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February 18, 2025
40% of Higher Education students in Europe experience mental health or well-being difficulties, with around one in five facing a mental disorder. Trends suggest this is increasing, with many institutions reporting that they don’t have the capacity to meet students’ need. Despite this, student mental health is under-researched and under-invested.
Launched on 5 February 2025, new report Learning the Lessons summarises existing research on prevalence, determinants, and the cost of poor student mental health in Europe. The report also presents new data from Nightline Europe, based on almost 15,000 calls and online chats taken in 2023-4 by trained volunteers across member Nightlines in Austria, France, Germany, Ireland and the UK. These data provide unique insights into students’ needs and the factors impacting their well-being.
As a member of the Nightline Europe network, we’ve been working with the team on the report about student mental health across the continent. Though we serve the London student community, we know that a collaborative approach is imperative to reducing student suicides and providing accessible mental health support, so this is a great opportunity to look at a wider scope of impact and opportunities for development.
Sometimes, what young people need above all is a listening ear, to feel better or to feel empowered and comfortable about seeking additional help elsewhere, if necessary. (p43)
The report also found that there was little information specific to the student population in Europe and found a lack of consistency in defining mental health when addressed by policy- and decision-makers, creating the risk of confusion and inefficient or harmful implementation.
Poor mental health is not inevitable. Policy makers at both European and national levels now have an opportunity to take concrete action to improve students' mental health. Nightline Europe's report concludes with 7 actionable recommendations for policymakers at European or national level to work with key actors such as higher education institutions and civil society organisations to better understand and reverse the trend on poor mental health for students across Europe. These include
We hope this report can illuminate some of the challenges faced by mental health services and higher education institutions, as well as providing hope and guidance for our next steps.
Read the report below 👇
