During Mental Health Awareness Week, University College Isle of Man (UCM) highlighted the importance of mental health for its students.
In the spirit of Mental Health Awareness Week, UCM hosted a number of student-centric events including a visit from Paws for Therapy, Yoga, Group Walks and Mindfulness sessions.
Whilst the week shined an extra light on this important topic, UCM is constantly facilitating positive mental health and helping students develop the long-term skills to manage their own mental health.
Recently, staff from across the University College attended a workshop entitled ‘Mental Health Awareness - How to support the young people we work with’.
The course was led by (Mrs) Samantha Lund, the Department for Education, Sport and Culture Health Education Officer, and provided UCM staff with the opportunity to increase their awareness of mental health knowledge, whilst equipping them with the key skills and listening techniques to support students.
According to the UK charity Mental Health Foundation, 20% of adolescents experience a mental health problem in any given year; highlighting the need for appropriate support measures.
Lulu Gillow, UCM’s Manager of Student Experience and Pastoral Support said “Student mental health is of prime importance at UCM, and with the increase in the number of young people struggling with their mental health, it is so vitally important that all our staff are equipped to be able to identify problems early, offer initial support and signpost them to the welfare support available via Student Services.
“The Student Services team is well-versed in supporting students through difficult times, but by having training sessions such as this available for all our staff means that lecturing staff and tutors can spot when students are struggling and either provide support or refer to us.”