Support student mental health and wellbeing
Students may face personal, economic, social and academic pressures that influence their wellbeing. The steps in this guide will help you understand what steps you can take to support students' mental health and wellbeing.
Before you start
This information will help you to:
- identify a crisis situation that needs immediate action;
- raise a 'student of concern' referral;
- train in suicide prevention;
- recognise when a student might need specialist support;
- talk to a student about support; and
- direct a student to the correct mental health and wellbeing services.
- 1. Know what to do if a student is in crisis - PLEASE ACT IMMEDIATELY
If a student has plans and the means to act on suicidal thoughts and is worried about keeping themselves safe, you must:
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- dial 222 from any landline UCL phone and request an ambulance. They will help get the ambulance to your location; or
- call 9 999 from a UCL phone or 999 from a mobile; or
- escort the student to the closest A&E (this is UCLH if you're at UCL's main Bloomsbury campus).
If the student is not in immediate danger, but requires urgent support you should help them:
- contact their GP for an emergency appointment; or
- call NHS 111 for guidance and/or an urgent appointment with the closest available GP.
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- 2. Raise a student of concern referral
Complete a Student of Concern referral if a student:
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- talks about suicide;
- is showing or reporting a rapid decline in mental wellbeing;
- is currently self-harming;
- is at risk of harm from themselves or others; and/or
- poses a potential risk to others (they mention thoughts of harming others or paranoid thoughts).
Support advisers in Student Support and Wellbeing (SSW) will follow up on referrals within 24 hours during the week.
If you are unsure about whether to refer a student or not, you can contact SSW to talk about the situation.
- Student Support and Wellbeing: +44 (0)20 7679 0100.
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- 3. Train in suicide prevention
Suicide is a preventable death. Make sure you know how you can help.
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Please take this 20-minute FREE suicide prevention training from Zero Suicide Alliance. It will help make you more suicide aware and may save a life.
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- 4. Recognise a student who might need mental health support
Look out for:
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- sleep or appetite changes;
- changes in mood or appearance;
- a drop in functioning: reduced attendance, or late or missing assignments;
- problems with concentration;
- an icrease in alcohol consumption or drug use; and
- depression, anxiety or panic attacks.
Signs of a potential crisis include:
- a student mentioning suicidal thoughts, along with plans and the means to act on these, or immediate plans to harm themselves;
- a student mentioning an intention to harm others; and
- extreme emotional distress.
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- 5. Talk to a student about mental health and wellbeing
If you have a feeling something is not quite right with a student, talk to them. You will not make things worse by asking.
Here are some tips for having what might be a difficult conversation:
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Express your concerns clearly and directly. Asking about mental health and wellbeing is a positive thing.
Listen and communicate without judgement
- Students should be able to talk without fear of judgement or unfair treatment. To make sure you understand what is being said, you may want to repeat back the student’s words. For example “I am hearing you’re unmotivated and have been feeling very low, is that right?” The things that the student is telling you might make you surprised or sad, but try to avoid expressing negative emotions or reactions. Express empathy by using phrases like “I’m sorry to hear you’ve been experiencing this, it must be really difficult”.
Listen to hear and understand- You are not expected to have all the answers. Reassure the student that effective help is available. Ask the student to share as much or as little as they want. Don't press them to provide details if they don’t feel comfortable doing so.
Do not promise to keep information confidential- If the student makes comments that show a potential risk of harm to themselves or others, including suicidal thoughts, do not agree to keep this confidential.
- Encourage the student to reach out to support services and submit a Student of Concern referral.
- If the student expresses immediate plans to harm themselves or others, then this is a crisis which warrants immediate action.
Help the student to understand their options for support at UCL and elsewhere- Unless the student is in crisis, try to empower them to make their own decisions. Guide the student to identify their personal support network and consider using the support services.
- Encourage the student to reach out to support services and submit a Student of Concern referral if you believe the student to need urgent (but not immediate) support. If a student is well enough to access support on their own, we do not need a referral. Please encourage the student to attend a drop-in session instead.
Look after yourself- Make sure that you take care of yourself and remember that support is also available for staff through Workplace Health.
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- 6. Flag mental health support services to a student
A student experiencing wellbeing difficulties may feel that speaking with you is enough. In all cases you should encourage some of the other support below or self-help. Put a date in your diary to check in with the student again and see how they are getting on.
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The UCL Student Support and Wellbeing (SSW) webpages have lots of resources to help students stay healthy and look after their wellbeing.
Many students feel better after making changes to their lifestyle, such as:
- increasing physical activity;
- eating healthily;
- doing something creative; and
- being mindful of their alcohol consumption.
However, some students may benefit from support and advice. There is a wealth of support resources available.
These are just some of the many support services that the student can access.
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