Everyone knows the importance of taking care of your mental health. But not everyone knows about the support available for when you are struggling. This blog post will hopefully provide some clarity on the services and support available while you are studying at Southampton University.
Self-help Guides
Firstly, the most straightforward resources available are self-help guides, found in books, leaflets, blogs, and videos from many different organisations. These are useful if you are coming out of a dark place or have a history of mental health. They are for those who want to access support in their own time at their own pace and feel able to implement changes to improve their life. Southampton University has compiled 22 self-help guides with the NHS to support students. This can be found here.
For those that are currently struggling it can be daunting to reach out for support. It is important to remember that if you are struggling then mental health services want to support you. No issue is too small or insignificant to them because it isn’t to you. Talking to someone may be too challenging, especially if phone calls are not accessible due to your disability. Then some organisations offer great chat or text options with professionals. Some include SHOUT which is free to text at 85258 and CALM which offers live web chat or over WhatsApp.
Helplines
If you feel that talking to someone will be more beneficial, but you are not able to get in-person support, then helplines can support you. Many organisations can provide professional support such as;
Mind: 0300 102 1234
Samaritans: 116 123
Southampton University also has a hotline. Phoning the student hub at 0238 059 9599 and asking to speak to the Wellbeing Team can get you in touch with a university trained professional. If they feel that you are at risk, they can come to you in halls to offer support. If you are off campus, they may ask that you walk in to see them at the Student Hub opposite Jubilee Sports Gall. They can open the Hub for you, no matter the hour, to sit with you and help. They can register you with a Wellbeing Practitioner from the university who will be with you during your university journey to provide more consistent support. If they feel you need emergency services, they can call them for you or if University Health Service on campus is open then they can walk you down to see the Mental Health Nurse.
GPs
Not everyone is aware that many GP surgeries have a Mental Health Nurse. Appointments are booked in the same way as a GP appointment. Contact the University Health Service on 0238 055 7531.
A Mental Health Nurse bridges the gap between GP and counsellor providing practical support and knowledge for local services and treatments for long or short term. Services include talking therapies or peer support services where a team member can help you with day to day tasks like shopping which have become too overwhelming. They can prescribe or alter medication for mental health and can write mental health diagnoses. This can be shared with the university to get mentoring and counselling alongside DSA. Mental Health Nurses can be a regular point of contact, setting up regular phone calls for check-ins that can be as frequent as weekly for those in significant distress. This limits you from having to reach out to ask for support which can be too overwhelming when you are really struggling.
University Wellbeing Practitioner
Southampton University offers similar support with a Wellbeing Practitioner who bridges the gap between counselling and university. Once again, they can reach out to you removing the pressure of contacting someone for help and can have regular contact if you want. They are mental health trained so want to know what you are going through to offer practical support. They are very knowledgeable about local services and can refer you to services linked to the university such as counselling or mentoring. They can act on your behalf to communicate with university teams or provide evidence for any special considerations or extensions or speak to your PAT and arrange meetings.
University Report & Support Team
For those who have been put in a difficult situation which has impacted your wellbeing, the university offers a specialist team called Report and Support.
You can report an incident anonymously or with contact details where you choose if the situation is escalated or not. The situation does not have to have occurred on university grounds with university staff or students. They can support with domestic abuse, sexual misconduct, bullying and harassment or hate crime. They can provide immediate support removing you from difficult conditions by providing you with emergency accommodation or they can just be someone to talk to. They can make arrangements within the university to avoid perpetrators as much as possible, if you do not want the situation escalated, such as reassigning group work, lab work or field trips in some cases.
These are some of the resources to support you that are available at Southampton but if you have harmed yourself, please call emergency services who can provide the quick and high-level support that you require.