Nightline releases the life kit to help students with their mental health

Nightline France association was founded in 2016 by students and for students. It started by deploying a free and anonymous call system to provide counsel and attentiveness to students suffering from psychological issues. The mission decided by the association and supported by the French ministries of health and higher education is clear: to improve students’ mental health by acting at individual and collective scales. Figures registered by the association show that in 2021-2022, more than 13,000 calls and messages were recorded during the academic year, including 30% in state of stress or anxiety and 19% about suicidal thoughts.

Tailor-made experience using recreational activities

These figures are confirmed by social security La Mutuelle des Etudiants (LMDE), which shows that 70% of students state being in angst situation, and 36% “have suicidal thoughts”, a 6-pts increase compared with 2019, and a percentage twice as high than the French average.

So Nightline did everything it could since the health crisis to act on this new front by deploying a communication campaign over several months using a new resource: the Life Kit. This digital kit is made of mini-games, training games, activities and summary sheets forming a customised experience. When their experience starts, students are asked a simple yet deep and important question: “How are you really doing?”. Depending on the answer, students are guided on various paths with activities corresponding the best of their situation. It’s worth noting that the way “A friend of mine is not doing well” was developed to help another person in distress.

Science-approved contents

The resources included in the Life Kit come from a “rich collaboration” developed for a year with psychologists, but also communication experts, and of course students. Contents are thus science-approved and draw from Cognitive and Behavioural Therapies and “positive psychology” focused on emotions, thoughts and behaviours, all anchored in student reality.
Graphics are also original and adapted to young adults. In addition to activities, a mini-dictionary is also accessible to name things and provide every user with a vocabulary suiting his/her angst.

A campaign and a kit to complement listening

To promote and spread its kit better among students, Nightline has launched a 360° campaign with communication professionals, including the distribution of goodies during prevention events or speeches from ambassadors on social networks.

This campaign and its Life(-support) Kit are strong aspects of the “mission that Nightline promotes since its creation”, i.e. “Improving the health of students without becoming a substitute to care”. These new tools complement additional actions from the association, and particularly “freeing speech” with a free, nocturnal and anonymous listening service.

Services offered by Nightline also provide external resources, including the national call number for the prevention of suicides 3114 and soutien-étudiant-info, the national website providing the contacts of free services and systems of psychological support everywhere in France, and advice of many listening lines.