Mental Health in Higher Education aims to increase networking and the sharing of approaches to learning and teaching about mental health - across the disciplines in higher education. The mhhehub is a social networking site. Membership is open to educators (including service user and carer educators), practice mentors, students, practitioners, educational researchers and all with an interest in enhancing learning and teaching about mental health.

Collection of links on bundlr.

This collection on 'bundlr' draws together resources which may be of interest to those learning and teaching about mental health rights and legal issues.

Clinical psychologist and vocal critic of psychiatry Richard Bentall reveals why social inequality, racism and the built environment have a far more significant role to play in mental illness than the biomedical establishment acknowledges.

The Depression Project challenges society's view on what a mental health problem is, and to show that in fact, no-one is "normal". It is currently being used within the NHS as a training tool. It was also shown as part of the University of Birmingham's Mental Health Awareness Week.

Sanctuary tells the stories of six asylum seekers and refugees living in Glasgow, and aims to address the stigma and discrimination often experienced by asylum seekers and refugees. With Glasgow hosting increasing numbers of asylum seekers and refugees over the last few years, it was considered a priority to ensure the mental health of this social group. With stigma and discrimination often an issue, there is a reluctance for people with mental health issues to seek help within these communities. A high quality film capturing the narratives of asylum seekers and refugees. Winner of the 'Respect for Diversity' category of the Principles into Practice Awards 2011.

We call mad people lots of names. Most of them are not meant to be complimentary. But what do mad people call themselves? Do they accept labels that others stick on them? Do they apply their own labels? Why might one person choose a different label than another? This is a short documentary in which 12 Toronto activists discuss how they identify themselves. Documentaries are one of Ryerson University's online learning tools, used by instructors to spark discussion in the online student forums. This documentary is a part of unique and engaging online course called 'Mad People's History' (CDST 504), developed by Digital Education Strategies at The Chang School and David Reville, an instructor with the School of Disability Studies at Ryerson University.

Channel 4 screened Eleventh Hour's "We're not mad we're angry" in 1986. This was a unique docu-drama which took two years to make with a group of current and former psychiatric patients who held full editorial control. Many of the actors in the drama sequences had been service users; others were involved in the editing and production process. Many of the survivors interviewed were activists such as: Jan Wallcraft who became Mindlink's first co-ordinator; David Crepaz-Keay, who went on to manage Mental Health Media, then became Head of Empowerment and Social Inclusion at the Mental Health Foundation; Peter Campbell, the founder of Survivor's Speak Out'; Mike Lawson, the first survivor vice-chair of National Mind. This is the documentary in full, now available on Youtube.

Film about coping with suicidal thoughts and depression. May be of use to those involved in teaching mental health on prequalifying programmes.

TED talk by Vikram Patel. Nearly 450 million people are affected by mental illness worldwide. In wealthy nations, just half receive appropriate care, but in developing countries, close to 90 percent go untreated because psychiatrists are in such short supply. Vikram Patel outlines a highly promising approach -- training members of communities to give mental health interventions, empowering ordinary people to care for others.

This guide is intended for social work educators tasked with delivering teaching on mental health, for those teaching other areas to think how issues of mental health and distress intersect, and for course directors. Part of a series, being produced by the College of Social Work - intended as guidance, not prescription!

This film is the result of a group project done at CoolTan Arts centre - a charitable arts in mental-health organisation. The group was exploring Personalisation, a new government scheme aiming to distribute personal budget to people who suffer from disabilities, hoping to promote more self-control over one's treatment. The group explored the pros and cons of the new scheme.

Produced by the National Health Universities Project this guidance package provides:background information, evidence and links to existing guidance for universities to promote mental wellbeing; general information on mental wellbeing as well as separate sections focussing on staff and student issue; suggestions on policy/procedures development, areas for consultation, potential internal/external partners to involve.

Ten standards for adult in-patient mental health care. Useful for facilitating understanding of the in-patient environment.

This collection of Burning Issues has been compiled by the Mental Health in Higher Education project (mhhe) and the Higher Education Academy (subject centres1) Special Interest Group for Mental Health (MHSIG). It provides a snapshot of the views of educators - from across the disciplines - about key issues that they face in teaching.

The main purpose of this report is to provide an update to a previous Royal College of Psychiatrists document, Mental Health of Students in Higher Education, published in 2003. Over the past decade, the demographics of the student population have undergone many changes that are of relevance to the provision of mental healthcare. The numbers of young people in higher education have expanded and they have become more socially and culturally diverse. There have been increasing numbers of students drawn from backgrounds with historically low rates of participation in higher education and growing numbers of international students. Social changes such as the withdrawal of financial support, higher rates of family breakdown and, more recently, economic recession are all having an impact on the well-being of students and other young people.

This document reflects on key issues concerning mental health and wellbeing promotion in the context of the updated report entitled ‘The Mental Health of Students in Higher Education’ (CR166), released by the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCP) on 30th September 2011. It aims to expand on the concept of a ‘whole-university approach’ to wellbeing, some of the challenges with the implementation of the approach, and steps that can be taken. It proposes ways in which national stakeholders can establish coordination as a sector.

There is strong evidence that involving patients and service users in healthcare professionals' education has short-term benefits for all involved. Longer term, there has been little evaluation to discover whether this involvement has an effect on the behaviour or practice of health professionals or on health outcomes. This newly published Health Foundation report aims to describe the current state of active patient involvement in the education of health and social care professionals, both in the literature and in practice. It aims to highlight areas for further research and development.

Dr Ali Ajaz, a specialty trainee in forensic psychiatry, interviews consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Paul Simon Williams about his work. Royal College of Psychiatrists podcast

Royal College of Psychiatrists podcast. A patient (Alan) talks to a consultant forensic psychiatrist about his admission to a medium secure unit

The Values Exchange is a unique way to debate social issues - with great potential for use in teaching. Its mission is to promote real democracy, based on the informed, collective wisdom of whole populations. Those who developed and belong to it believe everyone has the right to be part of serious debate about the issues that matter most to us. The Exchange consists of a number of interactive screens, linked to 'cases' - designed to encourage deep reflection on values. Each respondent's responses are recorded in the Values-Exchange database. Immediately you submit, every other respondent can see your values, just as you can explore theirs. Everyone can use the Reports Wizard to investigate reports – both for single cases and across many cases and groups.

This resource sheet has been developed by the Mental Health in Higher Education project (mhhe), in conjunction with the Social Policy and Social Work Subject Centre of the Higher Education Academy (SWAP). It aims to raise awareness of the need for a focus on: developing emotional intelligence, enhancing resilience and those qualities that underpin it, and maintaining personal wellbeing for students who will become practitioners in health and social care. It outlines the rationale for highlighting these issues across the disciplines, and provides some pointers to examples of current practice and resources.

'Psychosis Revisited' is a two day workshop, based upon the British Psychological Society (BPS) report (2000): 'Recent advances in understanding mental illness and psychotic experiences'. It encourages mental health workers to take a fresh look at psychosis and psychotic experiences. Mark Hayward (academic tutor at the University of Surrey/ Clinical Psychologist) describes how he and an Occupational therapist, in conjunction with user trainers from the CAPITAL project, delivered this workshop to a Community Mental Health/Assertive Outreach team. This case study focuses in particular on one session entitled "service user perspectives". It outlines in detail how the session was planned and delivered, offering useful insights into how a safe learning environment was created, and reflects on learning gained. Discussions are ongoing that may lead to the embedding of 'Psychosis Revisited' within prequalifying training within a range of disciplines.

Tina Coldham and Steve Tee describe a piece of action research, involving pre-registration nursing students and service users in a process known as "co-operative inquiry". This model is introduced, together with some reflection on how it was used on a pre-registration nursing programme at the University of Southampton. Includes reflection on the efficacy of this approach in facilitating the meaningful involvement of service users in learning and teaching about mental health.

This template letter has been developed for use by SWAPBox members who shared the resources of others by web-linking them to their profile but would like to encourage the original author to also upload the resource file. It is envisaged that this will be particularly applicable to special interest groups within SWAPBox, who are collecting resources and materials around a particular topic. The template can be easily customised, pasted into an email or sent out in letter format.

This chapter analyses the current challenging context for educators in the area of mental health and, drawing on the work of the Mental Health in Higher Education project (mhhe), explores how learning and teaching about mental health can be enhanced through increased networking and the sharing of perspectives and ideas. Reference: Anderson, J. & Burgess, H. (2007) Educators Learning Together: linking communities of practice, ch 10 in Stickley, T. & Basset, T. (eds) Teaching and Learning about Mental Health, Chichester: Wiley

Three films produced by Framework - a housing charity based in Nottingham: 1) A Day in the Mind... a short film that depicts what a typical day is like for someone with mental health difficulties. 2) What a Difference a Day Makes... Recovery doesn't happen in a day, but a day can make a difference. This the second film made by Framework about the realities of experiencing mental health difficulties. 3) A Human Experience Made by Rethink, the film interviews three people who have used mental health services. They discuss the impact that their own personal experiences of stigma have had on their family, their friends and themselves. Other areas touched upon include changing attitudes towards mental health and the role of the media in generating and re-enforcing the public perception of mental health. Useful as triggers for discussion about stigma and mental health. Accompanied by the Changing Your Mind training pack: http://www.frameworkha.org/pages/changing_your_mind.html

Talking our language tells the story of two conversations about mental health. It explains how a mental health organisation - Touchstone - started these conversations with two linguistically distinct communities in Leeds: Urdu speakers and Cantonese speakers. Both communities came with rich cultural understandings of mental health, but many of the concepts and ideas which dominate both ‘medical’ and ‘social’ models of mental health had no clear analogue in either of these languages. This is the story of the conversations which took place and includes training materials.

This learning module - created by the Science Museum - aims to take the user through various aspects of psychiatry and the study of 'mental illness'. It looks at the treatment, diagnosis and methods used in psychiatry as well as the investigation of mental illness from a historical and socio-cultural perspective. This is done by relating the subject matter to examples found in people's day-to-day lives. Important concepts of psychology are investigated and the user is given the opportunity to test their knowledge through various activities. Some of the concepts investigated include definitions of what is normal and abnormal, concepts of the mind, the concept of mental illness in other cultures, Chemotherapy, electro-convulsive therapy and Psychosurgery. May be of use in supplementing classroom based learning.

This wiki facilitates exploration of the idea of learning to be professional in the context of undergraduate higher education designs that set out to develop professional as well as academic capability. It is one of a series of wikis established by Surrey Centre for Excellence in Professional Training and Education (SCEPTrE) to explore the theme of learning for a complex world. Although the SCEPTrE project finished in March 2011 this wiki will continue to be developed as part of the portfolio of not for profit work undertaken by Chalk Mountain.

Report on the activity of the Mental Health in Higher Education project for the year 09-10

This resource provides links to some databases of films for use in teaching and a brief bibliography on the use of cinema in teaching mental health. May be of use to those wishing to locate films for use in teaching or consider some of the challenges of using this medium well.

This site provides titles and summaries of literature on the topic of mental health. Entries are submitted by members of the network. May be of use in preparing reading lists and encouraging learners to access first person accounts and other reading which falls outside academic literature on the subject.

This bibliography has been prepared by Gail Hornstein - a professor of psychology at Mount Holyoke College in the USA. She describes it as being in four sections: '(1) personal accounts of madness written by survivors themselves; (2) narratives written by family members; (3) anthologies and critical analyses of the madness narrative genre; and (4) websites featuring oral histories and other first-person madness accounts'. It may be of value in encouraging learners to access first person accounts of mental ill health - alongside other resources such as the madness and literature network (which also provides summaries).

This module is offered as part of the Open University's OpenLearn initiative. 'Although society's attitude toward mental illness has improved, discrimination and misconceptions surrounding those affected are still prevalent. This unit explores a number of issues relating to mental health practice, including the difference between mental health and mental illness, and the discrimination that can arise when people experience some form of mental distress'. It may be of use in informing module planning, or alternatively can be directly accessed by students as a supplementary online learning opportunity.

This module is offered as part of the Open University's OpenLearn initiative. 'What do we mean by ‘wellbeing’ for young people? How is it shaped by social differences and inequalities, and how can we improve young people's mental and physical health? This unit will examine the range of factors affecting young people’s wellbeing, such as obesity, binge drinking, depression and behavioural problems'. It may be of use in informing module planning, or alternatively can be directly accessed by students as a supplementary online learning opportunity.

This module is offered as part of the Open University's OpenLearn initiative. 'Take a new and different look at mental health. This unit invites you to think differently about life's dilemmas by taking account of the views of all concerned, especially people experiencing mental distress. It explores ideas and practice in mental health, and will appeal to a wide range of people'. It may be of use in informing module planning, or alternatively can be directly accessed by students as a supplementary online learning opportunity.

Mental Health in Higher Education aims to increase networking and the sharing of approaches to learning and teaching about mental health, across the disciplines in UK higher education. It produces a bimonthly ebulletin, organises workshops and events, maintains a national database of mental health educators and provides an information and enquiry service.

This group is open to everyone with an interest in sharing approaches to learning and teaching about mental health, across all disciplines in higher education. It complements the work of the Mental Health in Higher Education project www.mhhe.heacademy.ac.uk

Links between physical and mental health are often underplayed in teaching (as in service delivery). This checklist is aimed at educators who wish to think about how physical mental health might feature in learning and teaching about mental health. It arose from a conference held in 2008. See here for further details: www.mhhe.heacademy.ac.uk/letsgetphysical

The purpose of the seminar, held in York on 8/9 April 2002, was to initiate a debate about how learning and teaching in mental health in higher education might be enhanced. The objectives were: to develop a shared understanding of different approaches to learning and teaching, to identify strengths, development needs and other drivers for change, to explore ways of improving teaching and learning within and across different disciplines, to test assumptions and explore perhaps unforeseen problems and consequences, and to consider how to take the work forward and the role the LTSN might play in this. Five or six participants were invited by each of the four LTSNs (Health Sciences and Practice; Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine; Psychology; and Social Policy and Social Work -SWAP), all of whom had a special interest in mental health issues in learning and teaching.

An increasing number of Higher Education Institutions now employ people whose remit is to recruit, train and support service users and carers to contribute to professional programmes. In turn, service user and carer involvement development worker posts need to be well constructed and supported. That is the focus of these guidelines, which it is hoped will be of use both to universities considering or planning such posts and to those with a worker already in post.

The Guide contains a general introduction to the topic and, drawing on a range of current initiatives, pointers towards good practice in relation to each of the components of effective involvement. A range of evaluation tools are offered which may be useful in charting progress and identifying the next steps to be taken.

University life can be exciting for students, but can also engender frustration and isolation. Students with mental health problems may find it difficult to ask for help - appropriate services may be lacking and/or they may fear the stigma that can result from disclosure. For students on professional programmes, the need to prove oneself as ‘fit for practice' can be the source of additional stress. The development of appropriate values and attitudes requires a focus on the self. This can be an emotional journey, especially for students who are also users of services. This section of the mhhe site provides links to guidelines and publications; some examples of institutional policies; guidance on developing an inclusive curriculum, and on fitness to practice issues; event reports and links. It also contains a link to an annotated reading list.

This page was created to support the integration into curricula of knowledge and skills relating to infant and perinatal mental wellbeing and ill-health. It was created following an mhhe workshop on learning and teaching about perinatal mental health at Staffordshire University in January 2009 - Learning and teaching about perinatal mental health: Don't let women fall through the net. You will find here: General Resources, Publications and Reports, Curriculum Frameworks and Training Materials and Details of Modules and Programmes.

This section of the Mental Health in Higher Education project website draws together publications and resources related to the role of social work in the area of mental health. This page was initially developed to support a learning and development event for mental health social workers in Lancashire in the spring of 2009. It may be of use in informing module planning, or act as a resource that students can access directly.

This is a paper included in the proceedings of the Living and Learning, Learning and Teaching: mental health in higher education conference held at Lancaster University in 2010. Influential social and recovery models form key mandates for mental health education today. These models advocate a shift from traditional notions and approaches linked to mental illness, to service users’ active empowerment and control over their lives and symptoms. This short paper questions, however, how far the emphasis of these models on autonomy takes account of service user experiences. May be of use in informing thinking when planning the content and emphasis of teaching about mental health.

This module is part of the Health Talk Online collection of resources. It focuses on people’s experiences of psychosis. Many of the people interviewed had, at some point in their lives, received a diagnosis of schizophrenia. However there were a number of people who had never received this diagnosis but who had experienced psychosis i.e. hearing or seeing things or holding unusual beliefs which other people don’t see or share. This is a collection of online interviews which is searchable in a whole range of ways (ie by age group and by theme).

At the end of the 1990s a group of interviewers from a range of backgrounds went across England and Wales to record first hand accounts from individuals who had experienced life in old mental health asylums. Their aim was to create a historical resource coming from an often ignored perspective - instead of relying on opinions of those distanced from the situation, it would give those with direct experience the power to speak for themselves. This link provides access to the video interviews that the Testimony Project carried out between 1999 and 2001. Full transcripts and extracts from the interviews are available. This resource provides a helpful insight for students in to how mental health services were provided in the past, and can be used as a trigger for discussion about what has (and has not!) changed.