New peer-support resource promotes student mental health

Vancouver Community College (VCC) students now have access to a new peer-support resource for addressing struggles with mental health.

Starting a Conversation About Mental Health: Foundational Training for Students is a free, open education resource (OER) that provides foundational mental-health and wellness information customized to the post-secondary student experience.

The Starting a Conversation resource was developed by the University of British Columbia around lived scenarios that were shared by post-secondary students, and include struggling with stress and anxiety related to finances, balancing school and child care, academic pressures, discrimination and other diverse realities. The training also incorporates Indigenous perspectives on mental health and wellness.

“I applaud the students who contributed to this resource. We must all support our own and each other’s mental health, and these students are leading by example,” says Anne Kang, B.C. Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Training.

To access the facilitator’s guide to Starting a Conversation About Mental Health: Foundational Training for Students, visit: https://opentextbc.ca/studentmentalhealth/

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