Utlilising population-level mental health services within your institution to create alignment with the University Mental Health Charter.
On 24, April 2024 we took an exclusive first look exploring how digital peer support, a population-level service, meets the criteria for the Charter’s four core principles: learn, support, work, live. Panellists from King’s College London and the University of Sheffield – who are both members of the Charter and utilise digital peer support as a population-level strategy – shared their experiences, strategies, and insights in pursuing the UMHC and whole university approach.
It’s well-known that university student mental health is a top concern for institutions across the UK. In our current climate, counselling must be paired with complementary supports and services to meet the growing demand for resources. Today, there are a myriad of options in addition to traditional counselling that institutions can employ to expand the reach of existing services. Some of these options include population-level services, like digital peer support, which are scalable to a given community. They provide support for the entire population, rather than just a few members, helping achieve a whole university approach.
If your institution is working towards joining the University Mental Health Charter (UMHC), adopting digital peer support as a population-level service can be a critical tool in aiding you support students, staff, and community members, while also helping you to align with the core pillars of the Charter.
