Students with mental health issues

As many as one in four students is likely to experience some form of mental health issue during their studies. This might be a temporary reaction to a painful event, or a longer-term or ongoing condition that effects resilience and ability to cope with challenges.

No matter what your situation, whether long-term or short-term, let us know so that we can support you.

We have services in place to support students with mental health difficulties, including depression, anxiety disorders (including panic disorders, OCD and PTSD), bi-polar disorder, schizophrenia and psychosis, drug and alcohol problems, and eating disorders.

When you apply to us

You can tell us about mental health conditions or issues at any time. The sooner we know the better we will be able to support you.

If you indicate in your application that you have a long-term or ongoing mental health condition, we will contact you to discuss your needs when you are offered a place.

To qualify for ongoing support, your condition must have lasted for, or be likely to last for, a year or more and it must have a significant effect on your ability to carry out daily tasks such as attending seminars and lectures, memory and concentration.

If you have mental health issues you will need to provide evidence of this from your doctor or psychiatrist to access support.

If you do not want to provide this information in your application, please contact us in confidence so that we can make sure you get the support you need.

Support from a mental wellbeing support officer can be provided confidentially.

I really wish I had confided in those around me when I first began my studies, and would encourage all students to let it be known as soon as possible if they are struggling. Help is out there.

Rebecca Gibbs, Primary Education with QTS (3–7 years) BA(Hons)

What support is available?

If you have a long-term mental health condition, you will have a Learning Support Coordinator who will be available throughout your course to help you and your department. Depending on what you need, they will:

advise your tutors and lecturers on how you learn best
organise extra time, rest breaks or a scribe for exams or assessments if you need them
help you apply for your Disabled Students' Allowances if you are eligible
coordinate support from note-takers, interpreters, communicators, lip-speakers or audio-typists
organise a mentor for you who will meet with you regularly and provide you with one-to-one study skills assistance or training on specialist software
arrange the loan of equipment, such as recording devices, computer equipment or assistive software.

Counselling service

We take the mental wellbeing of our students very seriously and have support services available to help you adapt and cope with life at university.

Our confidential counselling service is available to all our students to help deal with stress, feelings of isolation, anxiety or bereavement, for example.

Can I get extra financial support?

For UK (home) students

If you are a UK (home) student, you could be eligible to apply for Disabled Students' Allowances (DSAs) to help you pay for extra costs incurred on your course as a result of your disability.

The DSAs can help to pay for things such as travel, a note-taker or reader, study skills help, specialist equipment and other course-related costs. The support you are eligible to receive depends on your disability and not on your household income.

If you receive specialist equipment (e.g. a laptop, software etc) through DSAs, you will be required to pay the first £200 of this cost, but the university's DSA Reimbursement Fund can assist students whose household income is £25,000pa or less.

The application process for DSAs can take four or five months so it is important that you apply as soon as possible.

See the Gov.uk website for more information on DSAs.

Healthcare courses

If you are a UK student on an eligible healthcare course, you should instead apply for the NHS Bursary Disabled Students Allowance. This works in a similar manner to the regular DSA but acts as a separate scheme.