Włączenie studentów doświadczających kryzysów zdrowia psychicznego do pełnego uczestnictwa w społeczności akademickiej na przykładzie projektu „Przyjazny Uniwersytet” realizowanego na Uniwersytecie Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej w Lublinie

Abstract

Presence of students experiencing mental health issues in the academia is not a new phenomenon. The new aspect of this group’s participation is greater visibility of the challenges that the academic community is facing. Challenges that not only raise practical questions related to the teaching process and creation of appropriate procedures at universities, but also task them with inclusion of students with mental health difficulties into the mainstream of academic life. In order to accomplish this task, the Maria Curie-Sklodowska University initiated project „Friendly University” beginning in the 2013/2014 academic year. The initial goal of this project was to establish a friendly learning environment for students experiencing mental health issues. Numerous activities that increased academia’s awareness in terms of such students’ needs were carried out within the project, and at the same time they raised the question of mental hygiene. Project feedback and experiences gathered in subsequent academic years indicate that, despite challenges presented, they can also help to improve quality of academic life for the whole community, as in present form the project also includes work related to promoting mental health in the academia.