Being a student isn’t always the carefree life it’s made out to be. Leaving home and, in some cases, moving abroad, is stressful. TU Delft has a new psychologist to help international students – confidentially and free of charge.
Psychologist Nienke Streng, who has worked in different countries, has just joined the TU Delft team and will focus on helping international bachelor’s and master’s students with these kinds of issues.
Streng noted that students from other cultures often have different expectations. “There is often enormous pressure from the family to succeed,” she said. According to Streng, in some cases, the family can only send one person away to study, so the student feels a huge sense of responsibility. “Students become so stressed”, she said, “they can’t perform properly, and this becomes a vicious circle.”
According to Paula Meesters, one of five psychologists on the TU Delft team, they see about 10% of all students and PhD candidates. One major issue for students is what Meesters refers to as unrelenting standards and dealing with the fear of failure. Some students also have psychological problems such as anxiety, depression or personality issues. In fact, Meesters said around 30% suffer from depression and anxiety accounts for another 30% of problems.
Sometimes students uncover functional disabilities such as dyslexia, attention deficit problems or autistic spectrum problems, which have previously gone unrecognised. “Here at the university, we have a large support system for people with those kinds of difficulties”, said Meesters. “For example, we can make special arrangements for taking exams.”
Also trained in Trauma Related Therapy, and Mindfulness techniques, the psychologists stress that if you’re struggling but are unsure whether you need a psychologist, come anyway. “Sometimes it only takes one or two sessions – strictly confidential and completely free of charge – but it’s important not to wait too long,” said Meesters.
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