Supporting someone else

We would always encourage the student of concern to contact the University themselves. If this is not possible, and you feel that the University should be notified, you should:

If the student appears to be at risk of imminent harm contact 999.

For non-urgent matters, complete a StEP form or You Report, We Support case, depending on the concern that you have.

You will then be contacted by a relevant member of staff where your enquiry will be addressed.

The student of concern will then also be contacted.

Under GDPR, the University is unable to disclose whether the individual you are enquiring about is a University of Cumbria Student without the student’s consent. However, we will be able to inform you how we support students with mental health and wellbeing concerns more generally.

If the student appears to be at risk of imminent harm contact 999.

For non-urgent matters, complete a StEP form or You Report, We Support case depending on the concern that you have.

You will then be contacted by a relevant member of staff where your enquiry will be addressed.

Ask the student if they need to speak with a Duty practitioner from the Mental Health and Wellbeing team urgently and, if so, send a StEP enquiry through to request that the Duty practitioner contacts the student to check on their welfare and they will take it from there. Identify a quieter area where the student may be able to take a call or have a Teams appointment more privately if this is needed. Do specify how the student would prefer to be contacted on the StEP enquiry.

If the student does not need to be contacted urgently, ask if they would like to access support from the Mental Health and Wellbeing team and, if so, send a StEP enquiry through. The Duty practitioner can then forward information to the student about how to make a referral and send some resources for the student to access immediate, appropriate support.

If you identify concern for the student’s immediate safety call 999 and contact the Safeguarding Lead for the university.

It can be challenging to see someone you care about become unwell. It’s important to remember that you don’t need to be a mental health expert to offer mental health support. Little things can make a big difference to someone.

Show support through active listening

Ask how you can help: everyone has different needs, therefore it’s best to ask how you can help them when they are struggling.

Be non-judgemental: Avoid phrases such as ‘cheer up’ and ‘I’m sure it’ll pass’, these can often be received as minimising or dismissive.

Talk about topics other than mental health: most people don’t want to be defined by their mental health and often talking about other things can come as a welcome distraction.

Self-care: ensure that you take steps to look after yourself, making sure that you also have support in place and have protected time where you can relax and switch off.

For more infomration, visit the Mind website.