Supporting international students through mental health difficulties

 Download the guide here

 With few support networks, language barriers and pressure from home, international students face many challenges. Creating an environment where these students feel supported is critical to helping them should they develop any mental health issues. The challenge for many international education providers is knowing how to do this.

To better help colleges support these students, English Australia has released a Guide to Best Practice in International Student Mental Health. Jam packed with case studies and best practice examples, the Guide can help colleges with everything from working with students who are under 18 to understanding confidentiality.

‘There aren’t a lot of resources that focus on the unique situation of international students,’ said English Australia’s CEO, Brett Blacker, ‘so we wanted to create something for colleges that helps them build a supportive environment for these students.’

English Australia consulted extensively with the English language teaching sector to create the Guide. Our overarching committee consisted of 20 people who work with students experiencing mental health issues. Dr Jim Elliott, a leading Counselling Psychologist and a past president of the Australia and New Zealand Student Services Association, wrote the Guide based on the committee’s input. Dr Elliott’s booklet, Treading Water While the Sharks are Circling, has sold over 100,000 copies throughout Australia.

‘I’ve seen firsthand the impact mental illness presents in international students,’ said Dr Elliott, ‘and I’ve seen many colleges struggle with managing student mental health issues. I hope this Guide makes things a little bit easier for our higher education providers and their international students.’

To create the Guide, English Australia surveyed over 90 English language colleges to identify the mental health issues both students and colleges face. Anxiety, depression, extreme worry and grief-related stress were the four most common. Others were also prevalent including internet gaming disorder and insomnia.

Suicide was also an issue with around 40 per cent of colleges reporting talking to a student who had thought of killing them self. ‘The reality is that suicide happens,’ said Brett Blacker, ‘we saw one international student take their own life in March in Canberra and this is one too many. If our guide can help just one college support a student with mental illness then I believe that we’ll have succeeded.’

Download the guide here