Health and Wellbeing

Health and Wellbeing support can help with any practical, emotional, or mental-health-related issues that are affecting your life at University Centre Leeds.

These may include, but are not limited to:

• Mental health difficulties such as depression, anxiety, stress, and low self-esteem
• Issues with self-harm, disordered eating, and substance use
• Adjustment and transition issues
• Relationship and interpersonal issues
• Family or personal difficulties
• Bereavement
• Academic-related stress and/or performance anxiety
• Difficulties with time-management, organisation, and motivation
• Questions around identity
• Sleep difficulties and other health concerns
• The impact of neurodiversity on mental health

Whatever is stopping you from living your best student life, we are here to help.

All students at University Centre Leeds can access one-to-one Health and Wellbeing support once they have enrolled. We are open to everybody and welcome students of any age, class, ethnicity, faith, belief, culture, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

Students who have previously accessed support are welcome to re-refer at any time during their studies.

To access support, you need to complete a short online referral form. Follow this link and complete the Student Support Referral Form.

Once we receive your form, we will match you with an appropriate member of our team. They will contact you via email to arrange an Initial Meeting.

Please note: Our referral form closes during the Christmas, Easter, and summer holidays.

During the summer holiday, we operate a reduced service for postgraduate students and those resitting assessments. For more information about support outside of term-time, please email us.

No. We will aim to see you for an Initial Meeting as soon as possible once we receive your referral form. Usually, this is within a few working days.

The time between your Initial Meeting and next appointment may be longer, especially around the holidays and during busy periods. This will always be discussed with you in your Initial Meeting. 

Support begins with an Initial Meeting. This is a 45-minute appointment in which we will discuss what you’re struggling with and work together to find an intervention that will help.

Depending on your needs, this intervention could be:

• Wellbeing advice: Practical and personal support with any aspect of student life
• Mental health support: Tailored support for longer-term mental health difficulties
• Short-term counselling: Confidential, emotional support to explore difficult situations or feelings
• Signposting or referral to appropriate internal or external support

The support process is intended to be collaborative and empowering. We want to give you the tools to overcome the challenges you are facing. It is most effective when you actively engage with the sessions provided.

After referral, you will be matched with an appropriate staff member based on your support needs and our availability. Usually, you will work with the same team member throughout your time with us. To see the current members of our team, see the Support and Wellbeing page on Blackboard (available to enrolled students only).

Occasionally, we may decide that you would be better supported by another member of the team. We will discuss this with you and keep you involved in the process.

Wellbeing advice and mental health support usually follow a four-appointment model.

In your Initial Meeting we will identify the problem, set goals, and create an action plan. Over the next two appointments we will work to help you achieve these goals, taking time to review them as we go. In the fourth appointment, we will review your progress and consider our next steps, which may involve extending or ending contact.

Counselling interventions last for up to six appointments.

We hold appointments in person and online via Microsoft Teams. You can indicate your appointment preference in the referral form, and we will try our best to accommodate it.   

In-person appointments are held in the dedicated Student Support rooms on the third floor of the Mabgate campus.

No. Just bring yourself and be ready to talk about what is troubling you.

We have a small waiting room outside the meeting rooms if you are early.

To respect your confidentiality and privacy, we ask that you attend appointments alone. This also applies to online appointments.

If you require someone to support you for accessibility reasons, please email us prior to your appointment on: healthandwellbeing@UCLeeds.ac.uk

Yes. Everything you tell us will remain confidential, unless we believe that you are at risk of harm, or that you pose a risk of harm to somebody else.

To ensure we are working safely and ethically, our staff engage in regular professional supervision during which we discuss the students we are supporting. These discussions adhere to the same confidentiality conditions detailed above.

We will never speak to parents, guardians, family members, or friends about your access to the service without your explicit consent. Similarly, we will not share any details about other students accessing the service with you.

Occasionally, we may share limited information with other teams to coordinate support (e.g. declared disabilities, access to the service).

Sometimes, it may be appropriate to pass your details on to another staff member or external service (e.g. a support charity or NHS service). In normal circumstances, we will always seek your consent before doing so.

If you are running late, let us know as soon as possible by emailing: healthandwellbeing@UCLeeds.ac.uk . We will advise what to do depending on the length of your delay.

If we don’t hear from you, we will wait for 15 minutes after the scheduled start time. If you do not arrive within this period, we will cancel the appointment and mark it as a ‘no-show’.

After a no-show, we will email you asking if you want to reschedule. If you do not respond within 5 working days, we will end your intervention.

We will also end your intervention if you miss two consecutive appointments without notice.

If you can’t make your appointment, let us know as soon as possible by emailing: healthandwellbeing@UCLeeds.ac.uk. We will cancel your appointment and help you reschedule.

If you cancel three consecutive appointments, we will end your intervention. You are welcome to return to Health and Wellbeing support at any point during your studies, but you will need to complete the referral form again.

If you are worried about a friend and think they would benefit from our support, there are several actions you can take:

1. Talk to them: Share your concern for their wellbeing and let them know that our team can help. Show them our information on Blackboard and direct them to the referral form if they wish to seek support.
2. Encourage them to email us: This allows them to explain their difficulties in their own words and seek support on their own terms.
3. Talk to us: If you think a friend would benefit from our support but may be hesitant to reach out, send an email to: healthandwellbeing@UCLeeds.ac.uk 
   • Include your friend’s full name, course, and year of study (if known)

When emailing, please:

• Provide a brief description of their current difficulties

Where possible, tell your friend that you are contacting us about them. When we reach out to offer support we will usually tell them that someone has raised concerns. 

Support is available by appointment only and we do not offer a drop-in service. To access support, please follow the referral process above. 
 
Our service is strictly non-urgent. If you need out-of-hours or crisis support, please follow this link.

No. Our service is strictly non-urgent. If you need out-of-hours or crisis support, please follow this link.

If you need urgent support during an appointment, we will refer you to an appropriate external service which can ensure your safety, provide you with immediate assistance, and deliver the level of care you need.

If you have a long-term mental health condition, the Disability Support Team could offer you some extra help.

For more information, and to disclose your long-term condition, see the Disability Support information page.

Your data will be generally collected and used in accordance with GDPR and University Centre Leeds’ Data Protection policies. This will include the personal data that you provide to us in the Student Support Referral Form, any subsequent forms, and appointment notes made by our team.

After every appointment, we make short written notes to record progress, document important information, and describe any interventions. These notes are stored in a secure digital system and can only be accessed by relevant Student Support staff. Handwritten notes are disposed of and destroyed as confidential waste. In normal circumstances, appointment notes will not be shared without your consent.

All records are used for the purpose of providing support and information will be held securely on University Centre Leeds-approved drives for 7 years from the date that you leave the institution. We also produce anonymised statistical data for the purposes of service analysis and development.

You can email us at: healthandwellbeing@UCLeeds.ac.uk 

Our team is available during normal working hours, 09:00 – 16:30, Monday to Friday.  
 
Support is available by appointment only and we do not offer a drop-in service. To access support, please follow the referral process above. 
 
Our service is strictly non-urgent. If you need out-of-hours or crisis support, please follow this link.