Statistics revolving around students’ mental health at the University of Birmingham have been released – with some alarming revelations being made. In the 2016/17 academic year – over 1,000 students at the University used the institution’s counselling services. With around 34,000 students at the University, this equates to around 3% of all students at the University accessing help. As will be discussed, this figure has risen over the course of the past few years. Read on for the full story.
As alluded to the introduction, 1,012 students at the University of Birmingham accessed counselling services in the 2016/17 academic year. This had risen from 763 in 2015/16 – a marked difference. The 2016/17 totals were the second highest in history – only behind the 2011/12 total of 1,028. Compared to statistics from the past few years, the numbers have consistently risen. Anxiety and depression were the leading causes for requiring counselling – with the two problems accounting for 44% of all cases.
The University of Birmingham has witnessed a surge in students requesting help with mental health problems in the last few years. Yet this isn’t something purely limited to Birmingham – with other Universities reporting similar statistics. These are difficult times to be a student – with uncertainty over the future, higher tuition fees than ever before and with the job market being at an unprecedented level of competitiveness. There is a pressure like never before on students to succeed – which can lead to these mental health problems developing.
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In some positive news, the percentage of students needing help at the University of Birmingham is much smaller than other Universities. But these revelations can be seen in a positive light – such as that it appears the stigma around mental health is disappearing – leading to more people to request help. The only concern is that many students suffer in silence. Not every student suffering from ill health uses counselling services – which should be remembered when considering these statistics.
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This is certainly a tough time to be a student. However it is encouraging to see that more people are coming forward with their mental health concerns – and that the stigma finally appears to be going away. While Universities all around the United Kingdom need to improve their current provisions for mental health, it appears that some positive steps have been taken in recent months in the battle against mental health problems. Hopefully this trend will continue. Remember you can anonymously contact the Samaritans on 116 123 – should you ever need.
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