Monash University, the University of Reading and FutureLearn collaborate to address mental illness and wellbeing during Mental Health Awareness Week

‘Mindfulness for Wellbeing and Peak Performance’ is open for enrolment now and starts on 15th May 2017

London, UK, 9th May 2017: FutureLearn, the leading social learning platform, today announces with its partner, Monash University, the upcoming run of their course: ‘Mindfulness for Wellbeing and Peak Performance.’ The announcement is made during Mental Health Awareness Week, 8th-14th May 2017, and precedes The University of Reading’s course, ‘Understanding Anxiety, Depression and CBT’, starting on 5th June.

According to the Mental Health Foundation, mental health and behavioural problems, such as depression and anxiety, are reported to be the primary drivers of disability worldwide. The foundation states that 10% of children and young people (aged 5-16 years) have a clinically diagnosable mental health issue. They further state that poor mental health is one of the biggest issues in the workplace today, causing over 70 million working days to be lost each year.

Monash University’s course on mindfulness is aimed at everyone, regardless of their profession or sector; no previous experience of mindfulness is required. The course explains how mindfulness works and teaches learners how to incorporate mindfulness practices into their lifestyles, thereby reducing stress in order to improve learners’ personal and professional lives.

During the course, learners will explore the origins of mindfulness, looking at the latest research, as well as practical techniques. Learners will also explore the benefits of having a curious mind and the impact of the practice on memory and learning. People will also have the chance to understand ways that they can manage stress in order to learn and perform better. Learners will finally progress to look at the impact of mindfulness on communication and relationships, as well as understanding how to adopt mindfulness as a way of life.

By the end of the course, learners will be able to:

• Identify causes of stress and poor performance in their lifestyles
• Develop a range of mindfulness techniques that are effective in their personal, academic and professional lives
• Evaluate the impact of a variety of mindfulness techniques on wellbeing and performance
• Model a more mindful approach to work, study and life

Monash University’s course precedes the University of Reading’s course which aims to improve learners’ understanding of depression and anxiety and explores cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) as a treatment. Learners will be able to describe the key symptoms of depression and anxiety and determine how the disorders differ from other emotions, such as feeling low or worried. The course further studies the stereotypes surrounding anxiety and depression, particularly in the media and among family and friends. Participants will finally look at assessment tools and the CBT approach. Previous offerings of this course have reached over 40,000 learners from across the world.

Reading’s course is aimed at anyone with an interest in mental health, including those who have experience or are experiencing anxiety and/or depression, family and friends of those experiencing the disorders, and of course healthcare professionals.

Assoc. Prof. Craig Hassed at Monash University, said: “The modern world is becoming faster, more pressured, distracted and disconnected. This comes at a significant cost as far as mental and emotional well-being, relationships, performance and errors are concerned. We need strategies to help us not only cope with the modern world but to help us thrive, connect and make greater use of our potential. Mindfulness is an ancient approach to fostering greater well being, deep insight, clarity and effective functioning. This course on mindfulness will provide a useful introduction into the background, rationale and some of the research on mindfulness but, more importantly, how to apply it in ways that are meaningful to learners.”

Professor Shirley Reynolds, Director of the Charlie Waller Institute at the University of Reading, commented: “I’m really excited to have the opportunity to engage with people from all over the world to discuss depression and anxiety, and CBT, the leading evidence-based psychological treatment. It is important to stress that this is not online treatment. But if you are thinking of having CBT or have a friend or family member who is, we hope it will help you make a more informed decision and get the most out of treatment.”

Nigel Smith, Head of Content at FutureLearn, commented: “Mental Health is a huge challenge in the UK and worldwide, so we feel it is vital to address this issue. We’re very proud of the fact that our partners, Monash University and the University of Reading, not only raise awareness of the issue, but also offer techniques to combat the problem. Learners will be able to benefit from FutureLearn’s social community, where sharing insight and personal experiences about such a sensitive yet prevalent issue, has never been so important.”

As with all FutureLearn courses, learners will be able to take the courses for free or upgrade for a fee to receive additional benefits.

Notes to editors

About FutureLearn

Founded by The Open University in 2012, FutureLearn is a leading social learning platform, enabling online learning through conversation. With over 6 million registered learners from over 190 countries across the globe – a community that is continuously growing – it offers free and paid for online courses from world-leading UK and international universities, as well as organisations such as Microsoft, the British Council and Cancer Research UK. FutureLearn’s course portfolio covers a wealth of areas to promote lifelong learning for a range of applications including general interest, an introduction to university studies, continuing professional development and fully online postgraduate degrees.

About Monash University

Monash University is one of Australia’s leading universities ranked in the world’s top 1% (Times Higher Education World University Rankings)

Monash University was established in Melbourne, Australia in 1958. In little more than 50 years, the University has become Australia’s largest university, earning an enviable national and international reputation for research and teaching excellence. Monash University is the youngest member of the Group of Eight, the coalition of Australia’s most prestigious research-intensive universities.

Monash is a global university possessing the ambition and ability to address momentous global challenges. It has campuses in Australia, China, Malaysia and South Africa as well as an education centre in Italy, and major partnerships with universities in the UK and India. For more information, visit www.monash.edu

About the University of Reading

The University of Reading is ranked in the top 1% of universities in the world with a reputation for teaching, research and enterprise. The University aims to deliver a world-class experience to all of its learners. Teaching is research-led, so learners can benefit from the expertise and hands-on knowledge of teaching staff. It has been a partner with FutureLearn since 2013, and offers more than 15 courses online covering topics ranging from climate change to archaeology and digital leadership.

The award-winning UK campuses in the south-east of England offer a fantastic environment in which to live and learn, with state-of-of-the-art facilities – all just 25 minutes from London.

For more information, please contact:

Rachel MacPherson, PR Executive, FutureLearn
Email: rachel.macpherson@futurelearn.com