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Supporting PGR mental health & wellbeing Dr Fryni Panayidou Researcher Development Adviser (PGR) Benjamin Priest Counsellor, Advice and Counselling Service
Supporting PGR mental health & wellbeing
Dr Fryni Panayidou
Researcher Development Adviser (PGR)
Benjamin Priest
Counsellor, Advice and Counselling Service
1. Training workshops for PGRs
2. Support Group for PhD students
3. Training for PhD supervisors & staff supporting PGRs
4. Wellbeing campaign
Catalyst Fund project at QMUL
1. Training workshops for PGRs
2. Support Group for PhD students
3. Training for PhD supervisors & staff supporting PGRs
4. Wellbeing campaign
Catalyst Fund project at QMUL
Aim: send a clear message that the tools to manage emotional pressures are equally important for a successful PhD journey as the academic skills training.
1. Expanding the ‘Survive and Thrive’ training provision in the Researcher Development programme
Training for PGRs
Four-part training programme designed to help researchers build psychological robustness
• Beating Self-Criticism and Self-Sabotage
• Building Willpower and Resilience
• Reducing Stress with Mindfulness Meditation
• Using the Mind-Body Connection to Manage Stress
Survive and Thrive
• Participation since April 2018: 309 PGRs
• Survey responses in Jan 2020 (response rate 24%):
• 85% useful for helping them manage their MH & wellbeing
• 74% more aware of their MH & wellbeing
• 76% more aware of how to improve their MH & wellbeing
• 66% feel that QM is more supportive of their MH & wellbeing
• 56% more likely to seek help and support with MH & wellbeing
• 68% more aware of where to go to get support with MH
Survive and Thrive - Results
I think just having the opportunity to think about these aspects of mental health is very useful and to talk to other PhD/post-doctoral researchers regarding our specific experience. The overview of the science and available books was also very useful
very helpful for a student struggling through their PhD
Poor mental health is a silent killer. Students and academics suffer from it but are reluctant to be too open about it. It would be a good idea to have group sessions of these courses for groups of people that must regularly work together (e.g. PhDs and their supervisors).
Survive and Thrive - Results
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Aim: send a clear message that the tools to manage emotional pressures are equally important for a successful PhD journey as the academic skills training.
1. Expanding the ‘Survive and Thrive’ training provision in the Researcher Development programme
2. Including emotional resilience and resourcefulness half-day sessions into the three annual PhD Cohort DaysY1: Conferences & Networking, Y2: Impact, Y3: Employability
Training for PGRs
Year 1: Your PGR journey; getting the best start
99 attendees
Year 2: Keeping up the momentum
39 attendees
Year 3: Crossing the finishing line
55 attendees
Wellbeing sessions during Cohort Days
• Survey responses in Jan 2020 (response rate 29%):
• 71% useful for helping them manage their MH & wellbeing
• 57% more aware of their MH & wellbeing
• 57% more aware of how to improve their MH & wellbeing
• 55% feel that QM is more supportive of their MH & wellbeing
• 51% more likely to seek help and support with MH & wellbeing
• 57% more aware of where to go to get support with MH
• Issues: room, sound, size, long day
Cohort Days - Results
[This workshop] helped in refreshing the mind and thinking a bit more outside of the research
...it's helpful to talk to others and see they have the same problem as you
[The most useful aspect was] highlighting that it is both okay and important to have times when you are not working on your PhD
Cohort Days - Results
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1. Training workshops for PGRs
2. Support Group for PhD students
3. Training for PhD supervisors & staff supporting PGRs
4. Wellbeing campaign
Catalyst Fund project at QMUL
• Ben Priest, Counsellor, Advice and Counselling Service
• Aim: to combat isolation amongst PGRs and provide a safe space for peer support regarding emotional and academic issues arising from the PhD experience
• increase in the wellbeing of participants
• increase in confidence in completing the PhD
Support Group for PhD students
• 8 weekly sessions, 90 mins each
• Up to 12 participants (2018-19), up to 10 (2019-20)
• Researcher Developer & Counsellor: offering both emotional and academic support
• 84 applications to date
• Initial 15 minute appointment:• Confidentiality
• Suitability
Support Group: format
• Survey at the start and end of the group
• PRES 2017: personal outlook & confidence in completion
• Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS)• 14-item scale covering subjective wellbeing
• Minimum score is 14 and maximum is 70
• Suitable for measuring change due to short interventions
Support Group: evaluation
Evaluation at the start and end of group
37
39
41
43
47
49
51
45
35
41.1
Mean score across all groups
48.1
Englandpopulation(Health Survey for England, 2016)
Mean scores in four support groups
Range associated with higher risk of psychological distress and increased risk of depression (41-45)
Week 8Week 0
49.9
Mean scores ≤40 areassociated with a high risk of major depression
WEMWBS
Finally I can open up and talk about my problems that have been bothering me for a long time, but I didn't know how to deal with or how to talk about it with other people. And it feels nice to know it is not shameful to have these problems and it doesn't mean I am not good enough.
What were the most useful aspects of the support group experience?
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What were the most useful aspects of the support group experience?
Hearing what other people were going through helped to give me a perspective on my own issues. Often the advice given to one person would apply to me too. Helped to feel less alone and felt good to think we were helping one another. A dedicated space once a week away from work was surprisingly helpful.
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More on sense of belonging / community...
Having a community and not feeling isolated. Getting insights from listening to other people's problems and feedback.
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It has been useful to feel part of a group, which was missing in my life.“
Feeling like people care about me.“
• Survey responses in Jan 2020 (response rate 46%):
• 91% useful for helping them manage their MH & wellbeing
• 86% more aware of their MH & wellbeing
• 77% more aware of how to improve their MH & wellbeing
• 86% feel that QM is more supportive of their MH & wellbeing
• 64% more likely to seek help and support with MH & wellbeing
• 73% more aware of where to go to get support with MH
Support Group – Additional Results
1. Training workshops for PGRs
2. Support Group for PhD students
3. Training for PhD supervisors & staff supporting PGRs
4. Wellbeing campaign
Catalyst Fund project at QMUL
Aim: address the lack of pastoral support for PGRs• raise awareness of common MH issues
• know how to respond in different situationsNOT fixing the problem, but knowing who can help and refer
1. Optional (both supervisors and support staff)• 3-hour, guidance on supporting PGR mental health
• 1-hour, how staff can look after their own wellbeing
2. Mandatory • 30-min session during New Supervisor training
Training for supervisors & support staff
• 3-hour optional training course, developed with the help of Charlie Waller Memorial Trust‘Supporting mental health and wellbeing in PGRs: a guidance for supervisors’
• Covers:• Recognising warning signs of deteriorating mental health
• Common reasons for deteriorating mental health as a PGR
• How to support a PGR – starting a conversation, signposting
• How to respond to a PGR in crisis and at risk
• Skills to support PhD students (eg active listening and empathy)
• 42 attendees to date (29 supervisors, 13 support staff)
Optional for supervisors & support staff
How do you rate your knowledge of
the subject after the workshop?
Good / Very Good
81%
How likely are you to use what you
have learned during this session?
Probably / Definitely will
81%
How likely are you to recommend
this course to a colleague?
Probably / Definitely will
81%
Feedback
• More training on pastoral care and wellbeing
• 1-hour lunchtime session (new)‘Looking after your wellbeing’
• Covers:• Challenges of academic life & supporting students in distress
• Reflection on work-life balance
• Strategies to manage stress
Optional for supervisors & support staff
• Introduced this academic year
• Covers:• How to respond to a PGR in a mental health crisis and at risk
• Relevant support services at the institution
• Signposting to further training for staff
• Runs 4 times a year, with approx. 20 new supervisors –trained 38 supervisors to date
• Guidelines are available on QMplus
Mandatory for new supervisors
1. Training workshops for PGRs
2. Support Group for PhD students
3. Training for PhD supervisors & staff supporting PGRs
4. Wellbeing campaign
Catalyst Fund project at QMUL
Aim: to address issues like social isolation, and “toxic” sub-cultures of overwork and ableism, contributing towards a change in culture.
PGR wellbeing campaign
• Organising team led by PhD students
• Talks by invited speakers & panel discussion with audience comments through sli.do
• 244 registrations, 721 Eventbrite page views
Campaign Launch
Two weeks of free workshops and activities to encourage PGRs to look after their wellbeing across 5 dimensions of wellness.
PGR wellbeing weeks
5 ways to wellbeing
Connect
all activities
Be active
Zumba, Pilates, Cycle, Pound
Learning
Creative writing Chinese calligraphy
Chinese painting
Be mindful
Yoga, Creative Movement therapy,
Mindfulness
Giving
Volunteering stall at the Library
• Mental health & wellbeing training for PGRs and supervisors is most effective when embedded in core training programmes
• Sharing common experiences and having a sense of belonging increases wellbeing and confidence in completion; QM should create spaces which promote communication
• Support Groups are very effective in increasing wellbeing
• Collaboration between services allows for holistic support
• Promotion of good mental health & wellbeing is most effective from the top: visibility of good role models, wellbeing strategy
Overall findings
