Therapaws: A partnership between students, staff, and therapy dogs on a university campus

Partnering with students in action research and asking them how and why they would like to work with staff and other students to improve campus culture and student wellbeing is the cornerstone of this case study. Investment in student mental health and wellbeing is increasingly recognised as a priority in higher education, with novel approaches such as dog therapy programs being introduced in universities around the world. This case study highlights a project where staff and students partner to co-design, co-implement, and co-investigate a mental health and wellbeing program that combines dog therapy with students-as-partners principles. The student-led dog therapy program (Therapaws) provides a practical, evidence-based example of how the principles of SaP can be employed to create an effective intervention into student mental health and wellbeing. This multi-authored case study is also an example of a collaborative writing process—a true partnership.

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The role of accommodation environments in student mental health and wellbeing

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-021-10602-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Joanne D. Worsley ◽

Paula Harrison ◽

Rhiannon Corcoran

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

First Year ◽

Student Mental Health ◽

North West ◽

Human Element ◽

Health And Wellbeing ◽

Physical Attributes ◽

Attachment To Place ◽

Pastoral Staff

Abstract Background Due to the increasing concern over student mental health and wellbeing, attention has turned to the matter of creating environments, communities, and institutions which enable students to flourish. Methods To explore the role of accommodation environments in first year student mental health and wellbeing, eight focus groups were conducted in two universities in North West England and analysed using thematic analysis. Results Three overarching themes were identified: ‘The betwixt space’; ‘Accommodations as vessels to cultivate friendships and communities’; and ‘The importance of accommodation-based pastoral staff’. As attachment to place and relationships with significant others are disrupted by the transition, this leaves young people vulnerable whilst they go through a process to re-attach to new people and a new environment, and loneliness and social isolation were keenly felt during this period. Physical attributes of place that prevent social cohesion further exacerbated feelings of loneliness. Conclusions As it is common for students to withdraw physically and psychologically when they do not form friendships within their flat, accommodation-based pastoral staff have an important role to fulfil. Although these findings demonstrate the importance of the human element within accommodation, designing places that facilitate community, a sense of we-ness, and belonging is crucial.

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Developing a whole-school mental health and wellbeing intervention through pragmatic formative process evaluation: a case-study of innovative local practice within The School Health Research network

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-020-10124-6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Nina Gobat ◽

Hannah Littlecott ◽

Andy Williams ◽

Kirsten McEwan ◽

Helen Stanton ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Process Evaluation ◽

Evidence Base ◽

Outcome Evaluation ◽

Research Network ◽

Programme Theory ◽

Student Mental Health ◽

Local Practice ◽

Health And Wellbeing ◽

Whole School

Abstract Background The evidence-base for whole school approaches aimed at improving student mental health and wellbeing remains limited. This may be due to a focus on developing and evaluating de-novo, research-led interventions, while neglecting the potential of local, contextually-relevant innovation that has demonstrated acceptability and feasibility. This study reports a novel approach to modelling and refining the programme theory of a whole-school restorative approach, alongside plans to scale up through a national educational infrastructure in order to support robust scientific evaluation. Methods A pragmatic formative process evaluation was conducted of a routinized whole-school restorative approach aimed at improving student mental health and wellbeing in Wales. Results The study reports the six phases of the pragmatic formative process evaluation. These are: 1) identification of innovative local practice; 2) scoping review of evidence-base to identify potential programme theory; outcomes; and contextual characteristics that influence implementation; 3) establishment of a Transdisciplinary Action Research (TDAR) group; 4) co-production and confirmation of an initial programme theory with stakeholders; 5) planning to optimise intervention delivery in local contexts; and 6) planning for feasibility and outcome evaluation. The phases of this model may be iterative and not necessarily sequential. Conclusions Formative, pragmatic process evaluations can support researchers, policy-makers and practitioners in developing robust scientific evidence-bases for acceptable and feasible local innovations that do not already have a clear evidence base. The case of a whole-school restorative approach provides a case example of how such an evaluation may be undertaken.

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Promoting Positive Mental Health in International Postgraduate Law Students at a Time of Global Uncertainty: A Case Study from qLegal at Queen Mary, University of London

International Journal of Public Legal Education ◽

10.19164/ijple.v4i2.1134 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

pp. 107-134

Author(s):

Emily Wapples

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Law Students ◽

Online Delivery ◽

Student Mental Health ◽

Study Approach ◽

The Uk ◽

Academic Consequences ◽

Global Uncertainty ◽

The Impact

Law student mental health and wellbeing was already a growing concern in the UK prior to COVID-19, but when the pandemic occurred, widespread uncertainty placed an unprecedented level of mental health burden on students. Law students were faced with dashed hopes, uncertain futures and the fear of negative academic consequences. This burden was exacerbated in respect of postgraduate international students in London, who were often also forced to decide whether to return home to their families, or to continue their studies abroad, albeit online. This paper uses a case study approach to discuss how one provider of postgraduate clinical legal education (CLE), approached the promotion of positive student mental health both before, and in response to, the pandemic. qLegal at Queen Mary, University of London provides CLE to postgraduates studying for a one year law masters, and in 2019-2020, qLegal delivered CLE to 134 students from 27 countries. The impact that the pandemic had on the mental health of international postgraduate law students was therefore witnessed first-hand. This paper discusses the challenges faced, and concerns raised by international postgraduate law students at qLegal as a result of the pandemic. It examines the steps taken by qLegal to maximise student engagement and promote positive student mental health when rapidly switching to a model of online delivery. The paper concludes by outlining the steps qLegal will take to monitor and address the impact that online delivery in this period of global uncertainty has on the mental health of the next cohort of postgraduate CLE students.

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Compassion and Kindness: Refiguring Discourses of Student Mental Health and Wellbeing

Palgrave Critical University Studies - Refiguring Universities in an Age of Neoliberalism ◽

10.1007/978-3-030-73371-1_6 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 131-162

Author(s):

Louise J. Lawrence

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Student Mental Health ◽

Health And Wellbeing

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Blue Notes: Using Songwriting to Improve Student Mental Health and Wellbeing. A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00423 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kate A. Gee ◽

Vanessa Hawes ◽

Nicholas Alexander Cox

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Randomised Controlled Trial ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial ◽

Student Mental Health ◽

Health And Wellbeing ◽

Randomised Controlled

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I Know God’s Got a Day 4 Me

Social Science Computer Review ◽

10.1177/0894439315613319 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 35 (2) ◽

pp. 226-243 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Desmond U. Patton ◽

Ninive Sanchez ◽

Dale Fitch ◽

Jamie Macbeth ◽

Patrick Leonard

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Social Media ◽

Gang Member ◽

Traumatic Experiences ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Health Practice ◽

Mental Health Practice ◽

Evidence Based Practices ◽

Data Source

Trauma-based interventions are common in mental health practice, and yet there is a gap in services because social media has created new ways of managing trauma. Practitioners identify treatments for traumatic experiences and are trained to implement evidence-based practices, but there is limited research that uses social media as a data source. We use a case study to explore over 400 Twitter communications of a gang member in Chicago’s Southside, Gakirah Barnes, who mourned the death of her friend on Twitter. We further explore how, following her own death, members of her Twitter network mourn her. We describe expressions of trauma that are difficult to uncover in traditional trauma-based services. We discuss practice and research implications regarding using Twitter to address trauma among gang-involved youth.

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