For Mental Health Awareness Month, coaches share their student support insights

Learn how InsideTrack coaches support mental health for students, workers and themselves

For student support professionals, focusing on the mental health of your learners has become a crucial component of supporting the whole student. According to the National Institute of National Health, an estimated one in five adults in the United States lives with a mental illness, with young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 disproportionately affected. An analysis of federal data by the Kaiser Family Foundation shows that half of young adults have reported symptoms of anxiety and depression in 2023, compared with about a third of adults overall. As supporters in direct contact with students every day, we understand how critical it is to incorporate mental wellbeing into our practices. For Mental Health Awareness Month, we asked six of our coaches to share their thoughts on the importance of mental health and wellbeing in the context of their work. Here’s what our coaches had to say.

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Make mental health part of your learner interactions

InsideTrack Coach Kristin Olson-Huddle explains how mental health is always on her radar when working with learners, and if what they need is beyond her scope, she’s ready to connect them to appropriate resources for help.

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Challenging times call for greater mental health support

Marcela Joy, InsideTrack Coach, talks about how greater mental health awareness at colleges and universities is translating into more resources and wellness services that support the whole person.

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Take some time for yourself

InsideTrack Coach Keenan Medley thinks back to when he was a college student and remembers how important it is to take care of your mental health.

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You have to take care of yourself in order to take care of others

Like other student support professionals, InsideTrack Coach Andrew Stanfield is best able to support the learners he works with when his own mental health is where it needs to be.

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Prepare for the unexpected

Jasmine Holeman, InsideTrack Coach, shares how having learners focus on their mental health helps them deal with the challenges that will crop up throughout their educational and career journeys.

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Dealing with emotional fatigue

In her interactions with caregivers and those in the healthcare field, InsideTrack Coach Rhiannon Diamond sees the burnout from people who put others first. So she prioritizes ways for them to better care for themselves first.

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Mental health is a serious and growing issue for millions of Americans. Students in college are particularly affected, as the stresses related to academics, financial challenges, work, and home life can quickly become overwhelming. Rather than focusing solely on coursework and challenges on campus, it’s important to use a holistic approach that includes all aspects of what a student is going through. Doing so can be a key to their success.