university support program

Tertiary students experience poorer mental health than the general population (Productivity Commission, 2019). Being a student is associated with stressors that can affect mental health, including academic demands, living away from home and support networks, and financial stresses. International students may also face language and cultural challenges. Therefore, it’s important that we build the capacity of staff to better support their students’ mental health and wellbeing.

What is the University Support Program?  

The University Support Program provides training and education opportunities to Australian universities to build their capacity and confidence to engage in conversations about mental health and wellbeing.

We work with a three-stage approach: 

1. Planning
   • Preparing the community through training and education, consultations and implementation of frameworks so that in the event of exposure to suicide, you are in the best place to respond appropriately. 
   • We use a conversational approach to help you: 
     
     • Notice what is happening for a student or colleague,
     • Inquire about what you have noticed and,
     • Provide appropriate support in the context of your role within the university.
       (See the Real Talk resource for a detailed explanation) 
       
       
2. Response
   • Support and guidance to implement the steps outlined in the Responding to suicide: a toolkit to support Australian Universities following exposure to a suicide. Including support to manage media and recovery action planning and critical incident review and support as required. 
     
     
3. Recovery
   • Following a critical incident, we can provide further training and education on the Responding to suicide toolkit, as well as consultation and review of the university suicide prevention and postvention policy and frameworks. 
     
     

Training and education sessions (see workshops below) are available either online or in-person; they are interactive, strengths-based, and evidence-informed, and can also be modified to align with existing mental health and wellbeing initiatives at your university.

headspace can also work with you to develop and strengthen mental health and wellbeing frameworks, including a tailored approach to responding to a suicide that impacts your university community.

What are the service offerings available to universities?

1. Postvention Response & Support
   A dedicated team are available to assist in responding to a death by suicide. We can support the development of a postvention plan, as well as assist in response and recovery activities. 
   
   
2. Policy & Framework Review
   Develop existing policies and frameworks to help embed a whole of university approach to mental health and suicide postvention at your university.
   
   
3. Executive briefing
   A 30-minute session aimed at the executive level university staff to highlight the importance of a whole of university approach to suicide postvention and how headspace can support your university. Please contact us to arrange a briefing session. 

How can my university benefit from this program? 

• Staff may feel more confident and skilled to engage in conversations about mental health and wellbeing particularly when they are concerned about a student, or colleague,

• Feel better equipped to respond to the suicide of a student that promotes help-seeking and reduces risk for the community,

• Strengthen the mental health support available to students by increasing awareness of the referral pathways to appropriate Local, State and National support services. 

For more information about how headspace can support your university: 

Contact us today