What barriers do students face in accessing counselling?

Students can face barriers in getting the support they need for several reasons. “The stress of adjusting to a new culture and a new educational system can make students particularly vulnerable, and they may come with varying experiences and views on mental health services,” says Kevin G. Shollenberger, vice-provost for student health and well-being at Johns Hopkins University. “Some may be less likely to reach out for needed support due to cultural stigma,” he adds.

“There may be a fear that mental health support may not be relatable or adapted to your community or experience.

“If there is a lack of relatability, students can feel disconnected from the person supporting them, which can inhibit improvements in mental health. Talking about mental health and such topics is also hard to do in a second language, which can add an extra barrier to accessing effective care,” he continues.

How to prevent burnout at tertiary

What is burnout and how can you avoid it? Psychologist and mental health adviser Gareth Furber shares his top tips for dealing with burnout at tertiary.

The term “burnout” was coined in 1974 by the psychoanalyst Herbert Freudenberger and Christina Maslach, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.

Burnout is a combination of constant stress and exhaustion, leading you to feel disconnected and unable to do your work. It is more than feeling tired out after a hectic day or a busy week. Instead, burnout describes the psychological result of working beyond your means for an extensive period of time.

If you do experience burnout as a student, it’s easy to fall into a vicious cycle of feeling too stressed to work and therefore avoiding work, meaning you quickly fall even further behind. The ongoing stress of burnout can be a risk to your long-term mental health as well as your short-term happiness, so it is important to take it seriously.

• 1. If you need to rest, rest

  If you are experiencing feelings of burnout, the first thing to ask yourself is whether you’re sleeping enough. An unhealthy sleep cycle will only worsen the stress you’re experiencing and prevent you from recovering properly.

  
  2. Scale back your workload where possible

  Burnout is a sign that the way you are currently living your life is not sustainable. Because of this, easing the problem often requires a significant re-evaluation of how much work you are taking on and how you are structuring your time.

  
  3. Consider any underlying causes

  Beyond time management issues and having too many things to do, burnout can often be an indication of a deeper underlying problem.

  Burnout may well reflect some distorted views about what constitutes success, how well you should perform, how people value your contributions and what others expect of you.

  
  4. Don’t hold yourself up to your pre-pandemic productivity levels

  The disruption and uncertainty caused by Covid-19 has made everyone more vulnerable to burnout. You may feel disappointed in yourself if you find that you’re unable to keep up with the amount of work you used to be able to achieve before the pandemic.

  You may find that you’re trying to compensate for the uncertainty caused by Covid-19 by overworking to feel a sense of control, which can lead to feeling overwhelmed.