Many articles highlight an increasing prevalence of mental health issues in higher education. Often primarily focused on the student body,1,2 the “other side,” i.e., the role of faculty is often overlooked.1,3 This is surprising, considering the importance of faculty’s ability to recognize and guide and/or help students in distress, i.e., their mental health literacy, which is of significance for all stakeholders in an academic environment.4 Mental health literacy refers to the ‘knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders which aid their recognition, management or prevention.’5 Increasing knowledge on mental health-related topics may increase readiness to disclose mental disorders, help identify psychological problems, and produce an atmosphere where students (and faculty) feel confident in both discussing their needs and seek help and/or treatment.6–10
STEM majors also stand out particularly low levels of mental health literacy.6,19–21 Furthermore, compared to other majors,11,12 (1) STEM advisor/advisee relationships are worse,13 (2) an especially high mental health risk exists for students,14–16 (3) graduate students are less likely to seek help,17 and (4) burnout amongst STEM faculty is particularly high.18 Low levels of literacy (1) have been correlated with low awareness of the benefits of mental health resources,22 (2) prevent students from seeking counseling services,19,23 (3) may lead to isolation or negative coping behaviors,9(4) limit knowledge amongst faculty on how to support themselves and/or their students,24,25 and (5) negatively impact awareness that mental illness can qualify faculty for disability accommodations.26 These studies inherently connect knowledge on mental health with mental well-being in the academic setting. 40% of faculty felt that their institution did not have sufficient resources and 31% reported that students did not have sufficient access.27 For students, the importance of faculty mental health literacy cannot be overstated: “one of the most important steps advisors can take to make graduate students feel comfortable revealing their depression is to indicate an understanding of mental health.”28 A better advisor/advisee relationship increases the likelihood of students to seek out counseling services,29,30 yet 58% of faculty do not feel adequately prepared to recognize signs of mental distress.31 31% of faculty never received training related to student well-being.27 Advisors may recognize acute mental crises, but are less aware of subtle manifestations of emotional distress, especially if these are impacted by cultural differences.32 As a result, mental health literacy is inherently linked to effective diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. Unfortunately, advisors are still often viewed as a last resort for students in distress when it comes to disclosing their need for help.33 In conclusion, research suggests an unhealthy synergy of limited faculty knowledge on mental health, lack of confidence in their interaction with students (and peers) in distress, and stigmatization that leads to unnecessary, yet persisting struggles in academia.
References
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