University mental health policy template

A practical toolkit to help universities create a strategy to improve the mental health of staff and students.

A evidence-informed practical toolkit for higher education providers. It helps universities create an effective mental health and wellbeing strategy to improve the mental health of staff and students, as part of a whole institution approach.

This digital pack will help you to create a trustworthy mental health strategy based on sound clinical evidence. It will enable you to look at a whole-university approach to wellbeing, encouraging all staff and students to get involved.

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CREATE University Mental Health Toolkit

Whatever your role in the university, you may notice students that you are familiar with acting differently from normal. Perhaps you may notice changes in appearance or behaviour which concern you.

The toolkit was written in partnership with experienced Charlie Waller trainers and students. It provides practical, proven and accessible guidance to help you CREATE an effective evidence-based university mental health strategy and associated policies through:

Coproduction,

Risk assessment,

Evaluation,

Accessibility,

Togetherness, and

Embeddedness

These principles can help to ensure that the strategy is aligned to the needs, experiences, and expertise of diverse students, staff, and stakeholders in order to improve outcomes in practice.

CREATE University Mental Health Policy Guide 2025 Spreads (1)

The toolkit is designed for leadership teams, incorporating the voice of staff and students. It can be used by anyone with responsibility for the development, review and implementation of a mental health and wellbeing strategy.

Designing a mental health and wellbeing strategy for a complex institution is challenging. CREATE shows you where to start and guides you through the process.

More and more universities are looking to (re)design effective evidence based policies to promote mental health as part of a whole university strategy consistent with the University Mental Health Charter.

This toolkit contains content to help a range of university staff to:

  • Understand the principles and processes for creating a mental health strategy as part of a whole university approach.
  • Find and evaluate the research evidence for different mental health strategies and initiatives available to your university, aligned with the University Mental Health Charter Principles of Good Practice if appropriate.
  • Structure and write a mental health strategy suitable for your institutional context and develop supporting policies
  • Plan effective and coordinated implementation of your mental health strategy.
  • Develop skills and techniques to effectively coproduce a mental health strategy at your university.
  • Identify ways that the Charlie Waller Trust can provide ongoing and bespoke support to achieve your university’s mental health strategy aspirations.
  • Implement effective and theory-based evaluation informed by complexity theory to develop and demonstrate a whole university strategy that works at your institution.

Webinar: CREATE Toolkit – A Whole University Approach to Mental Health

This webinar is for university staff who are interested in developing a whole institution approach to supporting better mental health and wellbeing for students and staff. The webinar covers:

  • Understanding the principles and processes for creating and reviewing a mental health strategy as part of a whole institution approach
  • How to design an evidence based mental health strategy which is appropriate to your institutional context
  • How to develop and implement a mental health action plan at your institution
  • How to evaluate the effectiveness of your mental health strategy
  •  How to embed diverse co-production in the design, delivery, and dissemination of your strategy

Resources mentioned in the webinar:

Download the webinar slides (PDF)

Additional free bespoke consultation to help you apply the toolkit at your university is available from us. Find out more or make an enquiry.