Nearly 90% of students engage in self-harm
The Faculty of Psychology at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City, published a study on mental health in 2023. The survey of 465 students showed that 77.4% showed signs of psychological distress and 89.67% had performed at least one self-harming behavior such as pulling/yanking/pulling hair, hitting/banging their own head or biting themselves. Most self-harming behaviors were aimed at reducing feelings of emptiness or numbness.
This study shows that students are experiencing stress and crisis in their studies and lives. Many students reported that their friends or themselves had mental health problems, had negative thoughts or words.
Counseling and mental health care room at Dormitory B, Ho Chi Minh City National University
For example, HT (a student studying in Ho Chi Minh City) had a period of time when he was under too much pressure and stress, and he repeatedly cut himself with a box cutter to relieve his emotions.
Or as TD (student of International University - Ho Chi Minh City National University) recounted, a friend of the male student, currently a 4th year student, suffered from severe stress leading to depression, had foolish intentions, and had to visit a mental hospital many times to receive advice and treatment from a doctor.
Faced with the above situation, HN (a student at Ho Chi Minh City University of Education) shared that the school should widely communicate to encourage students to go to the psychological counseling room when facing difficulties. "In addition, the school needs to create a comfortable environment to help students feel safer when sharing their problems," TD (student of International University - Ho Chi Minh City National University) shared.
Minh Thu (3rd year student, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City) said that the school has just inaugurated the Center for Behavioral Science Research (CBSR), proving that the interest in mental health is being strengthened and she is looking forward to activities to raise awareness about mental health in the future.
A talk show that creates an opportunity to untangle students' psychological knots within the framework of the "SIT TO TAKE A SIP" student mental health care program for Foreign Language Faculty students organized by the Foreign Language Faculty of Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics (UEH).
UEH FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
Measures of universities
Responding to Thanh Nien Newspaper, Master's and PhD student Nhan Thi Lac An, lecturer of the Department of Psychology, expert at the Counseling and Psychotherapy Department of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City, said that community mental health is an alarming issue, in which students are one of the most vulnerable groups to mental health problems. According to Ms. An, lack of understanding about mental health, lack of stress relief skills, and lack of support resources are the reasons why mental health problems among students become serious.
"Therefore, it is necessary to raise awareness about mental health and propose solutions to alleviate psychological distress and prevent self-harming behavior among students," said Ms. An.
Master Lac An shared that at the school, the implementation of mental health support services for students has been carried out in recent years, such as the psychological counseling model of the Faculty of Social Work or the counseling and psychotherapy room of the Faculty of Psychology. In 2022, the school established the Center for Mental Health Research and Support to implement programs, projects, and research in the field of mental health aimed at students of the Ho Chi Minh City National University Dormitory.
Counseling and mental health care room at Dormitory B, Ho Chi Minh City National University
"During the first weeks of the year, new students are taught skills to cope with stress and crises in life, but only 2.5 hours online is not enough. Therefore, the project "Mental health support" for supported majors at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City was born based on the fact that an in-depth project needs to be implemented in a direct face-to-face format to support students," Ms. An informed.
According to Ms. An, the above project is implemented according to a multi-layered school psychological support model including activities: seminars to improve understanding and support mental health; screening for mental health problems of students; training in life skills to prevent depression for groups of students; individual or group psychological counseling; a handbook to raise awareness about mental health for students...
Finally, Master Nhan Thi Lac An advises that when facing mental health problems, students should seek professional support from counseling offices and university advisors for help.
At the 7th international conference on school psychology at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City on December 29, 2023, Master Nguyen Thi Phuong (lecturer at the University of Foreign Languages, Vietnam National University, Hanoi) shared that in order to develop a positive spiritual life for students, the school has a number of subjects such as creative thinking and entrepreneurship, successful learning skills at university level...
In addition, the school also organized seminars on mental health for students or some experiential activities on the International Day of Happiness (March 20). According to Master Phuong, the results showed that students can manage their emotions and evaluate themselves better through participating in seminars. Through consulting activities, Master Phuong said that common problems students encounter are first-year students worrying about adapting to the university environment, and third- and fourth-year students worrying about their future orientation.
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