Mental health

The Medical Centre has access to a team of mental health practitioners, including a Mental Health Nurse, Mental Health Facilitators and an Occupational Therapist, specialising in Neurodiversity.

The team help to support the doctors in providing patients with advice to promote mental health wellbeing.

Loughborough University also has a dedicated mental health support team, social prescribing and counselling service. More information can be found on their website here.

If you need mental health support please fill in this form and we will be in touch to arrange a suitable appointment.

If you would like to talk about neurodiversity please fill in this form.

You can contact our local mental health crisis team 24/7 on via 111 option 2 if you feel unsafe and need to speak to someone urgently.

You can also access NHS counselling services via filling in a self referral.

Self help guides

These guides are a good starting point they include information about commonly experienced mental health problems, sleep, mindfulness and self-esteem. They are based within CBT:

• Self help guides can be downloaded here
• Visit the Mental Health Foundation website here to download mental health guides

Self help podcasts

Podcasts can feel easier than reading, especially if you’re struggling with concentration. Podcasts on anxiety, low mood, sleep and more on:

• NHS Mental wellbeing audio guides can be listened to on the NHS website here
• Bryony Gordon has recorded a series of intimate conversations about mental health and recovery. You can download and listen to her podcasts on itunes here which lots of patients have found helpful.

Harmless

Harmless is a user led organisation that provides a range of services about self-harm and suicide prevention including support, information, training and consultancy to people who self-harm, their friends and families and professionals and those at risk of suicide.

Visit the Harmless website here

University Mental Health Support

The University have lots of support as well including the counselling service, wellbeing advisors attached to your school, the Mental Health Support Team and your personal tutor can also help you pastorally.

There’s further information outlined on the Loughborough University website here as well as some useful further self-help material

IAPT

IAPT is a national initiative to improve access to psychological therapies. The service provides psychological assessment and treatment (talking therapies) for common mental health problems.

There’s further information on the Leicestershire Vitaminds and self referral information.

Local Help Services

If you’d like any further information or support accessing the help below please speak to us at the Medical Centre

Cruse bereavement care

CRUSE BEREAVEMENT CARE acts as a listening service for those or someone they know who has been affected by a death. They provide information on practical and financial matters and details of groups available.

Call: 0116 288 4119

Website: www.cruse.org.uk

CONFIDE

A confidential support, advice and information service for any student experiencing harassment and /or bullying or discriminatory treatment.. 01509 222769. Email  Confide.Student@lboro.ac.uk

FREEVA

FREEVA stands for Free from Violence and Abuse. A consortium of three local specialist providers of domestic abuse and sexual violence services. They aim to provide a simplified journey, which can be accessed by anyone who has been affected by domestic abuse and or sexual violence.

Website: https://freeva.org.uk/

Call: 0808 80 200 28 [The helpline is a free phone number, which won’t show up on your bill Open Monday – Saturday, 8am – 8pm]

LU Wellbeing App

Loughborough University has launched a mental wellbeing app for all students and staff members.

LU Wellbeing has been developed in partnership with mental health and wellbeing experts at UniWellbeing.

The platform enables members of the Loughborough University Family to take control of their health and wellbeing in their own hands to ultimately lead a healthy and happier lifestyle.

LU Wellbeing is free to download on any smart device and can be found on the App Store or Google Play.

Visit the Loughborough University website here for further information

Mental Health Support for Veterans, Service Leavers and Reservists

Visit the NHS website here for information and advice on healthcare for the armed forces community

The Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Service

If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health, expert help is available from Op COURAGE: The Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Service.

It doesn’t matter if you’re due to leave the Armed Forces, just left the Armed Forces or left many years ago, we are here to help and understand the courage it takes to speak to someone.

Download an information leaflet here.

Contact information can be downloaded here or visit the NHS website here for a list of contact information for Op COURAGE

Quetzal

Quetzal is a free self-help guide for victims of childhood sexual abuse.

This guide can be downloaded from the Quetzal website here

In the guide you can get a further understanding of the trauma of childhood sexual abuse and get some self-care tips to deal with the impact of abuse, especially if you are not ready yet to start your counselling journey.

Urgent Mental Health Support

LPT has commissioned Turning Point to offer urgent mental health support for adults in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

Free 24-hour adult mental health telephone helpline: 0808 800 3302

Email call-back service: Alternatively you can email them with your contact details at Leicestershire.Helpline@turning-point.co.uk and they will call you.

The telephone helpline service is free from landlines and most mobile networks and is available 24 hours a day. The service can offer face-to-face support by appointment.

Please note that calls are not answered by medics and staff will not have access to your medical records

You can also:

• Within opening hours contact the Medical Centre on 01509 277577
• Outside of normal opening hours contact NHS 111
• Contact the Samaritans (116 123) or call Focus Line (5pm – 1am) on 08000 272 127

***If you need emergency help now please attend the Urgent Care Centre or A&E.  In the event of a life threatening emergency we urge you to dial 999**

Where shall I go for help?

If you’re struggling and feel you might be experiencing mental illness it’s really important to get help. Early intervention is crucial to being and staying well. Please remember nothing is ever hopeless- it’s just about getting the right help at the right time and as quickly as possible.

Visiting your GP at the University Medical Centre is a good first step. It can feel a daunting prospect but please try not to worry about it. All the doctors here are friendly, approachable and experienced in treating mental health problems. Your GP might talk to you about psychological therapies or discuss medication in some cases. There is a Mental Health Nurse Specialist here who might see you for assessment or ongoing treatment too.

The University have lots of support as well including the counselling service, wellbeing advisors attached to your school, the Mental Health Support Team and your personal tutor can also help you pastorally. There’s further information outlined here: https://www.lboro.ac.uk/services/cds/ as well as some useful self-help material.

Worried about how you are feeling?

What exactly is mental health can be a tricky question to answer. There’s different ideas but the World Health Organisation define it as-

Mental health is defined as a state of well-being in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community. World Health Organization, 2014

Essentially it means having the ability to adapt to life’s changes and circumstances.

Mental health is often described as being on a continuum and mental health is not the same as mental illness. Feeling down, angry, emotional, unhappy or tearful are normal emotional states and having good mental health doesn’t mean an absence of these. Life will always have its ups and downs, there will be times where things are stressful and unfortunately times where things feel difficult- sometimes it’s hard to recognise the different components of mental health.

Mental Distress is normal and everybody experiences it- sometimes daily. It is a sign you need to look at solving the problem causing your distress. Develop healthy and adaptive coping skills and promote your own mental health.

Mental Health Problems can require more help and support. Often from family or friends or somebody you trust (perhaps a tutor, wellbeing advisor, counsellor or a faith leader) Mental health problems mean you are having a significant emotional, thought or behavioural difficulty (or sometimes all 3). A mental health problem is not an illness, it means you are having difficulty adapting due to the magnitude of the stressor. An example of this may be the feelings of grief following bereavement or adjusting to a big life transition

Mental Illness occurs when a person is unable to function on a day to day basis due to the way their brain is controlling their thoughts, behaviour and emotions. It is diagnosed by a qualified health care professional and will require evidence based treatment. It is the same as any other illness. Mental illnesses are often very treatable with psychological interventions and sometimes medications.

Worried about someone?

It’s common to feel intensely concerned about somebody who you care about is struggling and you can feel like you are solely responsible for their mental wellbeing. You may feel powerless, confused or even frustrated. These are often normal reactions. You might be worried they may harm themselves but feel you cannot tell anyone as that would break their trust.

It might help to read more about the illness, a good resource is https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/helping-someone-else/  which outlines common mental health problems.

The most important help you can give to be present and to listen. It can help to encourage your friend to go out but try not to put pressure on them, Try and be patient- getting better can take some time. Everybody has different experiences of recovery, what helps and what hinders; remember everybody is at a different stage of coping and there is no ‘one size’ fits all approach.

When supporting a friend or family member who is struggling with their mental health it’s important to make sure you look after yourself and remember your own priorities. Try and find someone to confide how you’re feeling in, perhaps University staff or a trusted family member. Be realistic with yourself about your own limits

It’s really important to remember that if you not comfortable then you must be honest. You could seek advice from your Warden or sub-warden if you live in Halls or a personal tutor.

If you have immediate concerns that your friend is not safe or is about to harm themselves dial 999 or go to the nearest A&E department (LRI- Leicester) or the Urgent Care Centre (Epinal Way, Loughborough)