Students’ well-being and mental health: Cnaé, a new care system

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“Cnaé will be the preferred contact point for all students experimenting angst”. The “Coordination Nationale d’Accompagnement des Étudiantes et Étudiants” (a.k.a Cnaé, national centre for students’ follow-up) is the name of the new free of charge and secured platform designed to provide counsel, guidance, information and attention implemented by the French ministry of higher education to help students experimenting angst or facing violence or discrimination.

The new platform was created to better prevent the sources of psychological stress and improve students’ mental care. It relies on listening and follow-up, and highlights the commitment of the ministry in favour of all aspects of student life, a commitment that will put every student on the path of “empowerment and an environment of studies encouraging success”.

An already operational platform

After reminding that “new year’s celebrations may be a difficult period for students experimenting angst”, the ministry explained that the Cnaé platform is already accessible and operational. The platform puts in direct contact psychologists and social workers who “ensure listening and help students speak up, if they need it”.

The hotline number is 0 800 737 800. It is open from 10 am to 9 pm from Monday to Friday, and from 10 am to 2 pm on Saturday. The goal is to guide students towards “adapted resources and processes to improve their orientation to an existing system and workers on the field. The website étudiant.gouv also explains that this line is free of charge, secure, and employs “professionals (psychologists and social workers) who will answer your questions, provide listening and guide, if need be, towards appropriate resources”.

The Cnaé platform is under the supervision of the French ministry of higher education and research, and exploited by the association En Avant Toutes, an association that has been working for ten years for gender equality among the young. The platform of listening and guidance also allows to report situations that may be considered as a crime (discrimination, bullying, sexist and sexual violences).

Additional systems

The new system is an addition to many more actions recently developed by the ministry of higher education. Several types of support are offered for better counsel and efficient care of students’ mental and psychological health. Student health services have just been improved in higher education institutions, and, with the Santé Psy Etudiant system, it offers the opportunity for all students to benefit from eight free sessions with a psychologist, with no need to pay in advance. This system was created in 2021 in response to the needs that emerged during the Covid-19 pandemic, led to “the provision of 283,000 sessions to more than 57,000 students thanks to 1,100 psychologists committed for students” as part of this support, said the ministry.

To prevent and manage these angst situations, the ministry also contracted partnership agreements with Nightline, the association acting for the mental health of the young that developed many initiatives in this way in terms of listening. Initiatives include Tête la première, the latest project developed by the Nightline association. The idea is to offer on the website of the association, a gallery of personal stories from young people and athletes talking about health subjects (stress management, social pressure, disability, sexist and sexual violence, food trouble). The idea is to present “experience feedbacks” and provide counsel in terms of mental health and physical activity.