Breaking Barriers: Mental Health Courses Surge Amid Academic Pressure

On her first day of class, Annika Martin gathers the researchers at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. She instructs them to unfurl their yoga mats and adopt a wide-legged stance. With hands on hips, they perform a move known as 'wild goose drinking water' from Lu Jong, a foundational practice in Tantrayana Buddhism.

Martin, a health psychologist, detects scepticism among some students, most of whom are academics unfamiliar with yoga. They enrolled in Martin's course seeking strategies to manage the stress inherent in academic research. Over the semester, she educates them on stress and its physiological effects, equipping them with tools such as yoga, meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, and journaling.

This initiative is part of a broader effort to address the mental health challenges gripping the scientific community and academia. Students and early-career researchers, often underpaid and transient, face significant stress and uncertainty. Senior researchers also grapple with immense pressure. Harassment, discrimination, and other forms of mistreatment further exacerbate these challenges, contributing to higher rates of depression and anxiety compared to the general population.

Despite these daunting issues, some universities and institutions are pioneering innovative approaches to support mental health.

A Movement Begins

The University of Zurich has introduced several popular courses aimed at supporting academics' mental health. Alongside Annika Martin's Mindfulness and Meditation class, these include sessions on resilience building for students and tools for senior researchers to effectively supervise PhD candidates.

Demand for these courses is robust. Eric Alms, a programme manager overseeing many of the university's mental-health offerings, notes, "We receive far more registrations than we have available spots." He reflects, "It's heartening that these courses are so sought after, but it also highlights troubling times."

Recent studies, surveying thousands of researchers, underscore the severity of the mental-health crisis in academia. A 2020 survey by Wellcome in London, involving over 4,000 researchers (mainly in the UK), revealed alarming findings. 70 per cent reported feeling stressed on an average workday, driven largely by pressure to publish, leading many to work excessively long hours for modest pay and uncertain career prospects. Satisfaction with research career prospects was notably low, with only 41 per cent of mid-career and 31 per cent of early-career researchers expressing contentment.

In 2020, Cactus Communications, a science-communication and technology company based in Mumbai, India, conducted a survey among 13,000 researchers across more than 160 countries. The findings revealed that 37 per cent of scientists had experienced discrimination, harassment, or bullying in their workplaces. This issue was particularly prevalent among researchers from marginalized groups, with 42 per cent of women, 45 per cent of LGBTQ+ researchers, and 60 per cent of multiracial researchers reporting such experiences.

Despite these challenges, there are signs of progress. Alongside the University of Zurich, many institutions are now offering courses focused on mental health. Imperial College London, for instance, runs over two dozen courses, workshops, and webinars covering diverse topics like menstrual health and seasonal depression. While some programs have been in place for years, others emerged in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which heightened awareness of mental health issues in academia.

Ines Perpetuo, a research-development consultant at Imperial College London, notes, "During the pandemic, the true scale of the mental-health crisis in science became apparent and was possibly exacerbated by lockdowns." Desiree Dickerson, a clinical psychologist leading workshops at various institutions including the University of Zurich and Imperial College London, observes a growing demand for mental-health support. She reflects, "Before COVID, these issues weren't in the spotlight. Now, it feels like we're making real progress."

Some of the positive changes in academia have been driven by graduate students and postdocs themselves. Yaniv Yacoby, during his time as a computer science graduate student at Harvard University, designed a course to uncover the "hidden curriculum of the PhD". His aim was to help students succeed in science by challenging conventional wisdom and fostering a supportive community. This course model has been adopted by Cornell University and the University of Washington, among others, and Yacoby has collaborated with additional institutions to create workshops that promote mental health advocacy and normalize discussions about it in academic settings.

Jessica Noviello, a planetary scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, recognized job insecurity as a major stressor affecting academics' mental health. She noted that many advisers lack experience outside academia, hindering their ability to guide students towards alternative career paths. To address this gap, Noviello established the Professional Advancement Workshop Series (PAWS) in August 2021. PAWS features workshops and panels on careers in fields like science journalism, policy, and data science, alongside discussions on mental health topics.

"PAWS wasn't specifically created to tackle mental health issues in science," Noviello explains, "but by fostering community and open dialogue, we empower ourselves to make choices that promote our well-being - and that's where mental health begins."

Beyond The Classroom

Despite the positive impact of courses and workshops on mental health in academia, many researchers question whether these efforts are sufficient.

Melanie Anne-Atkins, a clinical psychologist at the University of Guelph in Canada, who leads mental health talks at universities, observes that while her workshops often evoke strong emotional responses, follow-up actions are often limited. "People are deeply moved," she says, "but other priorities take precedence afterwards. Plans are made but not consistently followed through, largely due to financial constraints."

David Trang, a planetary geologist in Honolulu, Hawaii, working towards a mental-health counselling license, shares Anne-Atkins' concerns. He believes individual researchers lack strong incentives to drive systemic change. "Prioritizing mental health, diversity, and inclusion doesn't directly advance a scientist's career," Trang explains. Despite personal concerns, he argues, these efforts often take a back seat to career survival in competitive scientific fields.

Yet, advocates argue that these workshops are crucial in breaking down stigma and initiating necessary conversations. Ines Perpetuo of Imperial College London acknowledges the challenges but stresses personal agency: "You can control your well-being, your reactions, and influence your environment," she says, highlighting the importance of individual empowerment amidst broader systemic challenges.

Nina Effenberger, a computer science student at the University of Tübingen in Germany, argues that scientists often view their work as more than just a job-it's a personal calling. According to the Wellcome survey, scientists are deeply driven by passion, which can make setbacks feel intensely personal. Effenberger believes that equipping scientists with a strong mental health toolkit, like the skills taught in new workshops, can help them separate their professional challenges from their personal identity. She emphasizes that grant rejections or paper failures should not define their worth or career trajectory-they are simply part of a scientist's journey.

Desiree Dickerson echoes this sentiment, highlighting the power of individual empowerment in driving systemic change. "If I can empower the individual, they can push back," she asserts.

Many researchers are already taking action to improve conditions for early-career scientists, an area of widespread concern. The Cactus survey revealed that 38% of researchers are dissatisfied with their financial situations, and a US National Science Foundation survey found that over a quarter of graduate students faced food or housing insecurity in 2020.

In the United States, efforts to unionize have led to significant gains, including salary increases and childcare assistance at universities like the University of California, Columbia University, and the University of Washington. Last year saw a notable surge in union formation, with 26 new unions representing nearly 50,000 graduate students, postdocs, and researchers.

Similar collective actions have taken place globally. In 2022, Effenberger and her colleagues successfully advocated for higher pay through a survey of graduate students at the International Max Planck Research School for Intelligent Systems in Munich, Germany.

Changes beyond the classroom are reshaping support for researchers. Imperial College London has recently renovated its common rooms and lecture halls to provide more spaces for students to gather and connect. In the words of Ines Perpetuo, this fosters both research discussions and personal connections, crucial for mental health. Additionally, Imperial offers voluntary retreats, lasting one or three days, for postdocs and fellows to build relationships.

Similarly, the International Max Planck Research School for Intelligent Systems (IMPRS-IS) organizes boot camps and mandates annual check-ins to discuss group dynamics and address student concerns. They've introduced thesis advisory committees to distribute academic supervision fairly and plan biannual mental health surveys for the next three years, setting goals for student satisfaction regardless of gender.

Desiree Dickerson commends these efforts, emphasizing the importance of measuring and addressing mental health issues. She believes universities should emulate these practices to support researchers effectively. David Trang, who surveyed the planetary science community, aims to tackle issues like imposter syndrome and lack of recognition through future workshops. "We're making progress," he says optimistically, "shifting from acknowledging problems to actively solving them."