Mental Health and Wellbeing
Protecting and enhancing the mental health and wellbeing of our students and staff is of utmost importance to the University. It is recognised that, to perform, thrive and succeed, whether as a student or as a colleague, members of our community need to be mentally well and emotionally resilient.
The links between mental health, confidence, resilience, performance and impact are intrinsic and are acknowledged by the University. Building and protecting strong and positive mental health amongst our workforce and student population is recognised as a fundamental enabler for our success.
Our vision for success
The contributors to mental health or mental ill health are varied and can include personal circumstances, life events, issues relating to work and study, living environment, and the presence of diagnosable mental health conditions. All these factors can vary and the combination of each will affect mental health on a day-to-day basis. The University cannot control all these aspects and contributors, but it can take steps to create and sustain a work and study environment and culture that values good mental health, and to be a supportive employer and educator.
In delivering the joint University of Stirling and Stirling Students’ Union Mental Health Strategy we will foster and nurture a culture and environment that respects, protects, promotes and enhances the mental health and wellbeing of our students and staff, enabling them to thrive and achieve their potential whilst achieving our institutional ambitions.
This relies on the creation of an institutional culture which recognises the link between mental health, wellbeing, performance and impact, and which enables our community to talk openly about mental health without stigma or fear
What we want to achieve:
Objective 1: We will make the protection and enhancement of mental health a strategic priority for the institution, through demonstrating leadership, targeting resources, and routinely considering the impact of institutional policies and decisions on the mental health and wellbeing of our students and staff.
Objective 2: We will embed the protection and enhancement of mental health into institutional policies, working practices, academic programmes and curricula, facilities, the campus and digital environment, and post-Covid reset plans, ensuring that systemic barriers to good mental health are identified and eradicated.
Objective 3: We will develop and implement activities, interventions and partnerships which promote and sustain the enhancement of student and staff mental health, particularly focusing on key transition points in the student and staff journey and aiming to build resilience and ownership of our own mental health.
Objective 4: We will establish a support framework which ensures that students and staff can access mental health support at the appropriate time without experiencing stigma or discrimination, including access to highly skilled, appropriately resourced and well-trained specialist support staff.
Objective 5: We will ensure staff and students who support students and colleagues experiencing stress or mental ill health can spot the “red flags”, know where to signpost for support, and are sufficiently equipped, trained and supported themselves.
Objective 6: We will improve our knowledge and understanding about the mental health and wellbeing of our community and of the impact of this strategy.
Further information and support
We want you to feel like you can 'just ask' whenever you’re facing questions or challenges at university. This is especially true where your mental health and wellbeing are concerned, so if the pressures of studying lead you to feel anxious or in need of a helping hand at any point, we’d encourage you to simply reach out for the support we can offer. See the mental health and wellbeing support for students.
We recognise the vital role our employees play in the success of the University. We take a proactive and supportive approach to keeping you well. See the support available for staff.
Read the first joint University of Stirling and Stirling Students’ Union Mental Health Strategy.