Counselling and mental health

To access these services, you will need to refer yourself to the Counselling & Mental Health Service by completing the confidential form.

Please give as much availability as possible so that a suitable appointment can be arranged for you.

Once we receive your referral, we will offer you an initial assessment via email. Please check your junk/spam folder if you have not received this email.

The initial assessment will provide an opportunity to explore your reasons for contacting the service, and help build up a clearer picture. The practitioner who is meeting with you for the initial assessment will then discuss next steps with you.

For some students using our service, one or two sessions are all that is needed. For others, up to six sessions, in addition to the initial assessment, allow issues to be explored in greater depth. Sometimes a referral to another internal service or an external organisation is appropriate but this will be discussed with you and will be your choice.

We offer a number of support resources for you to access at any point during your student journey at MDX.

Fika

Fika is an evidence based mental fitness app which is inspired by Scandinavian culture and draws on scientific evidence from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, Mindfulness and Positive Psychology to build emotional fitness.

Download on the App Store or Google Play to access short and snappy 5 minute workouts to improve your confidence, motivation, positivity, employability, focus, sleep and to decrease stress. Use your MDX email address to unlock all premium features and content for free.

Togetherall

As an MDX student you have free access to Togetherall; a well-established online platform that gives you the opportunity to connect emotionally and anonymously with others, in a safe forum with 24/7 moderation by trained professionals.

Accessible any time of the day or night, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, Togetherall has a range of resources and programmes to enable you to express yourself in any way you choose.

Helpsheets

We also have a number of helpsheets available to help you on a range of different topics and areas:

• Abuse
• Addiction
• Anxiety
• Bereavement
• Bullying
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
• Coming to Britain
• Concerned about someone
• Depression
• Eating disorders
• Exam stress
• Freshers
• Insomnia
• Help with mental health
• How to manage stress
• Mature students
• Mindfulness
• Presentations
• Relaxation
• Self Harm
• Study Blocks
• Trauma 
• Work difficulties and study
• Working in groups

First-year wellbeing webinar - What makes it hard to ask for help?

This webinar will give you the opportunity to hear about some of the common concerns for new students and how you can get access to help.

Postgraduate Research Degree webinars

We’ve created a series of webinars specifically designed for those currently on a Postgraduate Research Degree.

For full details, please see our Research Training and Development page.

All of the help and support we offer remains confidential within the Counselling & Mental Health Team. This means we do not disclose verbal or written information about you to others without your consent. Details of your contact with the service are not recorded on your medical or student records, unless you ask us to do so.

There are rare instances when we are unable to maintain total confidentiality.  In such circumstances, we would aim to discuss with you first our reasons for considering an extension of confidentiality to include relevant others. Examples of this would be:

• A member of the Counselling & Mental Health Team has good reason to believe that you or others may be at risk of serious imminent harm. The practitioner may also have reason to believe that you are not in a position to take responsibility for your actions
• A member of the team would be liable to civil or criminal court procedures if relevant information was not disclosed.

In such circumstances, additional information is kept to a minimum and only disclosed to relevant others on a 'need to know' basis.

Counselling/Psychological Therapy and the Data Protection Act

Counsellors and psychological therapists keep brief notes that might include background information. All such notes are confidential and are only accessible by the team.

Under the Data Protection Act, you have the right to access your records. If you wish to do so for any reason you should discuss this with the practitioner working with you. Where information from a third party is included, this cannot be disclosed without prior consent from that individual.

Records and notes are kept by the service for a period of 6 years before being destroyed. This is in line with the advice of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy to retain notes only for as long as reasonably necessary.

Services standards

Clinicians within our service are held accountable by the regulatory body that monitors them, including the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) and the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).

We have ethical frameworks for good practice which guide our clinical interventions, maintain standards of practice and inform and protect members of the public seeking and using services.

• Nusing and Midwifery Council (NMC)
• Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT)
• Social Work England

Our Counselling & Mental Health team are based in Sunny Hill House which you can access via Greyhound Hill or through the Williams Building car park.

Use the postcode NW4 4JS on Google Maps to find us.

Postal address

Sunny Hill House
Middlesex University
The Burroughs
London
NW4 4BT