services for students, signal increasing demand

DISCLAIMER: This article is about mental health and can be distressing to some readers.

At least 11 university students have died in New Zealand since the alleged suicide in 2015, disrupting campus mental health.

The figures, published in Herald under the Official Information Act, show that the University of Otago has experienced the highest number of suspected suicides by students, four last year and one in 2015 2016.

Only one was a freshman; the remainder was allocated to second, third and fourth cycle studies

The figures do not take into account the alleged suicide of Niki Soni in March this year, a master's student at the university, whose Death is being studied by

At Auckland University of Technology, there were two suicides alleged last year, a postgraduate student and another in the last year

The University of Waikato has reported two suspected suicides over the past three years and the University of Canterbury confirmed A student was committing suicide at the same time

The Universities of Lincoln, Victoria and Auckland said they did not hold any information about Alleged suicides and Massey University did not respond.

The figures come at the same time as the first study of its kind. In New Zealand, 56% of higher education students were considered drop-outs due to stress, anxiety, and depression.

This is what prompted the Union of New Zealand Student Associations, which commissioned the Kei Te Pai Report, to claim that tertiary students do not reach their potential because of the mental health crisis.

The University of Otago was the only one to report formal complaints about its mental health services. nine years since 2015.

The Director of Student Health Services, Dr. Kim Ma & # 39; ia & # 39; l, said that the university had undertaken in 2016 a review that resulted in an investment expanded and deepened in mental health services

. social workers, counselors, occupational therapists and psychologists.

He stated that the new team had experienced a 57% increase in the number of direct contacts with students compared to last year

at the Auckland University of Technology . increase in the number of mental health consultations and consultations during the first semester of May of this year compared to the same period last year.

The University, which put According to the survey, a number of triggers were associated with the growing number of students.

These include the stress of life on campus, youth spending less time with friends, and spending more time on social media.

Public awareness campaigns to destigmatize mental health have also increased the number of students accessing services.

At the University of Canterbury, where 15,000 students were enrolled, there was an anecdotal increase in students with mental disorders.

Staff increased the increase in distress levels as a result of the Canterbury earthquakes, feeling lonely, disconnected or intimidated, housing and poverty issues, stress and excessive use of 39 electronic devices.

The University of Waikato Increasing the diversity of students, including foreign students away from support networks, contributed to student stress. 59003] Social pressures, labor market uncertainty and future prospects, precocious puberty, changes in parenting practices, and diminished mental health resources in the community are also reasons for Increase access to mental health services.

Lincoln University stated that it had established a new welfare coordinating role and that she was working with New Zealand Universities who were undertaking a focused national project. on:

The Executive Director of New Zealand Universities, Chris Whelan, said that a university was about the size of a small town and that it had all the same characteristics. problems, including those of mental distress.

Offering hope and answers

Dunedin's wife Corinda Taylor, whose 20-year-old son, Ross Taylor committed suicide in 2013, recently opened the Hope Center in the city to provide support to people with problems. mental health.

Taylor, whose complaint to the Commissioner of Health and Disability about his son's lack of care from the Southern District Health Board was upheld, said the university health services were limited.

six sessions, which was not enough.

"Then you have to pay, but the majority of students can not afford to pay for a private consultation."

She worries about follow-up and treatment plans.

The Hope Center, which opened on June 1, provided peer support to help people navigate the mental health system and also the consequences, including after a suicide attempt or for [19659003] President of the Life Matters Suicide Prevention Trust, Taylor said that the university could be a pressure cooker situation for young people and that for every suicide she estimated that 25 suicide attempts had occurred not reported

Executive Director Derek Wright, who has more than 40 years of experience in the field of mental health, believes that children do not learn the skills they need to evolve in adult life.

"Our children are growing up without resilience. There is no competitive sports at school. Nobody wins, so everyone gets a medal in running, although real life is not like that. "

Wright says that instead of being prepared, children can not stand the pressure and stress of the previous generation The problem is that they are run at school because we do not really have any exam system anymore, that they arrive at the university and start to fail in their homework and exams and that they do not know how to handle that. "

He admitted that 1% of the population was suffering from a psychotic illness, but blamed increasing mental health problems on social media, drugs, and alcohol."

"I do not say everything was perfect. did not have any social media. We did not have 100 people commenting on what you thought or what you said. "

WHERE TO GET HELP:

If you are worried about your mental health or that of others, the best place to get help is yours However, if you or someone else is in danger or in danger to others, immediately call the police on 111.

OR IF YOU MUST SPEAK TO SOMEONE OF OTHERS:

• LIFELINE: 0800 543 354 or 09 5222 999 in Auckland (available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week)
• SUICIDE ASSISTANCE: 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7)
• YOUTH LINE: 0800 376 633, free text 234 or email [email protected] or online chat
• NEED TO SPEAK Free call or text 1737 (available 24/7)
• KIDSLINE: 0800 543 754 (available 24/7)
• WHATSUP: 0800 942 8787 (from 1 pm to 11 pm)
• SERVICE OF ASSISTANCE TO THE DEPRESSION: 0800 111 757
• SAMARITANS – 0800 726 666. [19659043] [ad_2]
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