How Courses on Emotional Well-Being for Students Can Promote Wellness

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Impact of Storytelling Interventions
Interventions for Students
Conclusion
References

Introduction

University students may be regarded as highly vulnerable to mental health issues due to continuous stress caused by academic workload and high expectations from families, peers, and society. That is why it is essential to evaluate various mental health-related practices to support their emotional wellness and prevent more serious mental health complications. This paper aims to assess the potential impact of storytelling interventions and credit-based courses on university students’ emotional well-being and its improvement.

Impact of Storytelling Interventions

Multiple studies address the influence of storytelling on people’s mental health. Thus, in their article, O’Donnell et al. (2019) discussed the impact of storytelling on the emotional well-being of people who use mental health services. It was qualitative research that implied “a narrative exploration of the politics of storytelling in the context of mental health systems” (O’Donnell et al., 2019, p. 2). The study was based on the interviews of three participants with the experience of storytelling practice while undergoing mental health treatment and the analysis of their reports.

According to them, storytelling intervention allows patients with mental health disorders to listen to their peers’ stories and share their own stories as well, and this practice has a highly positive effect. First of all, sharing stories of successful recovery empowers people – stories provide an opportunity for patients to confront mental health illnesses with an understanding that they are not alone. In addition, stories allow to perceive a person’s inner fears, weaknesses, and concerns even if they are unspoken. Patients’ stories in which they share the detrimental aspects of mental health disorders help them seek support and assistance. At the same time, listening to others’ narrations allows individuals to express their own emotions and release negative ones contributing to their emotional well-being. According to the findings, storytelling, especially related to the way from madness, distress, and oppression to survival and resistance, may improve a person’s wellness through the acceptance of his conditions and the provision of new ways of coping.

Storytelling plays an important role in personal recovery as well. Nurser et al. (2018) reported its growing popularity for patients with mental health issues. This approach presupposes the shift from professional-led care to expertise in own self-care, personal empowerment, the rediscovery of strengths, and coping techniques. For the obtainment of necessary skills and knowledge, recovery colleges offer specific courses dedicated to personal recovery through storytelling, its forming, and sharing. This research used a qualitative approach, and data were collected from participants’ interviews. In turn, the participants of this study were eight people with mental health issues who had attended the storytelling-based course in a recovery college. The results indicated the positive impact of storytelling on personal recovery. According to participants, stories’ mutual sharing improved interconnectedness, inspiration, and the feeling of hope and security (Nurser et al., 2018). In addition, forming and sharing personal stories created a new sense of identity and empowered people in their confrontations with mental health difficulties.

Storytelling allows people to take an active position in relation to their health condition. This article of Soderlund et al. (2021) referred to the use of a transmedia storytelling web-based app by Latina women with mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression, who could not attend traditional services due to their inaccessibility, lack of knowledge, fear, or stigma. The qualitative research presupposed data collection from interviews and subsequent analysis. The participants were 28 English-speaking Latina women aged 21-50 with signs of depression and anxiety who had been engaged with an app.

On the basis of the results, researchers discovered that active engagement with storytelling intervention was associated with patients’ transition from passive listeners to active observers who shared their viewpoints in relation to the stories’ heroine. The researchers identified three conceptual categories that “provided insight into women’s experiences, including encountering a trustworthy nurse-therapist character, taking in messages that dispel old beliefs, and preparing when and how to take action” (Soderlund et al., 2021, para. 4). In this case, they assumed that storytelling could have a positive impact on women’s mental health as through this intervention, they acquire knowledge and skills for personal assistance along with the understanding of its significance.

At the same time, storytelling is efficient for the promotion of mental well-being for people who faced substantial challenges. Thus, the article by Mannell et al. (2018) aimed to examine the expediency of storytelling intervention for women with mental health issues due to experienced gender-based violence. The qualitative research used semi-structured interviews for data collection, and its participants were 20 Afghan women from two safe houses who had faced violence from their husbands or other male figures and who had the experience of being involved in storytelling activities (Mannell et al., 2018). Received information was analyzed both inductively and deductively with the use of a thematic network for the reliability of the results.

According to the findings, women admitted that storytelling intervention was perceived as a painful but beneficial experience that contributed to the improvement of their emotional well-being and coping with mental health issues. At the same time, a supportive environment and the presence of non-judgmental listeners played a crucial role in the process of treatment. Nevertheless, the results offered “an alternative to biomedical models of mental health support” for the victim of violence (Mannell et al., 2018, p. 91). In addition, they may be used as a source of information in the study dedicated to the impact of storytelling on students’ mental wellness.

Another article explored the impact of storytelling on the improvement of the mental health of adolescents who survived the Wenchuan earthquake. The qualitative research implied a secondary analysis of the school-based cross-sectional survey with 1028 participants involved (Tanaka et al., 2020). The participants were students with the traumatic experience of loss, injury, and home destruction during the earthquake who agreed to complete self-reported questionnaires, which were subsequently analyzed. All participants had previously undergone mental health or disaster education that included the practice of storytelling. According to the results, the majority of students admitted that storytelling was a positive experience, and storytelling group intervention and the consulted-health-professionals group provided significantly better outcomes for students’ mental well-being in comparison with the absence of any treatment. In general, storytelling in a supportive environment helps prevent severe mental health disorders and improve emotional wellness.

Storytelling may be not only traditional but with the use of modern technologies. The qualitative research of De Vecchi et al. (2017) evaluated the ability of digital storytelling to improve mental health and prevent mental health difficulties. Using a process evaluation framework, they analyzed the attitude of two digital storytelling workshops 11 participants related to this practice on the basis of their interviews. According to the results, participants described their experience of digital storytelling as highly beneficial. It helped them overcome fears of sharing their emotions, feelings, and concerns. In addition, engaged in individual and group reflections, participants admitted that digital storytelling empowered them to confront their mental health issues and create a renewed identity.

Interventions for Students

In the present day, there is a variety of interventions for university students, and researchers aim to evaluate their efficiency. The article of Ahorsu et al. (2021) addressed the methods of prevention of emotional stress and related mental health disorders in university students. While “the onset of mental illness in 75% of cases is between 17 and 24 years,” students are more vulnerable to it due to academic pressure, workload, and the necessity to meet the expectations of families, professors, and peers (Ahorsu et al., 2021, p. 1). At the same time, seeking mental health assistance remains stigmatized – thus, a considerable number of young people prefer to hide their emotional discomfort rather than visit counseling centers.

The study combined both quantitative and qualitative approaches in relation to data collection on the basis of participants’ involvement in the project program. Aiming to prevent suicide and improve the general emotional well-being of students, the program consisted of two parts – mental health promotion and coping-strategy-based group workshops (Ahorsu et al., 2021). 62 university students were involved in the program, and its efficiency was evaluated on the basis of their self-administered questionnaires, post-activity immediate feedback, and group discussions. According to the results, the major improvement was in mental health awareness. In other words, while there was no significant improvement in help-seeking behavior, students acquired essential coping skills and strategies that would allow them to help themselves improve their mental health and avoid mental health issues in the future.

In another article, the efficiency of Internet interventions for the improvement of university students’ mental health was evaluated. According to Harrer et al. (2019), “12–46% of all university students are affected by mental health disorders in any given year” due to high expectations of society, low academic achievements, and college dropout (p. 1). At the same time, a considerable number of studies are dedicated to the examination of Internet-delivered programs’ ability to improve young people’s mental well-being.

Thus, in the format of a systematic review and meta‐analysis, researchers collected and analyzed 48 peer-reviewed articles and dissertations dedicated to this topic. The inclusion criterion was the presence of randomized control trials in which the impact of an Internet intervention for the management of mental health issues had been evaluated on the basis of the comparison of the results of control and intervention groups. According to the results, Internet interventions may impact university students’ mental well-being, but their effects are from small to moderate. In particular, Internet interventions have an insignificant impact on stress, anxiety, and depression. However, they may improve people’s mental wellness in the case of role functioning and eating disorder symptoms.

The expediency of modern technologies for the improvement of mental health become more and more substantial. Bendtsen et al. (2020) aimed to estimate the expediency of the use of a fully automated mobile health intervention for the promotion of mental wellness for university students. Their quantitative research implied a 2-arm, single-blind, parallel-groups randomized controlled trial. The participants were 654 university students with mental health issues who were recruited via digital advertising in healthcare centers. They were randomly divided into the intervention group, which was supposed to use a mobile health program, and the control group, which had traditional treatment. Data were collected through follow-up questionnaires, and according to the results, the use of the mobile program substantially contributed to students’ positive mental health, characterized by positive individual and social functioning and positive feelings and emotions. In other words, a mobile intervention promotes mental wellness, and these outcomes may contribute to the general understanding of the efficiency of different types of assistance for university students.

One more quantitative study addressed the impact of mindfulness practices on the mental well-being of medical and psychology students who were particularly vulnerable to stress-related mental health disorders. De Vibe et al. (2013) organized a randomized controlled trial in which 288 participants were allocated to either intervention or control groups. Students in the intervention group were involved in the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program, while students in the control group received no treatment or standard university courses; data were collected through self-reported questionnaires. According to the results, no significant differences related to the promotion of emotional wellness were observed between groups, and the outcomes were predicted by the increased number of mindfulness exercises and a higher level of attendance in the intervention group (De Vibe et al., 2013). At the same time, the most substantial effects were reported only by female participants.

Conclusion

On the basis of a literature review dedicated to the expediency of storytelling on people’s mental health, it is possible to assume that this practice may be highly beneficial for the prevention of mental health issues among university students, as listening and sharing stories may empower them. At the same time, credit-based courses may be regarded as an appropriate practice for the promotion of mental well-being, as individual reflections and group workshops contribute to the acquisition of helpful knowledge and skills for personal recovery. At the same time, university courses are more efficient in comparison with digital programs as they are more intensive and ensure a higher level of attendance.

References

Ahorsu, D. K., Sánchez Vidaña, D. I., Lipardo, D., Shah, P. B., Cruz González, P., Shende, S., Gurung, S., Venkatesan, H., Duongthipthewa, A., Ansari, T. Q, & Schoeb, V. (2021). Effect of a peer‐led intervention combining mental health promotion with coping‐strategy‐based workshops on mental health awareness, help‐seeking behavior, and well-being among university students in Hong Kong. International Journal of Mental Health Systems, 15(1), 1-10.

Bendtsen, M., Müssener, U., Linderoth, C., & Thomas, K. (2020). A mobile health intervention for mental health promotion among university students: Randomized controlled trial. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 8(3), e17208

De Vecchi, N., Kenny, A., Dickson-Swift, V., & Kidd, S. (2017). Exploring the process of digital storytelling in mental health research: A process evaluation of consumer and clinician experiences. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 16(1), 1-13.

De Vibe, M., Solhaug, I., Tyssen, R., Friborg, O., Rosenvinge, J. H., Sørlie, T., & Bjørndal, A. (2013). Mindfulness training for stress management: a randomised controlled study of medical and psychology students. BMC Medical Education, 13(1), 1-11.

Harrer, M., Adam, S. H., Baumeister, H., Cuijpers, P., Karyotaki, E., Auerbach, R. P., Kessler, R. C., Bruffaerts, R., Berking, M., & Ebert, D. D. (2019). Internet interventions for mental health in university students: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 28(2), 1-18.

Mannell, J., Ahmad, L., & Ahmad, A. (2018). Narrative storytelling as mental health support for women experiencing gender-based violence in Afghanistan. Social Science & Medicine, 214, 91-98.

Nurser, K. P., Rushworth, I., Shakespeare, T., & Williams, D. (2018). Personal storytelling in mental health recovery. Mental Health Review Journal, 23(1), 25-35.

O’Donnell, A., Sapouna, L., & Brosnan, L. (2019). Storytelling: An act of resistance or a commodity. Journal of Ethics in Mental Health, 10(6), 1-13.

Soderlund, P. D., Hollingsworth, A. S. M., & Heilemann, M. V. (2021). Participant engagement in a transmedia storytelling web-based app intervention for mental health of Latina women: Qualitative analysis. JMIR Mental Health, 8(1), e22575.

Tanaka, E., Iso, H., Tsutsumi, A., Kameoka, S., You, Y., & Kato, H. (2020). School-based psychoeducation and storytelling: Associations with long-term mental health in adolescent survivors of the Wenchuan earthquake. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 29, 1-9.

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