Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Student Wellbeing Team
Dorothy Callaghan is a Mental Health Practitioner with the team and could be the person you speak to if you contact the service. She is a mental health nurse, who qualified in 1998, and has worked at Leeds Beckett for five years. She previously worked in the NHS and explains what you can expect if you contact the team.
“We support students with any mental health issues, whether they’re diagnosed or not. There are two main ways we support students – counselling and mental health support.
- Counselling - you can access four sessions in one academic year.
- Mental health support - this will be tailored to meet your individual needs and can be accessed through your entire time at the university if it’s needed.
Any student who is concerned can ring or email our team or fill in a registration form on the website. Once you have registered, you will be able to self-book an appointment. That first appointment will take place over the phone and will last up to 50 minutes. This will provide a chance for you to share with someone how you are feeling, go through any issues of concern and explore support options. You only need to share what you’re comfortable with – we’re not going to push you to talk about anything you don’t want to.
We will then look at what support is available for you, whether it is academic, disability, financial or external such as your GP. We can put together an action plan.
With your consent, we can liaise with other people on your behalf e.g. if your mental health is affecting your studies, we could speak to your tutor on your behalf.
My main message to you is if you are struggling with your mental health then reach out for help. Don’t be alone; try and tell someone whether that is a friend, family member or someone from your accommodation team. If you don’t want to talk to someone in person, then you can contact a support helpline like Student Space or online support through Kooth Student.
If you’re worried about a friend, you can visit our Look After Your Mate page or you can contact our team directly for support and advice. We are open Monday-Friday 9am-5pm and there is a practitioner available to talk to every day from 11-5pm.
Please don’t struggle on alone though, share how you’re feeling with someone.”