The mental health of students has been under pressure for years. Recent studies by RIVM and Trimbos, among others, show that these problems continue to increase. Brabant educational institutions Fontys and Avans engaged student psychologists. They see every day how complicated the problems are, but also what education can mean.
At Fontys Tilburg, student support worker Lieve Derache receives students who get stuck. She has been keeping track of what she encounters since 2008. “In recent years, stress, anxiety and perfectionism have increased,” she says. She works with students on ways to reduce stress and deal with pressure and worries.
Student psychologist: new and busy
According to Derache, it is difficult to say whether students used to have fewer complaints than now, or whether they were less likely to report them. “It is clear that society has become faster and more demanding than our stress system can handle.”
They see the same development at Avans in Breda and Den Bosch. Student support coordinator Amber Titulaer and student psychologist Sarah Gevers notice that more and more students are seeking help. Students can be referred through study career counselors and find accessible help there. “It’s good that students can come here for help. We can often help them well, otherwise we refer them,” says Titulaer.
Why are young people doing worse?
The RIVM researchers find this a difficult question. The student psychologists at Fontys and Avans see personal, social and social causes. “Students have countless things to do: living on their own for the first time, studying, part-time jobs, friendships, relationships,” says Gevers. That is not necessarily new, but it is more intensive. “Society is more performance-oriented. Students not only have to keep their balls up, they also have to do it (themselves) perfectly.”
According to Titulaer and Derache, you cannot separate individual struggles from social developments. “The world is changing very quickly and the existence and future is uncertain for students: it is not clear whether people will find a home or be able to make ends meet after their studies.”
Moreover, today’s young people grow up in an environment where information and expectations are constantly flowing in. “Everyone compares with others and it helps almost no one,” says Derache. “Young people are especially susceptible to it and social media only reinforces it. This makes it seem as if others have everything in order and that increases the pressure to perform or gloomy, negative feelings towards yourself. This is disastrous for your mental health.” The corona period also plays a role. Many young people have less experience with social contact and setting boundaries.
What can education do about this?
Some of the complaints are due to performance pressure from the study. Institutions are already trying to reduce this, for example by scrapping the binding study advice. However, most causes are social. And the world is not going to calm down anytime soon, so to what extent does education have a responsibility in improving mental health?
Titulaer thinks that role is clear: “We train professionals who contribute to society after their studies. Personal development is part of that professionalism. So it is certainly up to us to teach students who get stuck how to deal with stress and develop resilience.”
But those possibilities and that responsibility do have a limit, say the three student support staff. “We are not a healthcare institution,” says Gevers. “We help students with stress and minor psychological complaints, but for more serious problems we refer them to a GP or psychologist.” Avans has good contacts with general practices in Breda and Den Bosch and also with Novadic Kentron, for students with financial problems.
Students also have a responsibility themselves, Titulaer emphasizes. Not to put extra pressure, but because it is important that young people learn to deal with uncertainty. “Education can provide support and direction, but it must also guard its own boundaries.”