Supervising Students with a Mental Health issue

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Supervising Students with a Mental Health issue

• Dr Ann Stewart
• Director, The Equity Office

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Overview

• Legislative Context
• (State Commonwealth)
• UQ policies
• Important concepts principles
• Resources

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Legislation

• Commonwealth
• Human Rights Equal Opportunity Commission Act
  (1986)
• Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA)
• and the
• Disability Standards for Education 2005
• Queensland
• Anti-Discrimination Act, (1991)
• Workplace Health and Safety Act (1995)

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UQ Policies

• Equity and Diversity (1.70.1)
• Discrimination and Harassment (1.70.6)
• University Disability Policy (1.70.8)
• The Provision of Alternative Academic
  Arrangements for Students with a Disability
  (3.40.7)
• Arrangements for Reasonable Adjustments in
  Examinations for Students with a Disability
  (3.30.3)
• Fieldwork Safety Guidelines (2.30.9)

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Discrimination

• Direct Discrimination
• When a person is treated less favourably than
  another person because of certain attributes.
• e.g. not permitting someone to undertake a course
  of study because of mental impairment

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Discrimination (cont)

• Indirect Discrimination
• When a situation or condition has an
• unfair effect because of an attribute
• The condition or situation may appear to be
  neutral or the same for everyone, however, a
  person with the attribute (e.g. parental status,
  religion, disability) is unable or less able to
  comply with the condition than someone without
  the attribute.

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Other relevant policies and guidelines

• University Disability Action Plan 2007-2009
• University Privacy Management policy
• and
• AVCC Guidelines Relating to Students with a
  Disability

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Underpinning principles

• Underpinning the 2006 AVCC Disability Guidelines
  are two key principles
• 1. That universities provide students with a
  disability with the opportunity to realise their
  academic and social potential and to participate
  fully in university life.
• 2. That universities will uphold academic
  standards such that students graduate with the
  requisite skills and knowledge associated with
  the degree conferred.

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Disability Standards for Education 2005

• An education provider must take reasonable steps
  to ensure that the student is able to participate
  in courses or programs provided by the
  educational institution and use the facilities
  provided by it, on the same basis as a student
  without a disability, and without experiencing
  discrimination.

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Principles (cont)

• People with a disability, including those with a
  mental illness, have a moral and legal right to
  access education,
• and
• To equitably participate in the educative
  process.
• This may or may not require some form of
  adjustment or accommodation on the part of the
  institution.

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The Challenges

• There are many kinds of mental illness
• They range in severity from individual to
  individual
• They may have different functional implications
  for different people
• Because we cant see the illness, we can make
  judgements about its impact that may be
  erroneous.
• Dealing with people who have a mental illness can
  be challenging
• It is becoming more common for people with mental
  illness to attend university
• The age at which people are most likely to
  develop a mental illness matches the university
  demographic
• We are influenced by media and popular
  misconceptions and might be unnecessarily
  concerned

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Some facts

• Mental illness may be of a temporary nature
  episodic or relatively short term.
• People with a mental illness may behave at times
  in ways that are unacceptable or disruptive. Even
  those with most severe mental illness are rarely
  dangerous when they are receiving appropriate
  treatment.
• People with a mental illness can and do succeed
  at university.
• In most cases, the nature of the adjustments
  required to facilitate equitable participation
  are minimal.

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Information and support

• Internal
• Student Services (Student Access Plans through
  negotiation involving the student the Disability
  Advisor and the academic re the nature of the
  reasonable adjustment required)
• The Equity Office website a doorway to
  information on the web
• www.uq.edu.au/equity

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• External resources
• CATS Creating Accessible Teaching Support
• ADCET - Australian Disability Clearinghouse on
  Disability, Education and Training
• Qld Anti-Discrimination Commission
• And relevant links from The Equity Office e.g.
  Beyondblue.

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Creating Accessible Teaching
Supporthttp//www.adcet.edu.au/cats/
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Australian Disability Clearinghouse on Education
and Traininghttp//www.adcet.edu.au/
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in the
university environment
Produced by the University of Tasmania Disability
Service Regional Disability Liaison
Officer. Adapted from a QUT Counselling Service
and TIPD initiative
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Contents

• Objectives slide 5
• Responsibilities Social Legal
  6
• Aims of the Disability Discrimination Act
  7
• Incidence of Mental Illness in Australia
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• Definitions
  9
• Myths Reality
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• A. Steps in Responding
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• 1. Recognising Signs 13
• 1.1 Indicators
• 1.2 Specific Mental Illnesses
  
• 2. Assessment of Impact 21
• 2.1 Implications for study
• 2.2 Side effects of Medication
• 3. Identifying Strategies to Assist
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• 3.1 What is helpful
  
• 3.2 Interacting with students
• 3.3 It is not helpful when
• 3.4 You refer when

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Contents cont ...

• B. Support Process slide 29
• 4. Who to refer to
• 5. Learning Support 30
• 5.1 Disability Service
• 5.2 Documentation
• Advocacy Memorandums
• 5.3 Implementation of support
• 5.4 Additional support - Case Management
• C. Resources 40
• Appendix I Scenario Case Study 42
• Appendix II Communicating with a student who
  48
• is in a disturbed state of mind
• Further Information 51
• Acknowledgements 52

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• Dealing with students with mental health issues
  is reality.
• It is probably going to become more common.
• We cant simply refer the student to an expert
  to get fixed their disability has
  implications for our role in relation to that
  student.
• We need to develop skills and support structures
  to assist us to manage the challenges.
• There are valuable resources available.
• Sharing information and successful strategies
  with colleagues is of great assistance.
• We are all on a learning curve!!

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Questions?