All the wellbeing support available to Bristol Uni students

TW: Mental health and sexual assault

This last year has been tough, to say the least, and the last few weeks especially. As students we are put under a huge amount of stress even in normal times, taking care of yourself is really important.

For me, that meant signing up to the Bristol Uni Wellbeing Services. I’m not ashamed or worried to hide it, because getting the right help is important.

So here is a rundown of everything that the Wellbeing Services offer and how they can help you manage.

What are the different services?

Bristol Uni Wellbeing Service has a huge range of support options for students, and they have really expanded their reach over the last few years.

All of these services remain confidential, though students may be referred to external services if appropriate.

Student Counselling Service

The Student Counselling Service provides an accessible non-judgemental service to students.

This includes short-term individual counselling with experienced counsellors or therapeutic groups where you can discuss your issues with peers, led by a trained counsellor.

If a student wants to feel more comfortable, then these groups can be specifically tailored to their needs. These could be BAME groups, women’s groups, cognitive behavioural groups or others.

More information about this service can be found here.

Disability Service

There is specific support directed to students who have learning disabilities, such as ADHD or autism, as well as disorders like OCD or bipolar affective disorder.

More information can be found here.

Sexual violence and harassment

Sexual violence is any kind of unwanted sexual activity. It can happen to anyone, regardless of age, gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, class or background.

This isn’t necessarily just physical contact, but can also include verbal harassment, revenge porn, and unwanted sexual content.

There is a team of trained male and female Sexual Violence Liason Officers (SVLOs) who will support and advise any student who has experienced sexual violence. It is open to all students, regardless of when or where the incident took place.

They will listen to you and help you decide what support you need going forward, and advise on how to report to both the uni and the police.

More information can be found here.

Reporting unacceptable behaviour

The Wellbeing Services are also where you can go to report unacceptable behaviour like bullying, harassment, discrimination or abuse. You can report this anonymously or through the Request form.

More information can be found here.

Helping a friend

If someone is struggling or you think may need help, you can help by encouraging them to get some support.

It’s important to understand that making things okay is not your responsibility. However, the support you offer can be really valuable.

Talking can give someone an opportunity to open up and confide, or it may just show them that people care. Do not force someone to talk to you though.

Here is a really useful website that tells you how to start these sorts of conversations.

More information from the university can be found here.

If it is an emergency, don’t hesitate to call 999 or the uni security services on 0117 331 1223.

If you feel like you need any sort of support, or even just to talk to someone, you can submit a Request Support form here, or call the office on 0117 456 9860. From personal experience, I would really encourage everyone to take this first step, it’s lifted a huge burden off my shoulders and I really hope others can also get the support they need.

If you need to call someone or chat confidentially, Nightline is another really good service, you can call them on 01179 266 266.

Everything The Bristol Tab mentioned in this article can be found on the Health and Wellbeing webpage here.