Helping distressed students

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A guide for Staff

Many people experience emotional and psychological difficulties at some point in their lives. Usually these can be resolved by talking them through with family and friends. Sometimes professional help is needed.

If you feel you need to, or are requested to give a student extra assistance, it is important to help within the boundaries of what you feel competent to do.

This guide has been produced to:

• Help you to recognise when a student may be in difficulty.
• Provide advice to help you respond/refer appropriately and effectively.
• Remind you of the sources of support within the University.
• Raise awareness of issues relating to student mental health.

You may also wish to contact the Student Counselling Service for advice on matters of student mental health and wellbeing. Student Counsellors work closely with other members of the University staff and are available for consultation if you are concerned about a student in difficulty or distress, though they cannot discuss a specific student with you without the student’s explicit permission.

Staff training

In addition to providing advice and consultation the Student Counselling Service, in conjunction with the Disability and Learning Support Service, run regular staff development which can be booked via the Events channel in MyEd.  Search for 'Mental Health'.

A range of resources for University staff who offer first line of support to students who may have mental health issues has been developed by the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust.

• Charlie Waller videos for staff

The Disability and Learning Support Service also run a number of awareness training sessions on various conditions throughout the year.