Mission Successful

The Mental Health Initiative (MHI) was a successful project at the Institute of Physics, running from August 2020 to 2023. The goal of raising awareness about mental health among academics was successfully achieved inside and outside the Institute of Physics.

The project is expected to be continued at the university level to have an even broader impact. You can find the offerings from Mental Health First Aiders (MHFA) .

For further information or inquiries regarding this project, you can still reach out via the existing email address (mhi.physics). Your contact person is Tim Völzer (tim.voelzer).

We are happy to expand our current collection of links: Leave us a message to include more links, tips and other findings.

Mission statement

Our mission is:

Spreading knowledge and raising awareness on mental health topics among members of the IfPh, U Rostock.

Our means are:

  • providing education through talks and workshops (facilitating the development of members counselling knowledge, skills and personal growth)
  • establishing a dialogue between institutes members to share experiences and to fight stigma
  • evidence - informed: annually literature review of student mental health including a survey -> feedback to the institutes leader and evaluating our means

Our events are inclusive and open for members of other institutes of all status groups. However, our main target group are students and PhD students of the Institute of Physics. We are happy to welcome work group leaders, PostDocs and and non-scientific staff of the IfPh to our events. Some workshops and talks may be advertised for single status groups to enhance dialogue or to address specific topics.

The Students Committee and the Graduate Research Training Group are supporting the initiative and strongly recommend participating. Our initiative is supported by work group leaders and the executive director(s) of the Institute of Physics. 

Mental Health Initiative

Literature shows a a high amount of academics are affected by/are experiencing mental health issues. Addressing mental health inside an institution may lead to increased productivity, better academic performances and well-being. We are aiming at educating on mental health topics important for academia and at creating a prevention-conscious and supportive culture at the Institute of Physics.

Disclaimer

This initiative is not a healthcare provider. The information provided on the website does not qualify as medical advice and does not substitute for speaking to medical professionals.

Event Archive and Past Achievements

Event Archive and Past Achievements

2022:

  • Workshop "Managing Upwards" by Dragonfly Mental Health for PhD students within the Doctoral Seminar of the Graduate Research Training Group

2021:

  • Talk "Strategies for managing mental health and well-being in academia" by PhD Desiree Dickerson, within the Physics Colloquium
  • Talk "Impostor Syndrom" by Dragonfly Mental Health within the Doctoral Seminar of the Graduate Research Training Group
  • Workshop "Training in Active Listening" by Dragonfly Mental Health for students and PhD students 

2020:

  • Talks "Mental Health in Academia" by Dragonfly Mental Health, German and English, within the Physics Colloquium
Further literature

Further literature

PhD Desiree Dickerson: Mental health and COVID, but also other related topics: https://desireedickerson.com/covid19-resources

Dr. Zoë J Ayres, analytical scientist & mental health advocate, provides free resources for awareness, incl. poster: https://www.zjayres.com/ and has published the book Managing Your Mental Health During Your PhD which is freely availabe for members of the University

Further websites and articles:

Literature to start with:

 

Conferences and Workshops

 

Linking Mental Health and Performance  (Literature collection from Dragonfly Mental Health)

Productivity:

Quality of Work:

  • Decreases likelihood of errors and mistakes (Mazurek et al. 2018)

  • Improves task performance (Wright et al. 1993, Hysenbegasiet al. 2005 )

  • Improves creativity and organization (Alonso et al. 2020)

Resources to educate yourself further

Resources to educate yourself further

Offers and services by the University or University-related institutions:

  • The Health Management division of the University, URgesund, offers workshops and webinars in German language.
  • The Graduates Academy supports and promotes early career researchers at the University of Rostock. They offer a high quality qualification programme (in English and German language). Additionally, they provide networking opportunities and workshops on project and time management. 
  • Studierendenwerk Rostock-Wismar offers workshops in German language.
  • The Rostock International House (International affairs office of U Rostock, Welcome Center) invites to a Intercultural Training for international PhDs, Postdocs and Researchers on a regular basis.
  • The General Counselling Service (Allgemeine Studienberatung) has open office hours if you encounter organization and learning difficulties.

Other offers and services:

Support & Cooperation

Support & Cooperation

We are working together with URgesund, the Universitys Health Management. We are financially supported by URgesund and Techniker Krankenkasse for three years to continue our efforts on education on mental health topics. Further, we cooperate with the non-profit, registered organization Dragonfly Mental Health which aims at producing a sustainable mental health culture in higher education. 

Emergent and non-emergent contact information and services

Emergent and non-emergent contact information and services

If you are in crisis and need emergency help:

Non-emergent contact information and services:

About

About

From left to right: Anna Julia Poser, Wanda Witte, Paula Respondek, Milena Gödecke, Anne-Marie Esche, Benjamin Liewehr

The Mental Health Initiative (MHI) was a successful project at the Institute of Physics, running from August 2020 to 2023. The goal of raising awareness about mental health among academics was successfully achieved inside and outside the Insitute of Physics.

We met on a regular basis (bi-weekly). In these meetings, we discussed upcoming events, new event suggestions, networking & visibility, and many more topics.

We were a self-organized group of students and PhD students working towards our goals since August 2020.

Former active members:  Karo Becker, Anne-Marie Esche, Eframir Franco-Diaz, Milena Gödecke, Jennifer Hartisch, Juliana Jaen, Ayla Kruse, Benjamin Liewehr, Anna Julia Poser, Markus Reinert, Paula Respondek, Andrea Steinfurth, Tim Völzer, Wanda Witte

Former Speakers: Milena Gödecke, Anna Julia Poser (founder), Tim Völzer

Mental Health First Aiders

Mental Health First Aiders

Here you can find an overview over the Mental Health First Aiders at our university.

Contact

MHFA contact:
Tim Völzer (he/him)
tim.voelzer(at)uni-rostock.de