A Reading List on Student Mental Health
Over the last six months I’ve been working with The Student Mental Health Research Network (SMaRteN) on various student wellbeing and mental health projects and thinking about ways that I can implement what I have been learning into tangible resources to help with student mental health. If I’m honest, I’m actually quite tired of hearing how stressed students are, how miserable we are, how financial precarity, pandemic fallout, inequality, racism and microaggressions, academic pressures, colonialism, competing deadlines, austerity, failing NHS systems, caring responsibilities etc etc has led to an increasingly bleak state for student mental health. I’m tired now partly because I live this, I talk to my classmates and I read the newspapers, but also because there are only so many studies anyone needs that tell us how stressed students are. What I would like to see now is action. Not just policy level, but tangible actionable steps that institutions put in place that can be used by students coming to Freshers at the end of the week.
While every uni bulletin board and website has lists of phone numbers and websites with resources, we know that students are particularly susceptible to mental distress (for multiple reasons) but that they often don’t or cannot engage with support services offered (again for many reasons, citation: NUS Survey). Another problem is lists of resources that are hard to access, buried away on a website, and no good to anyone in a crisis. Often overwhelming and sometimes out-of-date emergency contacts are useful and should be provided (and highlighted please! Put them on the front of your VLE and on every student dashboard! Make this a priority!) but we also need a proactive, preventative, strengths-based approach.
If I were in charge (how many fantasies do I have about this?!) I would like to see institutions creating well-being modules with resources and activities. Every student could be enrolled on this module, which would place it on their Virtual Learning Environment dashboard. Individual institutions would add their own MHWB services, EDI resources, links to multifaith & chaplaincy services, student networks and existing peer support here.
Creating a wellbeing module also then offers the possibility of a Student Wellbeing and MH Reading List, full of resources, books and articles that are accessible and free with physical, downloadable and audio copies available. A reading list then would link as all modules do, to the campus library. I would like to see uni libraries stocking these titles in multiple, with a display in their foyers, and lists of recommended reads in every onboarding, induction or bag of freebies handed out at Freshers. ?
To that end, I have compiled a list of recommended books and resources that would serve as a good starting point for a Student Mental Health Reading List. Below are some books I personally have found useful, along with crowdsourced recommendations from the academic mental health community. I have tried to cover as many aspects of student experience and mental health as I can find, but as there isn’t a “Gay Guy’s Guide to Uni Life” I have signposted less specific links and resources. As much as possible I wanted this to be a list specifically focussing on Students and Mental Health but as none of us exists in a vacuum I have highlighted other books that overlap with various student experiences and intersections.
p.s. Blurbs are copied from the book’s websites, and not my own words. Where possible I avoid linking to Amazon for ideological reasons, but also a few GoodReads pages snuck in there!
p.p.s. Of course, a reading list, and the titles below operate on a self-care, individually-led model of wellbeing, and I am loathed to suggest that students just need to try harder or do more reading in order to look after themselves and manage their mental health. I offer these resources here as an addition to widespread system change and increasing and improving services. Also full socialism.
Books on Student Mental Health:
Being Well in Academia by Dr Petra Boynton
This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to address the need to stay well in academia, and will be particularly useful to those in diverse or disadvantaged positions who currently lack institutional support or feel at risk from academia.
Managing Your Mental Health During Your PhD - by Dr Zoe Ayres
This book explores the PhD experience as never before and provides a “survival guide” for current and prospective PhD students. The book investigates why mental health issues are so common among the postgraduate population, going beyond the statistics, looking at lived experience of both the author and as well as current PhD students.
Zoe also has a great series of resources on her website, including these posters and the Academic Voices Project on Twitter
?So, you’re starting university – you’ve learnt what to pack, where to socialise, how to cook (sort of)… but what about how to look after your mental health? Nic Hooper has witnessed the student mental health crisis unfolding every day on campus and is determined to help. A psychologist with fifteen years experience teaching and mentoring young adults,?The Unbreakable Student?is his guide to navigating your university years and staying sane using six simple rules.
Depression at University – a Pocket Guide - by Dr Dominique Thompson
This illustrated pocketbook offers advice, practical tips and useful exercises for students to combat low moods and depression at university. Written by the award-winning student mental health specialist, Dr Dominique Thompson, this easy-to-read guide will ensure that students have all the tools they need to understand the sources of their depression and take steps to reclaim their life from its debilitating effects.
Anxiety at University – by Dr Dominique Thompson
This illustrated pocketbook offers advice, practical tips and useful exercises for students to recognise and manage anxiety at university. Written by the award-winning student mental health specialist, Dr Dominique Thompson, it will help readers understand where their anxiety comes from, and why it exists. Whatever the source of individuals' worries or phobias, this book will help readers understand their anxiety and help them develop the tools they need to handle it.
Autism and Mental Well-being in Higher Education: A practical resource for students, mentors and study skills support workers -??by Susy Ridout
Too often, autistic students and those with mental health needs struggle with higher education, often dropping out of courses because they do not receive the informed support that would help them to succeed. This much-needed manual addresses the provision of effective support via mentoring in order to build students’ confidence and enable them to take control of their lives. This unique publication encourages students to take control of mentoring and study skills sessions by signposting them to topics which they wish to address, while also providing a useful framework and resources for mentors and tutors in higher education.?
Staying Well and Safe at University - Student Wellbeing Series - by Dr Dominique Thompson
This illustrated pocketbook offers advice, practical tips, and useful exercises for students who want to safely navigate the unique pressures and pleasures that life at university brings. Written by the award-winning student mental health specialist, Dr Dominique Thompson, this easy-to-read guide will ensure that readers have all the tools they need to combat issues around leaving home, exam stress, socialising, safety, sex, and substances, so that they can truly make the most of their time as a student.
Managing Dyslexia at University: A Resource for Students, Academic and Support Staff - by Claire Jamieson & Ellen Morgan
A thorough and comprehensive guide for both education professionals and those affected by dyslexia, this book is predominantly a guidebook. It includes lots of practical advice and is based on the authors’ sound knowledge of current theory and practice.
Dyslexia: Surviving and Succeeding at College - by Sylvia Moody
A practical and easy-to-read guide for dyslexic and dyspraxic students. Clearly and simply written, in a dyslexia-friendly format, it addresses not just study skills, but also more general aspects of coping with student life. Each chapter includes step-by-step strategies which can be put into practice from the very first day at college.
Disability and the University: A Disabled Students' Manifesto - by Christopher McMaster & Benjamin Whitburn
A guide to what students with disabilities need to know about attending university, as well as to the essentials universities should provide for these students. Each chapter presents a benchmark for students to follow as they travel through the institution, and lays clear what they should expect. Written by former students with disabilities who have traversed the terrain and experienced higher education, this book is not about disabled students, but instead is a manifesto, a call for change, a call to action. It is a guidebook, blueprint, and tool for both students and universities.
Be Well, Learn Well: Improve Your Wellbeing and Academic Performance - by Gareth Hughes
Explores the different dimensions of student wellbeing (physical, psychological, social and academic) and helps students understand the connection between their well-being and academic performance.?Be Well, Learn Well?begins by considering the impact of factors such as diet, exercise, hydration, sleep and sunlight on learning, before examining how 'deep' learning can improve wellbeing. Subsequent chapters help students create meaningful connections with their studies, build motivation and approach exams, presentations and group projects with confidence. The final chapter challenges unhelpful narratives around career trajectories and helps students to take small, manageable steps towards their goals.
A FLY Girl’s Guide To University: Being a Woman of Colour at Cambridge and Other Institutions of Elitism and Power - by Lola Olufemi, Odelia Younge, Aubrey Sebatindira & Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan
A FLY Girl’s Guide to University?is a collection of memoirs, essays, poetry and prose from four women of colour who studied at the University of Cambridge. It is a multifaceted calling out of the wrongness underpinning their shared experience at Cambridge, and the experiences of others in similar institutions throughout the UK. But they describe it best: ‘The purpose of our book is simple: we believe that our lives, our experiences, and our voices matter, especially in a place of power, pervasive whiteness and exclusivity. Our voices not only deserve to be heard but must be because the ‘Cambridge experience’ of a middle-class, white, cis-gendered, able-bodied man is not the only one. Ours cannot be silenced.
领英推荐
Wellbeing and Self-care in Higher Education: Embracing Positive Solutions - by Narelle Lemon
?The?Wellbeing and Self-care in Higher Education?series reveals the stories of those working in higher education and illuminates the constant reconstruction of identities and work practices that places self-care at the centre of the work we do. Highlighted through image and word narratives (visual narratives) are realities, the voice of our colleagues, and (re)positioning of a shift into what is possible when we care for ourselves and others.
General Books for Students:
Being an Adult: The Ultimate Guide to Moving Out, Getting a Job, and Getting Your Act Together - by Lucy Tobin & Kat Poole ?
Being an Adult is a practical and entertaining guide to the life skills you didn’t learn at school, from when to ask for a discount or send a condolence card, to how to save money, and what you need to know before your first day at work.
The Mature Student's Handbook - by Lucinda Becker
A practical guide allowing mature students to build on their strengths and overcome challenges. Includes worked examples, exercises and space for recording strategies and successes. Covers areas such as lectures, seminars, reading and note-taking, presentations, writing, exams, time management, finance and careers.
The International Student Handbook - by Hayo Reinders, Nick Moore & Marilyn Lewis
This book provides non-native English speakers with the skills needed to study overseas at an English-speaking University. This practical handbook prepares students to live abroad, understand university culture, and to improve their English. It is built around activities that give hands-on practice to make overseas university study a success.
The International Student's Guide?helps you succeed at university, by sharing the experiences of many international students who have already attended a university in the UK. Every student is unique, with different abilities and needs. With this in mind, the authors provide you with practical information and help on a range of aspects of study. They focus on both spoken and written forms of communication, and deal with the approaches to thinking and learning that you will meet in higher education in the UK system.
More general reading on mental health issues:
Mental Health First Aid - by Emma Hammet & Greg Shields
Mental Health First Aid is the ultimate guide for friends, families, schools, work, colleagues, carers and individuals; to help themselves and others optimise their mental health. Providing a structured approach, detailed advice and a wealth of resources to help yourself or others in need of additional support.
This Book Could Help: The Men's Head Space Manual – Techniques and Exercises for Living - by Rotimi Akinsete
Developed in partnership with Mind, the mental health charity,?This Book Could Help?is filled with straightforward expert advice and simple techniques to help you shake off what other people say you ought to be, prioritize yourself, meet challenges and develop new strengths, in areas such as dealing with stress, motivation, work and life goals. We all deserve to live fully and respect our struggles, so start here and back yourself every day.
The anxiety book for trans people: how to conquer your dysphoria, worry less and find joy - by Freiya Benson
A toolkit for managing anxiety as a trans and/or non-binary person. Exploring specific triggers such as coming out, gender dysphoria, voice anxiety, transphobia, validity, passing and gender expectations, this guide will help you to identify and understand your triggers and anxiety, and build the resilience you need to handle life's challenges.
With advice and personal stories from a range of trans people, this book highlights the importance of self-care and being proud of who you are and highlights how trans people can flourish both individually and as a community when their anxiety is no longer in charge.
Loving Ourselves: The Gay and Lesbian Guide to Self-Esteem - by Kimeron N. Hardin
First published in 1999, this thoroughly revised and updated edition now presents the issues and concerns relating to self-esteem in the LGBT world to a new generation of men and women. This compassionate guide delves into the unique problems of self-esteem in the gay community, and how understanding your own self-worth can allow you to function better in this complex world. With advice for every demographic, this is the most comprehensive book for building a better you.
?Blaze Your Own Trail: An Interactive Guide to Navigating Life with Confidence, Solidarity and Compassion - by Rebekah Bastian?
A modern, feminist take on the classic choose-your-own-journey book, inspiring readers to embrace the fact that there is no singular right path - just your own!
As well as the usual charities and NHS guides etc, I'd like to point people towards the following orgs and resources:
For more reading lists about supporting mental well-being please check out Reading Well Books on Prescription
Black Minds Matter is a charitable organisation connecting Black individuals and families with free mental health services- by professional Black therapists to support their mental health, resources and self-referral
Hell Yeah Self Care by Meg-John Barker - This zine is all about why self-care is important in difficult times, what kinds of self-care there are, and how you might build them into your life. Different things work for different people so it’s all about figuring out what works best for you.