Many campus communities want to address mental health with a public health approach that incorporates a range of resources, practices, and policies to promote well-being among all of their students. But it’s not always clear which strategies are most effective.
I, along with Dr. Sarah Ketchen Lipson, and Dr. Daniel Eisenberg, conducted a comprehensive review, titled “Mental Health in College Populations: A Multidisciplinary Review of What Works, Evidence Gaps, and Paths Forward,” that gathered information from studies evaluating the effectiveness of campus interventions found in a wide range of academic fields and journals.
Lipson, Eisenberg, and I summarize our findings in this American Council on Education (ACE) brief, presenting key takeaways and highlighting recommendations to help higher education leaders make evidence-based investments in student mental health.
Because so many joined the coinciding webinar on What Works for Improving Mental Health in Higher Education, we co-hosted another webinar with The Healthy Minds Network—and moderated by ACE’s Dr. Hollie Chesman—to dive into the questions so many raised about specifics and examples within program categories, implementation, working with administrators and policymakers to encourage an evidence-based approach, the role of funders, and more.
In partnership with Drs. Eisenberg and Lipson, we’ll be making ongoing efforts in the coming year to connect you to tools and resources for understanding what works for advancing mental health in higher education. Stay tuned for a guide on digital interventions for promoting mental health that we will be releasing in early 2024, with support from the Ruderman Family Foundation.
Until then, below are some resources and learning tools mentioned during the webinars. As always, we’re interested in hearing from you: are there any resources that you have found especially helpful for understanding the evidence related to student mental health interventions and strategies? Let us know!
Inside Higher Ed - Report: Campus mental health services and their effectiveness
Baik, C., Larcombe, W., Brooker, A. (2019). "How universities can enhance student mental wellbeing: the student perspective" (Routledge Taylor & Francis Group).
Free Advance HE toolkit on embedding student mental health in the curriculum