Student Wellbeing

At Dudley College we take the health and welfare of our students, apprentices and staff very seriously. The college is committed to supporting individuals with their mental health and wellbeing, offering confidential and non-judgemental emotional support.

The college has fully-qualified counsellors which you can book an appointment with and we also work with external agencies to provide more specialist support. Our counsellors offer professional and confidential support to all college students. Counselling can help you with all types of personal difficulties, whether you are affected by your own feelings or by circumstances over which you have no control. Counselling provides a relaxed setting where you can talk freely in a way that is rarely possible with friends or tutors. Our counsellors are trained to listen, to accept your feelings and thoughts without criticism and judgement. Counselling is always totally confidential on all personal matters.

Alongside the counsellors the College have several staff across all sites who are trained as Mental Health First Aiders.

All students also have access to Togetherall, which is an online platform and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and all year round.

The College have Charlie, who is a nurture dog and learners can spend time with Charlie if they are feeling stressed or anxious at any particular time.

If you have any specific issues you would like to discuss in confidence prior to starting college, you can contact Student Services or email counselling@dudleycol.ac.uk

24/7 Support 

When the college is closed there are still lots of organisations who can support you if you are in crisis: 

• 999 – You can always telephone 999 in an emergency. 
• Hospital – You can make your way to any hospital which has an Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department. It might help to ask someone to accompany you. Find your nearest Accident & Emergency Service
• Samaritans – You can telephone Samaritans 24 hours a day on 116 123  from your mobile or landline or send an email jo@samaritans.org.  You can find out if you have a local Samaritans branch at samaritans.org/branches.
• Your GP/medical practice – Contact the medical practice at which you are registered and ask for an urgent appointment. 
• Local crisis support service – You can find your local crisis support services by visiting the NHS website
• Other organisations, like Mind offer support and helpful resources. 

Try to talk to someone you trust and remember there’s no right or wrong way to talk about your feelings – starting the conversation is what’s important. 

Useful contacts: