Accessing the right support for you

Do you feel:

• at risk;
• in crisis;
• unable to keep yourself safe?

You need urgent specialist help and support.

However bad you’re feeling, you’re not alone and we’re here to help and support you. By reaching out, you can access the following University services:

• The University's Counselling and Mental Health Service provides a range of specialist support. They also provide dedicated advice if you need help in a crisis.
• If you’re currently living in University Halls of Residence, contact your Res Life team.
• Our Campus Support and Security staff are all first aid trained and can help if you're on campus. They're available 24 hours a day. Contact them by calling 0161 306 9966 – their number is also printed on the back of your student ID card.

If you're in immediate danger, call 999 or go to your nearest A&E department. The nearest local A&E unit to the University campus is Manchester Royal Infirmary, which provides urgent mental health support as well as help for injuries and medical emergencies.

Do you feel:

• that you’re experiencing severe, recurrent or long-term difficulties managing your wellbeing;
• that you’re struggling to manage your mental health;
• that you need support for a disability;
• that you need support for an additional need?

You should seek specialist support.

Specialist support

• You can access specialist help for your psychological or mental health through the University's Counselling and Mental Health service. The service offers a range of support including psychoeducational workshops, therapeutic groups and one-to-one appointments. You can call 0161 275 2864 between 09.30am and 4.30pm weekdays to speak to someone about what kind of support you may need. If you know what support you need, you can book an appointment.
• The Disability Advisory and Support Service (sometimes called DASS) provides practical support by working with you to identify the practical adjustments you need to enable you to succeed – in your studies, work, and the rest of your University experience. Learn more about DASS.
• The University's Occupational Health service provides confidential support to protect the health of students. Learn more about our Occupational Health Service.
• It's really important to register with a GP and you should do this as soon as you know your term-time address. GPs provide a range of non-emergency services by appointment – including examinations, medication prescriptions, vaccinations and referrals to other medical specialists. If you aren't already registered with a local GP, learn more about accessing healthcare.

24-hour support

• Health Assured – a helpline providing 24-hour mental health support.
• Qwell – provides free, safe and anonymous online mental health support whenever you need it.

**If you’re experiencing a crisis or emergency, visit the Counselling and Mental Health Service's Help in a Crisis page for details of the range of support available to you.**

Do you feel:

• that how you’re feeling is negatively impacting your day-to-day life;
• your usual ways of helping yourself aren't working?

You should access further support. We provide a variety of support services you can access.

Speak to someone at the University

• You can speak to someone from your academic School – find their details on our School support contact page.
• Get in touch with the Student Wellbeing team.
• If you’re living in University halls of residence, Res Life provide support and guidance.

Speak to peers

• Qwell provides community support, discussion boards and live forums.

Specialist support

• You can access specialist help for your psychological or mental health through the University's Counselling and Mental Health service. The service offers a range of support including psychoeducational workshops, therapeutic groups and one-to-one appointments. You can call 0161 275 2864 between 09.30am and 4.30pm weekdays to speak to someone about what kind of support you may need. If you know what support you need, you can book an appointment.
• The Disability Advisory and Support Service (sometimes called DASS) provides practical support by working with you to identify the practical adjustments you need to enable you to succeed – in your studies, work, and the rest of your University experience. Learn more about DASS.
• Health Assured – a helpline providing 24-hour mental health support.
• Qwell – provides free, safe and anonymous online mental health support whenever you need it.
• If you aren't already registered with a local GP, you can find more information about accessing healthcare.

Do you feel:

• your wellbeing could be improved;
• you’d like further information and advice on feeling better?

There are a range of online and in-person resources and support you can access.

Online resources

• Our Six Ways to Wellbeing are evidence-based proactive resources to help your wellbeing. 
• The Student Support website is a central place to access support services, resources to support your day-to-day wellbeing and find answers to common queries. This includes information about managing your money and cost of living support.
• Build your mental health expertise using resources from the University's Counselling and Mental Health service.
• My Learning Essentials are online resources from the Library's programme of skills support.

Workshops and meeting people

• The University's Counselling and Mental Health service run workshops providing advice and a chance to meet people.
• My Learning Essentials includes workshops from the Library's programme of skills support.

Speak to someone at the University

• You can speak to someone from your academic School – find their details on our School support contact page.
• Get in touch with the Student Wellbeing team.
• If you’re living in University halls of residence, Res Life provide support and guidance.

Do you feel:

• Happy, calm and content most of the time?

For this level of need, you might not feel that you need any direct support. However, you can still proactively look after your wellbeing and access self-care resources.

Evidence shows that there are a number of types of activity that improve wellbeing. As a University, we’ve based our Six Ways to Wellbeing framework* around these.

The great thing about the Six Ways is that you don’t have to do all of them – and some activities, such as going on a walk with friends, allow you to do more than one at once. It’s important to find a blend of things that fits with your lifestyle yet stays fresh and varied, keeping you inspired.

*The evidence behind our Six Ways is summarised in ‘Five ways to wellbeing’ – written by the Centre for Well-being at the New Economics Foundation.