Wellbeing and mental health

A whole university approach

UCL was one of the very first universities to qualify for a University Mental Health Charter Award at the end of 2022. Following this, the University Mental Health Charter Oversight Group was created to provide institutional co-ordination and recommendations to build a ‘whole institution response’ to mental health and wellbeing.

The group’s first task was to develop a set of institutional principles to guide UCL's strategic approach to student and staff mental health and wellbeing. The principles focus on three key areas: 

• A whole university approach to building a healthy community. 
• Everyone can access the right support, at the right time, to meet their needs. 
• Continuously learning and improving the way we understand and support health and wellbeing across staff and students.

Further information

• More about UCL's mental health principles for staff and students
• Staff Mental Health and Wellbeing Plan
• Student Support and Wellbeing Services Strategic Plan 2025-30 (PDF)
• Policies and protocols

Services and support

For staff

• Workplace Health
• Health and wellbeing staff benefits
• UCL's Employee Assistance Programme offers confidential assistance to staff on a wide range of matters
• Staff who have concerns about a student's wellbeing can use our Student Triage and Referral Tool (START) which provides tailored guidance and signposting, allowing staff to direct students to the most appropriate information and services.

For students

• Student Support and Wellbeing Services offers a range of support around mental and physical health and wellbeing, disability and neurodiversity, personal safety and more.
• The 24/7 Student Support Line is a free, confidential wellbeing support service available 24-hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

For all

• Support for students and staff affected by conflict or disaster: As a global university we also have a dedicated support team for students affected by war, conflict and disaster, which provides Psychological First Aid (PFA). This is an "evidence-informed" approach to supporting individuals, during and shortly after, potentially traumatic events, and is endorsed by governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and health organisations such as the World Health Organisation (WHO).
• Keeping students safe and reducing harm associated with addictive behaviours - Our focus is on taking a student-led harm reduction approach to all addictive behaviours, including drug use. 

Research and innovation

UCL is committed to the development of sector best practice and lead innovation on student mental health. This includes working with Student Minds, NHS England, OfS, UUK and other partners across the health and HE sectors to undertake research, develop practical advice and co-ordinate several bodies to create a blueprint for student mental health care.

Via our Grand Challenge of Mental Health and Wellbeing, UCL is harnessing its interdisciplinary expertise to address mental health challenges from multiple perspectives. We aim to become a beacon for improvements in mental health and wellbeing through transformative cross-disciplinary research, practice and partnerships for prevention and early intervention. 

UCL hosts a leading centre on student mental health PsychUP for Wellbeing which mobilises resources of academic psychology departments, health science networks and voluntary organisations to empower higher education, healthcare partners and UCL itself.