NUS-USI, Northern Ireland’s students’ union, has launched an online student mental health hub, after a survey found that 78 per cent of Northern Irish students have experienced mental health worries in the last year.
Of the 3,600 students surveyed, more than 50 per cent reported that they did not reach out for support, and a third were unaware of the support available at their university or college.
Forty-four per cent of those surveyed said that these issues have impacted upon their studies, and 43 per cent said they have impacted on their relationships.
The online hub, called Keeping You in Mind, has been launched on the union’s website. In a press statement, President of NUS-USI Olivia Potter-Hughes said the hub “offers a wide range of information and details on where to access mental health support across Northern Ireland”.
“In 2017”, she said, “we launched a report on our survey on student mental health and wellbeing at NUS-USI conference. These extremely troubling findings helped set the agenda, gaining significant coverage and drawing attention to the high level of mental health problems facing students in Northern Ireland”.
“We created the Keeping You in Mind campaign with the aim of tackle these challenges and ensuring that students have access to mental health support services”, said Potter-Hughes.
In November 2017, The University Times learned that the number of emergency counselling appointments made in Trinity in 2016/17 had risen by 18.6 per cent from the previous year. This figure marked an almost 200 per cent increase in the number of emergency appointments made since 2011.
The Irish government, in June of this year, launched a survey into mental health examining mental health supports in universities. The survey was led by NUI Galway (NUIG) and investigated how best to promote positive mental health amongst staff and students.
