International Students’ Mental Health: How we can help

Mental Health Awareness Month is coming to a close. As we wrap up the month, we here at LewerMark want to make sure our students and schools know that we’re here to support them. We hope this blog proves to be a helpful tool for advisors working to guide and aid their students. Please also check out our blog about processing grief here.

 

According to a recent Chegg survey, 56% of undergraduate students around the world say their mental health has suffered due to Covid-19. This likely comes as no surprise to school administrators, considering the stress of the last two semesters. But what may cause some surprise—and concern—is a recent University of Hong Kong survey that indicated a whopping 84% of international students reported moderate to high levels of stress. In addition, students who stayed in the host country experienced significantly higher levels of stress than those who went home.

This can be a difficult issue for schools to tackle. Many cultures around the world still stigmatize depression and anxiety, which will cause many students to suffer in silence rather than seek help. Even those students who do want help often don’t know where to turn, since international students are usually less aware of available services and support.

It is up to schools to support their international students who are more susceptible to mental health issues, perhaps now more than ever. Schools and advisors can care for their students by watching for signs of mental health distress, bridging the gap between students and mental health services, and communicating clearly as the pandemic drags on.

 

Watch for Signs

Justin Chen, the co-founder of Massachusetts General Hospital’s Center for Cross-Cultural Student Emotional Wellness and an assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard University, spoke at a recent NAFSA conference and described signs that can indicate a student is struggling. Those signs include:

• A deterioration in personal hygiene or dress
• Dramatic weight loss or gain
• Noticeable changes in mood
• Excessive absences
• Academic problems
• Social isolation
• Unusual behaviors
• Drug and alcohol abuse
• Threats of harm to themselves or others

 

Bridge the Gap

If a student is showing signs of a mental health struggle, advisors can bridge the gap between the student and the services they need. Sometimes students just need someone to talk to and care about how they’re doing. Other times, students may need help finding a trained counselor and making the call. Advisors can provide a referral or, if resources exist, can direct the student to a counselor who comes from a similar cultural background or who speaks their native language. In bridging the gap, advisors may also need to break down preconceptions and stigmas and assure students that their counseling is confidential and won’t affect their transcript or visa status.

 

Communicate Clearly in Crisis

In the first months of the pandemic, international students were particularly stressed by the ever-changing news and sometimes contradictory messages they received. They were far from home in the middle of a pandemic, working to overcome language barriers, and trying to navigate difficult questions like whether or not they should travel back home and whether or not they would be allowed to continue or complete their degree programs. In addition, there were questions about visa status, graduate and OPT work, and financial support for non-citizens. For some students, these are questions that haven’t been fully answered yet.

So, while vaccines are providing a great deal of hope for the return to normalcy, crisis communications are still ongoing and must be done purposefully. Communication expert Paul Argenti spoke to Harvard Business Review and recommends creating and maintaining a stable team of five to seven people, including representatives from the leadership team, corporate communications, HR, and a medical expert. This team should:

1. Meet regularly to monitor the situation.
2. Be the main source of information about the crisis.
3. Give regular updates.
4. Be as transparent as possible. Explain what they know, what they don’t know, and provide their sources of information.
5. Be succinct.

The goal is to communicate with students, especially the international student body, in a way that is calm, proactive, knowledgeable, and transparent. This kind of communication lessens mental stress and tells students where to go for help in a crisis.

 

Key Takeaway

COVID-19 has caused everyone a lot of stress and has hit international students especially hard. Schools can care for their students’ mental health by watching for signs, bridging the gap between international students and the services they need, and communicating clearly as the crisis continues. Contact LewerMark to learn how our unique partnership with LifeWorks and their cutting-edge mental health support system, My SSP (Student Support Program) can help you support your students.

 

Please note, effective May 14, 2021, Morneau Shepell Inc., a leading provider of technology-enabled total wellbeing solutions, has rebranded to LifeWorks Inc.  The rebrand initiates a new chapter for the company and supports the organization’s commitment to delivering a continuum of care that improves lives on a global scale.  Combining technology and talent, LifeWorks provides personalized, digital health solutions that feature the level of support students need, when and how they need it.  The LifeWorks name was selected following an in-depth name evaluation process and extensive market research with clients and prospects in Canada, United States, United Kingdom and Australia to unify the company under one brand, while continuing to be the same trusted partner they have always been.  My SSP (Student Support Program) by LifeWorks provides 24/7 access to mental health and wellbeing support for both domestic and international post-secondary students through app-based technology.  Students may access live counseling support for short-term needs through telephone or text chat (app or web), or they may elect to schedule counseling support over one or more sessions.  My SSP provides guaranteed access to counseling support in English, French, Spanish, Mandarin and Cantonese 24/7, plus students may request many other languages for support for scheduled sessions.  Students may also request lived-experience counselor matching should they wish to be paired with a counselor or a certain faith, gender, religion, ethnicity…etc.  For more information on My SSP, please visit https://myssp.app.