Title: Success Through Wellness: Seeing Yourself in the Campus Mental Health Strategy
1Success Through WellnessSeeing Yourself in the
Campus Mental Health Strategy
- Student Affairs
- Professional Development Day
- November 26th, 2014
2Todays Agenda
- 830 Greetings and introduction
- 845 Developing an Inclusive Campus Mental
Health Strategy - 915 Implementation of our Campus Mental
Health Strategy - 1015 Break
- 1030 Mental Health Advocacy and Accessibility
- 1100 Health, Wellness, Safety and Respect
- Noon Lunch
- 100 Mental Health Services for Staff and
Students - 230 Responding to Mental Health Problems on
Campus - 300 Introduction to Group Exercise/Break
3Developing an Inclusive Mental Health Strategy
for the University of Manitoba
- Don Stewart, Ph.D., C.Psych.
- Associate Professor and Clinical Psychologist
- Executive Director, Student Support
- Stephanie Loewen, M.A.
- Director, Mental Health Spiritual Health Care
- Manitoba Health, Healthy Living Seniors
4Overview
- What is mental health?
- How does mental health relate to mental illness?
- Why does mental health matter?
- How does a mental health strategy help?
- How did we develop our strategy?
5What is Mental Health?
- The capacities of each and all of us to feel,
think, and act in ways that enhance our ability
to enjoy life and deal with the challenges we
face. It is a positive sense of emotional and
spiritual well-being that respects the importance
of culture, equity, social justice,
interconnections, and personal dignity (PHAC,
2006) - The foundation for well-being and effective
functioning for an individual and for a community
6You can be Mentally Ill and Mentally Well at the
Same Time!
Corey Keyes, 2002
7Why does Mental Health Matter?
- For students, mind, brain, and body must be in
shape for and open to learning experiencesso we
must pay attention to students well-being
(Douce Keeling, 2014) - For staff, a work environment that promotes good
mental health is socially responsible, cost
effective, and helps attract and keep good
employees (MHCC, 2013)
8So, whats the concern?
9Universities are essentially stress
incubators that increase the risk
of mental health problems for students and staff
10Mental Health ConcernsInvolving Students
- 75 of mental disorders have an onset prior to
age 25 - Anxiety and depression peak in the 18-24 year age
group - Young adults do not recognize mental health
symptoms as such and are unlikely to seek help - Young adults have high levels of self-stigma
- Young adults face barriers to service
accessibility - Young adults may lack resources to cope
effectively
11Mental Health ConcernsInvolving Staff
- Personal and work-related stress are among the
most common issues in EAP counselling requests - More than 1 in 5 Canadians will develop a mental
illness at some point in their life - Each week about 500,000 Canadians miss work for
mental-health related issues - About 30 of disability claims and 70 of costs
are mental-health related - Mental health issues are a major source of
workplace conflict, grievances, and turnover - Mental health problems cost the economy about 51
billion annually - Each dollar invested in preventive efforts yields
almost 6 in savings
12How does a Mental Health Strategy
Help?
- Reduces distress and increases productivity
- Fosters an environment where all can flourish
13Benefits of an Inclusive Mental Health Strategy
- Investing in campus mental health and well-being
will contribute to -
- Improved physical health
- Increased life expectancy
- Better educational achievement
- Increased skills
- Reduced health risk behaviours such as smoking
and alcohol misuse - Reduced risk of mental health problems and
suicide - Improved employment rates and productivity
- Reduced anti-social behaviour and criminality
- Higher levels of social interaction and
participation - - No Health Without Mental Health, 2011
14How did we Develop our Strategy?(Gather as much
information from every feasible angle!)
- Community Input
- Scrawl on the Wall
- Website
- Student, Staff Faculty Interviews
- External Partner Interviews
- Student Input
- Student Focus Groups
- NCHA Results
- Faculty Staff Input
- Online Survey
- Services Available
- On and Off-Campus Services Used
- Costs for services
- Literature Review
- Research
- Best or Promising Practices
- Healthy Universities (UK)
- CMHA/CACUSS Guide (CAN)
15Elements of Our Strategic Plan Journey
- Hire a mental health consultant
- Develop a working group
- Scan evidence-based practice
- Develop a consultation strategy
- Scan current status of the mental health service
system, including service use - Identify key UM, regional, and provincial
stakeholders - Consult with stakeholders
- Develop an advisory committee
- Review consultants report of recommendations
- Based on evidence and analysis of consultants
report, develop a mental health strategy - Obtain approval for mental health strategy from
Presidents Executive Team - Hire a Campus Mental Health Facilitator to
develop an implementation plan and monitor
progress and outcomes of the strategy
16Title of presentation
umanitoba.ca