052 Student Mental Health Seona McKenzie and Julie Hughes

Creating Active Lives

This episode is an important one for both those going to university, and also for parents who want to support their children in thriving while away from home, especially for the first time. I am talking to Julie Hughes and Seona Mackenzie about student mental health.
In this episode we discuss:

• the importance of supporting students' mental health, especially during the transition to university life.
• Common issues among first-year students
• The challenges of independent living
• How sport and physical activity play a crucial role in supporting mental health by providing a distraction, promoting social connections, and improving overall well-being
• The support services available to students
• 
  

About Julie:

Julie has worked at University of Glasgow Sport for nearly 20 years and oversees the Active Lifestyles Team at UofG Sport which covers activity provision within the two centres (Stevenson Building And Garscube Sports Complex). Julie and her team of wellbeing coordinators manage a wide range of group exercise classes and gym training support and provide opportunities across the university campus as part of UofG Sports' dedication to supporting and improving staff and student wellbeing.
About Seona:
Seona is responsible for a wide range of health-related activities including pregnancy consultation and weight-wise at the University of Strathclyde Glasgow. She links with other health-related agencies across the University and is responsible for the Exercise Referral Scheme as well as teaching a wide variety of group exercise classes. She is also a fully qualified Level 3 Personal Trainer and REPS Level 4 Exercise Specialist. Seona enjoys cycling, weight training and martial arts.

Student Minds: https://www.studentminds.org.uk/

University mental health day https://www.studentminds.org.uk/universitymentalhealthday

University of Glasgow Sport: https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/sport/

University of Strathclyde sport: https://www.strath.ac.uk/strathclydesport/

About Sarah:
Sarah Bolitho helps fitness and health professionals develop their careers and grow their businesses by providing specialist training in teaching, assessing, and internal quality assurance, together with qualifications in exercise referral and disability.

With over 30 years in the health-related fitness and physical activity fields, Sarah has a wealth of experience and knowledge. She has worked in most roles in the industry from group exercise to personal training but specialised in working with specialist populations. For over 25 years Sarah has trained fitness and health professionals to work with clients with long-term conditions, mental health issues, disabilities, older adults and pre/post-natal women. She has a post-graduate diploma in exercise and health behaviour and extensive training in supporting behaviour change. She has worked with awarding organisations to develop qualifications and training and with accreditation bodies

For more about the training and support Sarah offers, visit www.sarahbolitho.com or contact her at [e-mail].
Follow her on social media
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fabnewlous_active_lives
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fitnesscareer mentor
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahbolitho