Abstract
Current dialogues in the Higher Education sector highlight a range of tensions and uncertainties about university responses to student mental health that potentially contribute to a lack of clarity about the role of Student Services and institutions. These dialogues suggest that there is a need for theory which can seek to answer the following four central questions:
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What role should universities and Student Services play in relation to student mental health and well-being?
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What balance of proactive and reactive responses should universities adopt?
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If institutions are to adopt a “whole university approach,” what should the role of Student Services be within this approach?
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How closely positioned should Student Services be to core university missions and the academic universe?
This chapter explores these issues and proposes a conceptual model for Student Services’ responses to well-being and learning, arguing for the adoption of a research, practice, and teaching model to ensure better collaboration between academic and professional staff and closer integration of well-being and learning. Using practical examples and clinical evidence, it argues that well-being services should be based on developmental rather than deficiency-based models of practice and that well-being interventions should include support for academic learning.
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Hughes, G. (2021). The Challenge of Student Mental Well-Being: Reconnecting Students Services with the Academic Universe. In: Padró, F.F., Kek, M., Huijser, H. (eds) Student Support Services. University Development and Administration. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3364-4_6-1
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The Challenge of Student Mental Well-Being: Reconnecting Students Services with the Academic Universe- Published:
- 06 August 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3364-4_6-2
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The Challenge of Student Mental Well-Being: Reconnecting Students Services with the Academic Universe- Published:
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3364-4_6-1