Lightning Talks: Beyond Buzzwords
Lucy Robinson, Yarong Xie & Sarah Thwaites - Equity of access to counselling for racially and ethnically minoritised home UK students
Factors such as social transitions, financial constraints, academic pressures and loneliness present wellbeing threats to young people transitioning into Higher Education. Students from racially and ethnically minoritised (REM) backgrounds face additional factors that threaten mental health and wellbeing, including persistent inequalities in admissions, attainment, mental health and wellbeing support, social and financial capital, limited representation of REM communities in higher education institutions and alienation and experiences of racial discrimination. Whilst universities provide a range of wellbeing support options to mitigate the effects of environmental stressors on wellbeing, it is unclear whether access to these services is equitable for students from REM backgrounds. This investigation aims to examine the ratio of home UK REM students accessing student mental health and wellbeing (SMHW) services (specifically counselling services), by comparing institutional data on student registrations and counselling service use across three higher education institutions in the northeast of England. Taking data from more than 60,000 students across three academic years, the results have important implications for evaluating and increasing diversity and inclusiveness in SMHW across campuses.
Louise McBride, James Sweeney, Margaret McLafferty, Elain Murray & John Campbell-O’Brien - Adapting a developed and evaluated wellbeing programme for students with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder using Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service users.
The college years can be difficult, with many students struggling with mental health and wellbeing. It is particularly challenging for students living with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The Irish Student Wellbeing and ADHD Project (ISWAP) was a government funded developed, delivered and evaluated positive novel wellbeing and mental health literacy programme for students living with ADHD. The research team asserted that the wellbeing interventions should be adapted to suit other vulnerable cohorts in promoting a positive mental health and wellbeing outputs including prior to college trajectory. A collaboration with a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) was initiated in Autumn 2025. CAMHS is a service that provides assessment/treatment for young people (and families) experiencing mental health difficulties, treatment and care to young people up to 18 years of age. Mental Health Difficulties’ include conditions like depression, anxiety, eating disorders, psychoses and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. This presentation aligns with the UniSMart theme ‘Beyond Buzzwords: Inclusivity and Intersectionality in Practice: Moving from rhetoric to action in dismantling systemic barriers and embedding inclusive practice. This presentation will share this clinical/ research collaborative initiative’s implementation and evaluation as an effective, cost effective novel approach to support service users of CAMHS with ADHD.
Michael Priestly & Amy Knight - CALM: Collaborative and Active Learning for Mental Health
Current research consistently identifies increasing and unequal levels of loneliness across the UK university student population, leading to poorer mental health, academic performance, attendance, and retention. In response, policy and practice guidance has advocated for collaborative pedagogies, defined as learning activities that promote working together in small groups. However, there remains limited evidence on how prospective undergraduate students perceive such approaches, particularly international students and in the context of higher rates of social anxiety following the Covid-19 pandemic. Misalignment between students’ and staff’s pedagogical expectations can generate considerable emotional and cognitive labour, undermining learning and wellbeing.
This contribution presents findings from a rapid systematic scoping review, a cross-sectional survey (approximately 250 respondents), and eight focus groups (approximately 40 participants) exploring prospective undergraduate students’ perspectives on accessible, acceptable, and effective collaborative pedagogical approaches in contemporary UK higher education. Taken together, the findings will help inform the development of inclusive, evidence-based teaching practices that enhance learning, social connection, and wellbeing.
Rachel Thomas - A Mixed-Methods Exploration of the Utilisation of Embedded University Wellbeing Services by Ethnic Minority Students in London
The study aimed to explore the incidence and severity of mental health difficulties and the utilisation of embedded university health services by ethnically diverse students at University of London institutions. In addition to understand the barriers to initially accessing support and then attending counselling sessions. Despite persistent inequalities, embedded university wellbeing services remain under researched for ethnic minority students in the UK. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods approach was employed, combining data from 203 ethnically diverse students at University of London institutions with data from open-text and semi-structured interviews. A mixed-methods design was critical in capturing both the absence of broad group differences and the specific barriers shaping ethnic minority student experiences. Results showed few ethnic differences in distress, help-seeking, or dropout. However, ethnic minority students reported greater in-group stigma and cultural barriers, which were negatively associated with help-seeking. Qualitative themes further illustrated the importance of the therapeutic relationship, concerns about privacy, perceptions of undeservingness, and time constraints. Findings highlight the importance of culturally responsive approaches to embedded university wellbeing services in higher education. Targeted outreach, ethnic matching of therapists, and a more diverse counselling workforce may improve engagement and reduce inequalities.
Sarah Kuburi - Who Knows Where to Find Mental Health Help on Campus? Predictors of Knowledge for Accessing Campus-Based Services Among Post-Secondary Students at a Large Urban University
Mental health challenges are increasing among post-secondary students, yet few use campus-based services. Understanding barriers to service use, including knowledge of where to access help, is needed, as knowing where to go precedes seeking support. This study uses data from the Canadian Campus Wellbeing Survey, including 5,578 students at a university with established mental health services. Demographic factors (e.g., gender), situational factors (e.g., on-campus residency), personal attitudes (e.g., openness to professional help), and need-based factors (e.g., psychological distress) were examined as predictors of knowledge of campus-based mental health services and compared with predictors of knowledge of off-campus services. One third of students did not know where to find on-campus services and 45% did not know where to find off-campus services (p < .001). Students who were older, Asian, international, or open to professional help were more likely to know where to access on-campus services. Students living off campus, with a disability without academic accommodations, or experiencing higher psychological distress were more likely not to know. Differences emerged between predictors of on- versus off-campus knowledge. Findings highlight factors that can be targeted to improve awareness and reduce disparities in knowledge of campus-based mental health services to better support student mental health.
Roshan Galvaan & Meghan Krenzer - Students doing Belonging work: lessons from the field
As researchers at a university in South Africa, we co-produced a student belonging practice project with occupational therapy undergraduate students for all available students in the Faculty of Health Sciences. Over the course of a year, students employed creative strategies to promote translanguaging and critical reflection on everyday life. Everyone involved was conscientized about how languaging, indigenous knowledges, and ways of doing could promote spaces for mental well-being. Engaging in alternative ways of being and doing together flowed into students' peer connections and learning interactions. Insights were captured in practice briefs to enhance the faculty’s policies and practices.
Why work matters: This practice project provided an opportunity for peer learning, translanguaging and curriculum innovation. Students involved reported feeling more at ease in embodying their professional and personal identities.
How this work relates to the conference: It demonstrates how critical reflection on positionality during the implementation process challenges exclusionary discourses. It also shows the value of small-scale projects in informing policy and shifting practices.
Key message: Creating spaces for dialogue intersected with moments where student peers experienced alternative ways of being influenced how they showed up in teaching and learning spaces.
Sophie Churchill & Liv Grosvenor - Engaging students in a whole university approach - reflections from the UMHC process
This talk would explore my role as one of KCL's student leads for the UMHC submission and how I engaged students in this process including what I did to capture their views, how I ensured multiple voices were heard, how I worked with both the university and the SU, and how we recruited the student panel for focus groups and the onsite visit, ensuring that this was genuine and inclusive engagement.
It will also explore how I was supported by the university and SU to be engaged in this process as a student lead but also more widely in my work in student mental health prior to, and alongside, the Charter, and the importance of engaging students in the whole university approach to student mental health and wellbeing at all levels.
Additional reference to theme 1as a student with lived experience of complex mental health difficulties and concurrent experience as both a student and staff member.