#  Mental Health Among UK Undergraduates 

 





A dramatic video underscoring the need for a robust, accessible suicide prevention strategy to support students in the United Kingdom.



 

December 05, 2019

 

 

My video addresses the problem of lack of support and inaccessible health services for students suffering from mental illness at universities in the United Kingdom. Only 28% of students reported being aware of mental health support available to them at their higher education institution in in 2017. The purpose of the video is to garner support for a legislative change that requires all higher education institutions to have a strategic and explicit mental health support system in place, since it was reported that only 29% of universities in the United Kingdom had an explicit mental health and wellbeing strategy. The video is designed to raise awareness of the importance of proactively reaching out, either in an institutional capacity as a university, or in a personal capacity as a friend or family member, to an individual who might have a mental health problem, rather than waiting for the individual to seek help.

## Artist

Miranda Sadler (2019)



 

## Artist Lens

I selected the medium of video because this allowed me to use narrative and the development of a character in order to create a more engaging story for viewers. The first part of the video shows a girl who has a seemingly normal albeit slightly lonely existence at university and is leaving a voice message for her mother. Increasingly, there are clues of the girls’ depressive symptoms.

I chose to use shock as a strategy at the end when the visuals transition to show the girl’s mother calling her back while, lying next to the phone, the girl has clearly attempted to commit suicide. I chose to include this element because I think it makes the video more provocative by drawing attention to the potentially serious consequences of mental illness. The girl has clearly been insufficiently supported by the university and the inadequacy of relying upon family members who are far away for support is elicited. The video therefore draws attention to how individual students can slip through the cracks if there is not a robust, accessible, and outreaching mental health strategy in place at universities.



 

## Media

Video

[Download Mental Health Among UK Undergraduates PDF](/file_url/762)



 

 

 



 

 See also:- [ Mental Health/Addiction ](/topics/mental-health-addiction)
- [ Video ](/type/video)
 
 

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