Accessing Counselling and Support
NHS Choices– www.nhs.uk– Find out more about the counselling services offered within the NHS- what it is used for and how you can access it.
Living Life to the Full– www.llttf.com– Website from the NHS
Well Scotland – www.wellscotland.info – Useful contacts for mental health in Scotland and more.
Ayrshire College– www1.ayrshire.ac.uk– Student services
Borders College– www.borderscollege.ac.uk– Confidential student support, advice and guidance services available.
City of Glasgow College– www.cityofglasgowcollege.ac.uk– Mental Health Advisors and counselling services available.
Dumfries and Galloway College– www.dumgal.ac.uk– Student Support services offer educational support and advice.
Dundee and Angus College– dundeeandangus.ac.uk– Student support services available including LGBT+ information and resources.
Edinburgh College–www.edinburghcollege.ac.uk– Student Support services available.
Fife College– www.fife.ac.uk- Currently offering counselling to students- service to be reviewed in 2016-17.
Glasgow Clyde College– www.glasgowclyde.ac.uk– Counselling service available to students
Glasgow Kelvin College– www.glasgowkelvin.ac.uk– Confidential learner support
New Battle Abbey College– www.newbattleabbeycollege.ac.uk– Student support services available.
New College Lanarkshire– www.nclanarkshire.ac.uk -support-Learning support and advice services.
North East College Scotland– www.nescol.ac.uk- Student Support services
South Lanarkshire College– www.south-lanarkshire-college.ac.uk– information about mental health and wellbeing.
West College Scotland– www.westcollegescotland.ac.uk– Free counselling services for students in Clydebank, Greenock and Paisley campuses.
West Lothian College– www.west-lothian.ac.uk– Student support groups available and local organisation links.
University of the Highlands and Islands– www.uhi.ac.uk– Online Counselling- Students from any colleges within UHI can access online counselling services through the main UHI Website.
University of Aberdeen– www.abdn.ac.uk– Student support services offer advice and counselling.
University of Abertay– www.abertay.ac.uk– Student support services including counselling and LGBTI+ specific information.
University of Dundee– www.dundee.ac.uk– Free counselling services available.
University of Edinburgh– www.ed.ac.uk– Student support services available with access to counselling, biblotherapy and online tools. Student societies focusing on mental health and wellbeing also available to join.
Edinburgh Napier University– www.napier.ac.uk– Mental health advisors, student support and counselling services available.
University of Glasgow– www.gla.ac.uk– Health and wellbeing services with access to counselling.
Glasgow Caledonian University– www.gcu.ac.uk/positiveliving– Positive Living team offer student support and access to counselling.
Glasgow School of Art– www.gsa.ac.uk– Student counselling services available for free.
Heriot Watt University– www.hw.ac.uk– Student counselling and mental health support available.
Queen Margaret University– www.qmu.ac.uk– Mental health support with Special Student Mentors available, counselling services, bibliotherapy and massage therapy available.
Robert Gordon University– www.rgu.ac.uk/student-life– Student counselling services and wellbeing support available.
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland– www.rcs.ac.uk– Student support and counselling services available.
SRUC– www.sruc.ac.uk– student support, welfare and guidance available.
University of the Highlands and Islands– www.uhi.ac.uk– Online Counselling- Students from any universities within UHI can access online counselling services through the main UHI Website
University of St. Andrews– www.st-andrews.ac.uk– Student support services available.
University of Stirling– www.stir.ac.uk– Student counselling and support service available.
Strathclyde University– www.strath.ac.uk– Stress, mental health and wellbeing support available.
University of the West of Scotland– www.uws.ac.uk– Student support and counselling service available.
University Mental Health Advisers Network – www.umhan.com– Find out if there is a mental health adviser at your university and read more about student experiences of studying while living with mental illness.
Counselling Directory– Counselling Directory find a counsellor or service near you.
CRUSE– www.cruse.org.uk– Cruse offers bereavement counselling for those affected by the death of someone close to them.
CALM– www.thecalmzone.net– Campaign Against Living Miserably is an organisation working to prevent suicide in men. Helpline and WebChat support available.
Kooth – www.kooth.com– Free online counselling for young people through online chat- available for people aged up to 25.
Its Good to Talk– www.itsgoodtotalk.org.uk– find a local counselling or therapy service or read personal experiences of accessing support
LGBT Youth Scotland– www.lgbtyouth.org.uk – Mental Health Drop in and counselling offered in Glasgow
Relationship Scotland– www.relationships-scotland.org.uk– Relationship counselling across Scotland
The Mix– www.getconnected.org.uk– The Mix offers a phone helpline and counselling services for those up to age 25
Turn2Me– turn2me.org– Turn2Me offers non-judgmental online support and counselling (for free to those in Ireland). The site also hosts podcasts, articles and a “thought catcher“- an online tool which allows you to track your mood.
Young Minds– www.youngminds.org.uk/ Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services offering counselling and support across the UK
Helplines Partnership– helplines.org– The Helplines Partnership is a membership organisation for national helplines. Visit their website to search a directory of helplines- organised by category.
Websites
See Me Scotland – www.seemescotland.org.uk – the anti-stigma campaign in Scotland.
Aye Mind– www.ayemind.com– a resource for young people under 21 to use digital technology to better support their mental health.
Young Minds – http://www.youngminds.org.uk– an organisation based in England looking at a lot of the issues young people with mental health problems face. Contains insightful personal blogs and articles.
Headmeds– www.headmeds.org.uk– Find out more about medications commonly prescribed for mental health conditions including how they work, potential side effects and the impact they might have on other aspects of your life such as activity, driving, weight, sex and fertility.
The Mental Health Foundation – www.mentalhealth.org.uk – UK mental health research, policy and service improvement charity.
Be Mindful– bemindful.co.uk – A website dedicated to mindfullness from the Mental Health Foundation
Breathing Space – www.breathingspace.scot – You can call 0800 838587 open 6pm-2am Monday – Thursday and from 6pm Fri – Monday 6am.
Samaritans – www.samaritans.org – call 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org or text: 07725 90 90 90 – 24 hours a day.
The Scottish Association for Mental Health – http://www.samh.org. – Scottish charity providing help, information and support around mental ill health and campaigning on behalf of people with mental health problems
Scottish Mental Health Service for Deaf People – www.nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk – A national service hosted by NHS Lothian but covering the East, West and North of Scotland. The team is committed to providing specialist support in Scotland for deaf people with mental health problems across Scotland.
Students Against Depression– studentsagainstdepression.org Website offering information about mental health for students with information about how to keep yourself safe when experiencing thoughts of suicide and self harm.
Student Minds– www.studentminds.org.uk– UK wide campaign for Student Mental Health.
Youth Health Talk – youthhealthtalk.org – a website of young people’s experiences to get advice and support from other young people in the same situation.
Young Minds– www.youngminds.org.uk/ Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services offering counselling and support across the UK.
Helplines Partnership– helplines.org– The Helplines Partnership is a membership organisation for national helplines. Visit their website to search a directory of helplines- organised by category.
Nightline– nightline.ac.uk– The Nightline Association support Nightline services across the country offering students the opportunity to chat about anything on their mind.
Reach Out – http://reachout.com -a comprehensive portal for young people that enables them to find information, use apps, and find help with mental health and wellbeing. Originally in Australia the model has been exported to Ireland and the USA, content is available here.
Innovation Labs – www.innovationlabs.org.uk – a list of all the apps and websites produced or currently being designed to improve mental health. They are created through a process of coproduction between young people, health professionals and digital experts.
Action for Happiness– www.actionforhappiness.org– A place for people to share knowledge, experience and research to encourage practical action that can support better mental health and wellbeing. The patron of the organisation is the Dalai Lama.
Edspace – www.edspace.org.uk – information about mental health services, how to access support and what to expect.
Anxiety UK – www.anxietyuk.org.uk – national charity for those affected by anxiety disorders.
Anxiety Alliance– www.anxietyalliance.org.uk– Supporting those affected by anxiety disorders including General Anxiety Disorder and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Helpline and email support available.
NHS Moodzone Podcasts – www.nhs.uk – This section of the NHS Choices website has podcasts to help with Anxiety, Controlling Anxiety, Trouble Sleeping, Panic Attacks and Unhelpful Thinking.
Self Harm.co.uk – http://selfharm.co.uk– lots of information, advice and personal stories around self harm, particularly focused on young people.
Harmless – www.harmless.org.uk – Harmless is a user led organisation that provides about self harm support and information to people who self harm, their friends and families and professionals.
Life Signs –www.lifesigns.org.uk/ user generated and interactive website around self harm, contains a great deal of information and support.
The Butterfly Project – http://butterfly-project.tumblr.com– online campaign to encourage alternatives to self-harm.
Self-Injury Support– www.selfinjurysupport.org.uk – Offering text and email support for women and young girls aged up to 24.
Beat – www.b-eat.co.uk – the UK’s eating disorder organisation supporting people affected by eating disorders, their family members and friends, and campaigning on their behalf.
Men Get Eating Disorders Too – mengetedstoo.co.uk- a national charity representing and supporting the needs of men with eating disorders.
Re-capture– re-captureproject.com – online and offline gallery of personal stories of recovery from eating disorders. Entries combine words and a photograph to create powerful images of hope.
Mood Gym – www.moodgym.anu.edu.au – an Australian Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) website which is free to use and interactive.
Get Self Help – http://www.getselfhelp.co.uk– lots of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and other supportive resources for a range of mental health problems.
Living Life to the Full – http://www.llttf.com/ – free online Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) course.
Moodscope – www.moodscope.com – measure your mood each day by flipping 20 cards with emotions such as “nervous” and “alert” to a score from 0-3 depending on how strongly you feel it. Moodscope turns your scores into a percentage and tracks on a graph you can add notes to and see what triggers both good and bad days. You can have your scores emailed to a friend or family member as well.
Mood Self-Assessment – www.nhs.uk – A quick questionnaire to help you better understand how you are feeling and advice on what might help.
Depression Self-Assessment– www.nhs.uk – This tool from NHS Choices helps you recognise the signs of depression and will recommend the next steps you can take.
Turn2Me– turn2me.org/– In addition to free online support and counselling, Turn2Me also offers a mood tracking tool- the Thought Catcher
OCD-UK – www.ocduk.org– service user led charity supporting children and adults affected by Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
OCD Action– www.ocdaction.org.uk– advocacy, support and campaigning
Bipolar Scotland – http://www.bipolarscotland.org.uk– information and support for those with bipolar disorder and those who care for and about them.
Support in Mind – www.supportinmindscotland.org.uk – was the National Schizophrenia Fellowship (Scotland) and provides services, information and support for those affected by schizophrenia and their carers.
Hearing Voices Network – www.hearing-voices.org – provides information as well as local groups and projects. This is for anyone who hears voices, sees visions or has any other unusual perceptions.
Scottish Recovery Network – www.scottishrecovery.net – lots of information and stories of recovery from mental ill health.
1 Million Reasons to Live – 1000000reasons.tumblr.com – started as a suicide prevention Tumblr, where users can submit a “reason to live” and look at others reasons, with the aim of inspiring hope and as a distraction from negative thoughts.
CALM– www.thecalmzone.net– Campaign Against Living Miserably is an organisation working to prevent suicide in men. Helpline and WebChat support available.
Choose Life – www.chooselife.net – information on suicide prevention and Scotland’s suicide prevention strategy, includes ASIST and SafeTalk training.
Doc Ready – docready.org – useful resource developed by young people, a website which allows people to create a plan for a visit to a GP to discuss their mental health, also containing information and advice.
Sexual Health Scotland – www.sexualhealthscotland.co.uk– If you are worried about your sexual health then you can find your local services by searching this site.
LGBT Youth Scotland– www.lgbtyouth.org.uk– A national charity offering support to LGBTI+ people aged 13-25. The charity offers youth groups across Scotland, email and text support and LiveChat sessions three times a week. Find out more about their online support. Counselling and mental health drop in offered in Glasgow.
Scottish Transgender Alliance– www.scottishtrans.org– Working across Scotland for the rights of Transgender people.
My Crew– www.mycrew.org.uk– find out more about substances- the risks and how to reduce harm. Use the “Check it out” feature to find out if your own or someone else’s substance use is risky, access support through email, LiveChat or arrange a counselling appointment. Information about anti-depressant medication and other drugs. App also available to support recovery from problematic substance use- from Google play.
Volunteer Scotland– www.volunteerscotland.net– Find out about volunteering opportunities across Scotland.
Scotland’s Mental Health First Aid – www.smhfa.com – the Scotland’s Mental Health First Aid information website.
Choose Life – www.chooselife.net – information on suicide prevention and Scotland’s suicide prevention strategy, includes ASIST and SafeTalk training.
Minds Matters Training– http://www.mindsmatterstraining.co.uk/– Minds Matter Training is a Community Interest Company, based in Dundee, Scotland. We were established in 2013, and deliver mental health and suicide prevention training throughout Scotland.
Apps
R2Q Ready to Quit smoking -available on Google Play and iTunes – very popular smoking cessation app developed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS
Smokefree – available on Google Play and iTunes – four week smoking cessation programme in an app with support, advice, information and encouragement personalised to your needs
Buddhify – buddhify.com – popular app, you select what you are currently doing (walking, trying to sleep, using the internet, on a train etc.) and a guided meditation to match. It also has a community feel, telling you how many people have followed the meditations that day for example. The app costs £1.99 and is widely used due to the number and variety of meditations.
Headspace – www.getsomeheadspace.com – free ten day mindfulness programme and paid if you want more.
Smiling Mind –smilingmind.com.au – meditation for every age, in four categories – age 7–11, 12–15, 16–22 and adult.
Stop Breathe and Think – http://stopbreathethink.org This app allows you to “check in” and log your current mood and physical state, and then suggests guided meditations linked to your result. It also creates a log of your check ins and meditations
Emoodji – www.emoodji.co.uk – This app was created by the national mental health organisation Mind to help students keep track of their mood and share it with people close to them.
Flowy – www.flowygame.com– Flowy is a game that digitally delivers breathing retraining, the oldest technique known to reduce anxiety. It is currently in the testing stages so you can download and use it and provide feedback to improve it. It is designed to limit the symptoms of panic and anxiety attacks.
Breathe2Relax – t2health.dcoe.mil/apps/breathe2relax – Teaches diaphragmatic breathing to help you relax through coaching you with timers and images, as well as providing information on stress and relaxing.
SAM – Self-help for Anxiety Management – sam-app.org.uk – helps people to understand what causes their anxiety, monitor their anxious thoughts and behaviours over time and manage their anxiety through self-help exercises and private reflection. Also enables sharing of experiences with the SAM community while protecting your identity.
Recolor– sumoing.com– if you find colouring in relaxing the app based adult colouring book means you always have a new design handy. You can also get in touch to have your artwork featured on the app.
Five Ways to Wellbeing – apps.nhs.uk/app/five-ways-to-wellbeing – aims to help people feel happier and healthier by encouraging them to do simple things under the headings of connect, be active, take notice, keep learning and give. It allows people to reflect on their wellbeing, set activities to help improve their wellbeing and track their progress.
Secret of Happiness– play.google.com – Take time to note down the positive things that happen to you each day and become more aware of the things you are grateful for.
Woop– woopmylife.org – This app helps you plan and map behaviour changes with the WOOP process- logging a Wish, the best Outcome, the Obstacles and your Plan for achieving the wish.
Mind Of My Own (MOMO) – mindofmyown.org.uk – self advocacy app young people to use in advance of or at any meetings with social care services, health professions, and teachers etc. It goes through a series of questions and creates a document that can be shared with professionals to enhance communication between them and young people they are supporting
My Crew– Log, Track, Plan- My Crew App– A handy app to help reduce or stop substance use. FREE to use and password protected- helpful for people waiting for counselling appointments.
Drinksmeter– www.drinksmeter.com/ – Get instant feedback on your drinking and see how your alcohol consumption compares to peer groups of a relevant age, gender, sexuality and location. Can also be used to track your progress if you are trying to reduce or stop.
Drugsmeter– www.drugsmeter.com– Get instant feedback on your substance use. Find out how your use compares to peer groups of a relevant age, gender, sexuality and location. Can also be used to track your progress if you are trying to reduce or stop.
