"My head and me": The discomfort of students facing the health crisis -

20 Minutes

  • “My head and me” is the monthly

    20 Minutes program

    dedicated to youth mental health.

  • The goal of this meeting: to understand certain mental pathologies thanks to the testimonies of young people concerned and to try to find solutions to get better.

  • In this second issue, we talk about student malaise and the free aids that exist to obtain psychological help.

Distance learning, cramped accommodation, reduction in their social life, loss of their student job and therefore of their financial resources… There are many reasons for students to be depressed at the moment and the impact on their mental health is real.

76% of young people aged 18-30 feel the impact of the crisis on their mental health, including nearly a third in a critical way, according to the #MoiJeune study carried out in January 2021 by

20 Minutes

and OpinionWay.

30% of students have even had suicidal thoughts or considered self-harm, according to a study carried out in November by Ipsos and the FondaMental Foundation.

To help these students to see more clearly among the supports offered, here are the structures, helplines and other associations allowing them to benefit from free psychological help.

University health services

Even within the faculties, health services are present.

Whether they are SSU, SUMPPS or SIUMPPS, all offer fully reimbursed medical, psychological and psychiatric consultations, without having to advance the costs.

University psychological assistance offices (BAPU) also allow students, not necessarily in a faculty course, to obtain free psychological support.

However, by making an appointment through these structures, you may sometimes notice a long delay in taking charge.

Because many of these university services are now saturated.

And the current period does not improve the trend.

According to a report published by Nightline in November 2020, in France, there is one full-time university psychologist for every 30,000 students.

On January 14, Frédérique Vidal, Minister of Higher Education and Research, announced that "the number of psychologists in universities will be doubled this semester", rising to one professional for 15,000 students.

But it is still ten times less than the international recommendations.

Local and associative structures

Students who feel the need to consult quickly can always go to establishments that are not exclusively reserved for them, such as medico-psychological centers (CMP).

Free sessions with the psychologist or psychiatrist are offered there and suffering people can be received urgently.

Depending on the region, Reception and Youth Listening Points, Adolescent Centers, High School Students Relays and other youth health spaces also allow people experiencing psychological suffering to benefit from free psychological support.

Finally, the Apsytude association offers free consultations with a professional for students from Crous and establishments in partnership with the structure.

A "psy check"

Young people with the means can turn to a private psychologist, not attached to the university.

Their sessions are expensive - 60 euros on average - and are not reimbursed by Social Security.

But faced with the rise in student psychological distress, Emmanuel Macron announced the establishment on February 1 of a "psy check" for each student who feels the need.

This measure gives the right to two or three fully reimbursed consultations.

If this may be enough for some young people whose melancholy is only temporary, two sessions are insufficient for others.

Anonymous and free help lines

Fortunately, many structures and associations come to compensate for this lack.

For the 700,000 Ile-de-France students, the Ile-de-France region has just launched EcouteEtudiants which gives the right to three free consultations with a psychologist.

The filsantejeunes.com site allows all young people aged 12 to 25 to have access to a lot of information as well as a free and anonymous helpline every day from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.

In the evening, another association takes over.

This is Nightline, a listening service between students.

The association created in 2017 experienced a peak in the call for the announcement of the second confinement.

Since then, three branches have been created, in Lille, Lyon and Saclay.

In all, 150 student volunteers, trained in active listening over two weekends, answer calls and messages, in French and English, anonymously.

The goal: to listen to young people without giving them advice.

At Nightline, two-thirds of "calls" are actually messages written via the site's chat.

Because it is not always easy to tell your worries out loud.

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