Mental health and wellbeing

The mental health and wellbeing team consists of counsellors, mental health advisers and wellbeing advisers. We offer free, confidential appointments 51 weeks of the year, Monday to Friday across the City Centre (Curzon) and City South (Seacole) Campus

Our experienced, professional advisers can help if you are experiencing all kinds of issues, including:

• Concerns about your wellbeing – anything that is getting in the way of your studying and enjoying life at university, including concerns about relationships, sexuality and gender, accommodation difficulties, healthy lifestyle and homesickness.

• Emerging mental health issues – sleeping problems, feeling anxious or isolated, experiencing low mood, thinking about harming yourself

• Diagnosed mental health difficulties or illness

Our services

You don’t have to get to crisis point before you talk to us. Every year, we see many students who have a range of wellbeing concerns or mental health support needs, so you are not alone in what you are experiencing.

Our services are free, confidential and can be accessed at the Curzon and Seacole buildings. We can provide one-off general advice, or longer-term support. We can also help you to access the support of a Specialist Mentro as funded by Disabled Students’ Allowances.

The counselling and wellbeing staff provide professional support services for students that meets the BACP Ethical Framework.  Support services for student include the ability to offer appointments with counsellors, wellbeing advisors, mental health advisors and cognitive behavioural therapists. We provide links to quality resources available within the University and provided by external agencies.  Support services for staff include education and training sessions on mental health awareness, and mental health first aid.

Before you come to university, we offer Pre Entry Appointments to students who wish to discuss the support the university can offer in relation to mental health and wellbeing. Our pre entry appointments give students the opportunity to ask questions and address any concerns about starting at Birmingham City University.

If you have declared you have a disability through your UCAS form, you will receive contact from either the Mental Health and Wellbeing Team, or the Disability Team, dependant on the nature of your disability with further information on our services.

We continue to review and develop the service to meet students’ needs and ensure high quality provision.  We continually review the efficacy of the agencies we refer on to, and maintain close links with reputable agencies that we feel can add value to our students.

We do not offer a crisis or home visit service. Students seeking immediate support may wish to contact one of the below sources of support:

• If you or someone else is at immediate risk to their physical or mental wellbeing while on University premises, they should call Security on 0121 331 6969 or the Emergency Services on 999 or go directly to the nearest Accident and Emergency (A&E) department.

• Your GP 

• Forward Thinking Birmingham support young people with a variety of needs such as early intervention psychosis.  They provide immediate help in crisis situations.  Available 24/7 by calling 0300 300 0099

• If you need urgent medical help but it is not a life-threatening situation ring 111 to speak to an operator who will direct to the appropriate NHS service. 

Care leavers

We also provide an information and guidance service for young people leaving local authority care who are thinking about coming to university, applying or currently studying here.