UK mental health charity Student Minds and Canadian organisation TeenMentalHealth.org have collaborated to create a series of resources to combat the mental health issues that can be associated with the transition to university.
The two resources are freely available to students and educators at universities and schools and can be found here.
Both resources help students to prepare for their future at university covering topics such as time management, relationships, identity, finances, sexual activity, mental illness, suicide, addictions, and more.
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The first resource, Know Before You Go, provides age-appropriate guidance to young people before they leave school or college, and Transitions contains information to support the first few years of being at university.
Student Minds chief executive Rosie Tressler said that student mental health can be most vulnerable at points of transition and until now there had been a gap in the UK for engaging resources for sixth form, college and university students.
"While we’re pleased that many universities are working towards strategic approaches to mental health and better connections with the NHS, to truly tackle these issues all of our schools, colleges and universities need to bridge the transition points. We’re calling on all education institutions to share these free, online resources with their students," she said.
Dr Stan Kutcher, leader of TeenMentalHealth.Org, added: “We’re thrilled to be partnering with Student Minds who share our goal of improving mental health outcomes for youth by promoting mental health literacy in schools. These resources have been developed and well researched in Canada demonstrating positive outcomes and we look forward to seeing the same results across the UK.”