Mental health support at UCL

If your mental health is having an impact on your studies, there is lots of support available for all students at UCL. 

Whether you have been diagnosed with a psychiatric condition, have a mental health difficulty such as anxiety or depression or you are concerned about how you are feeling, we encourage you to contact your GP.

It is important that you are registered with a General Practitioner (GP) in your local area. If you will be living close to campus (and in the London borough of Camden) you can register with our local GP surgery, Ridgmount Practice. You can register online and will then be contacted for an appointment.

What support is available?

At UCL Student Support and Wellbeing we are aware that mental health difficulties can have a significant impact on your studies and therefore aim to provide specialist support. This includes, but is not limited to, the following:

• A confidential appointment for non-judgemental support, advice, and guidance from an adviser.

This is an opportunity for you to talk about your mental health and any related difficulties that you may be having. Our advisers will follow up with you so you can have regular contact with the same adviser where possible, for continuing support over the phone, by email or in regular face-to-face meetings.

• Drop-in sessions at the Student Support and Wellbeing office where there is no need for an appointment – Monday to Friday.

Our drop-in sessions are suitable for brief enquiries only. The purpose of these sessions is to allow you to speak to an adviser for on-the-day help and support. Please visit our drop-ins page for times and further information.

• Support applying for special exam arrangements if your symptoms impact your ability to take exams, such as smaller venues for examinations, additional time, or rest breaks.

Depending on your requirements, we can support you to apply for special arrangements for your exams if you have up-to-date medical evidence.

• Advice and guidance, for both you and your department, about the potential impact of your mental health difficulty on your studies and how this can be accommodated.

Our service is confidential, but we can help facilitate communications with your department (and any other relevant departments) through the Summary of Reasonable Adjustments (SORA). This is a form that we will complete together and can then send to your department so that they are aware of any foreseeable issues that may impact your attendance and academic work.

• One-to-one support from a specialist mental health mentor to assist with planning and managing your studies.

We have a dedicated mentoring service for students who have identified any mental health difficulties. If this service is appropriate for you, you can meet regularly with a mental health professional who will discuss your academic work and any other difficulties or barriers you may be facing as a result of your mental health difficulties. UCL also have a dedicated therapeutic support service that offer students up to 6 free counselling sessions and access to group workshops.

• Regular communication with UCL Accommodation about specific requirements or difficulties arising from your condition.  

Further information about external sources of support can be found on our 'Therapy from external organisations' page.

Please note that UCL Student Support and Wellbeing are not able to offer support in a crisis. Please see our Crisis support page for more information.