Increasingly we are seeing more students with mental health issues and students who do not want to participate in fieldwork due to anxiety.
These are areas which I, as a lecturer, am a little more uncomfortable about as it crosses the boundaries of what we do as academics. I am seeing more of these issues and feeling slightly less equipped to deal with the issues. Often mental health challenges are hidden challenges because students won’t disclose mental health issues, maybe because they are concerned that they won’t be able to take part if they disclose. A lot of anxiety is associated with being in different places with different routines and really needing a clear schedule for the day. For every student on every trip, we now provide an almost regimented schedule of what we’ll be doing each day. If we can, we like to go to self-catering accommodation to overcome some of challenges around food and shared spaces.
