More professional help needed for mental health, universities told

A University of Oxford student has called for less reliance on peer support in managing student mental health.

Nancy Tucker, an undergraduate student who has written a book about mental illness among young women, said student welfare representatives should not be expected to support their peers experiencing serious mental health problems. Tucker was speaking in London on 14 March at a conference on student mental health organised by the vice-chancellors’ group Universities UK.

“Of course, there is a place for peer support in the management of student health, and many student-led support services are both well-run and well-used. But it is not constructive and not appropriate to expect well-meaning but unqualified young people to take responsibility for the wellbeing of peers with serious mental health conditions,” she said.