Mental Health
Information and support for students with mental health difficulties
- What are mental health difficulties?
- Support within this University - resources available and confidentiality
- Other resources for students
- National resources
- Feeling desperate right now?
- Concerned for a friend?
What are mental health difficulties?
A mental health difficulty may be defined as psychological distress or disturbance which interferes with an individual's ability to function normally. Mental health difficulties take many different forms and vary greatly in severity, from short-term depression or anxiety triggered by some personal experience, to long-term psychiatric illness.
About one person in four experiences mental health difficulties at some time in their lives. For most, these difficulties are short-term, and can be greatly assisted by medication, counselling or other forms of treatment. Students suffer the same types of problems as the rest of the population, although research suggests that they can be more prone to anxiety and depression. Some students arrive at university with a pre-existing condition but not all will have fully recognised or disclosed their difficulties.
There is an increasing amount of information available on student mental health, and some relevant resources are listed below. Sometimes it can be helpful to search out more information to help you identify what your own, or another person's, difficulty might be, or how you might manage to deal with it differently. Self-help can be really useful but it is not a substitute for professional help. Often we like to think that we can sort something out for ourselves, and sometimes we can. However, sorting out can mean asking someone else for help.
The University Counselling Service has produced a number of leaflets describing the symptoms and offering practical advice for mental health problems commonly experienced by students.
Please note that Canterbury Christ Church University is not responsible for the quality or accuracy of the information given by external organisations nor the content of their websites.
Support within this University
Resources available:
- Counselling
- Student Mental Health Adviser
- Exam concessions and arrangements
- Mentoring
- Peer support
- Equipment
- Confidentiality
There are a number of excellent websites produced by other UK university counselling services and disability services offering information and guidance on mental health problems. However, these are no substitute for seeking personal, professional help when appropriate.
- Information on many mental health problems, compiled especially for students by a number of UK University Counselling Services, can be found at www.student.counselling.co.uk. This site also has useful links to other national organisations.
- www.studentdepression.org has information about depression. It also offers advice for anyone feeling suicidal.
- The Oxford Student Mental Health Network has a site providing information and advice on mental health and well-being.
National websites and
Help-lines
Websites can be a good source of information about
various issues and difficulties, but
they are no substitute for professional help.. Canterbury Christ Church University
accepts no responsibility for the content of these
independent websites.
- MIND publications give straightforward and practical information on a range of issues, together with resource lists for seeking further help.
- Royal College of Psychiatrists 'Help is at Hand' is a series of leaflets offering information on depression, bereavement, problems with food and eating, anxiety etc.
- Royal College of Psychiatrists 'Mental Health' fact sheets contain information on specific psychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, etc.
Other useful links:
- Ahead 4 health Useful student mental health website
- Alcoholics Anonymous
- Rethink An organisation which works to help everyone affected by severe mental illness recover a better quality of life. Resources available for young people available.
- British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy A professional and accrediting body for counsellors and psychotherapists, of which out university counsellors are members.
- Beat Eating Disorders An organisation supporting people affected by eating disorders.
- National Self Harm Network supports those who self harm and provides information, contacts and workshops on matters relating to self harm.
- Relate Help with relationship issues. Includes useful and informative self-help fact sheets
Feeling desperate right now?
You may have opened this page because you are considering suicide or because you are worried about a friend who seems to be in this situation.
It is most important that
anyone contemplating suicide seeks assistance at the
earliest possible time. Whatever their problems, they
are also very likely to be experiencing deep feelings of
shame, loneliness and hopelessness. Research and
experience suggests that if these feelings are
addressed, suicide may cease to seem the only choice.
Once the immediate crisis is past, many people express
relief that they have not acted on their suicidal
intentions.
Immediate help
During working hours
The University Counselling Service (01227 782233 or 01227 782686, email counselling@canterbury.ac.uk)
- i-zone (01227 782222)
- Student Support Officer
Out of working hours
(01227 782803) South East health (www.soughteasthealth.com)
Provides out of hours medical services for when your GP surgery is closed. If you need medical assistance out-of-hours, you must first contact your surgery who will provide you with a recorded message and contact options for you to ring.
This applies to students at Canterbury, Broadstairs, Folkestone, Tunbridge Wells and Medway.
- Speak to one of the Resident tutors.
You can contact them via the 24 hour telephone line to
the University (01227 767700). Hold the line until
someone answers as there will be someone on duty 24/7.
- Consider contacting The Samaritans who provide a 24 hour confidential listening service for emotional support, including crisis support. Telephone 08457 909090 for an immediate response, or email jo@samaritans.org, where messages will be replied to within 24 hours. If you prefer to be anonymous, you can email samaritans@anon.penet.fi
- There are many websites offering advice and support on coping with suicidal feelings. However, useful though these may be, they are no substitute for seeking professional help.
- www.studentdepression.org has helpful advice and links for anyone feeling suicidal
- See also www.befrienders.org for support and information in many languages as well as English.
Concerned for a
friend?
- Guidance and information about helping a friend who you think may have a mental health problem can be found on the
- d-stress mental health website.
- Lancaster University has produced guidelines for those supporting friends with possible mental health problems, together with a flowchart on what action to take.
- If you are concerned that a friend may be suicidal, Loughborough University has produced practical advice on how you can help.
- You can discuss your concerns and possible support you may need in helping your friend with one of the University's Student Counsellors (01227 782233 or 01227 782686, email counselling@canterbury.ac.uk). Or you can make an appointment to see one of our counsellors through the 'me and my services' facility on StudentNET, and discuss your concerns about your friend.
