Mental Health & Wellbeing

CHE promotes positive mental health awareness and wellbeing to staff and students, understanding and recognising the importance of looking after our own mental health and the mental health of those around us.

Mental Health First Contact

Mental Health First Contact (MHFC) is an in-house University of York network of trained members of staff, who are there as a first point of contact if you are experiencing emotional or psychological distress. You can contact any of the network members direct during office hours and you don't have to be based in the same department as them. More information about Mental Health First Contact and a list of MHFC members and their profiles are available on the University's HR web site.

Mental Health First Aid

CHE has four Mental Health First Aiders, trained to recognise the signs and symptoms of common mental health issues, provide help on a first aid basis and guide you towards the right support services. They do not counsel or diagnose but are able to offer initial help and support. Contact details are provided on the intranet (CHE staff only).

Health Assured

Should you ever need immediate support outside your working hours you can contact the University’s independent, free and confidential employee assistance programme Health Assured: on 0800 030 5182, or access their helpful online resources. Counsellors are available to talk through any problem, no matter how big or small, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Health Assured can also provide practical advice, including:

Legal, financial and tax advice
Debt advice
Help with family care: assistance with practical problems relating to childcare, care of the elderly, disability care and even pet care
Help with everyday matters (eg moving house, transport, NHS doctors/dentists, evening classes, party planning)

Wiki: Managing your health and wellbeing while remote working

The People and Organisational Development team have put together some resources to provide information and guidance to staff on remote working and also provide support on wellbeing issues during the COVID-19 pandemic. Guidance is included on: Burnout, Dealing with Anxiety, Loneliness, Looking after your Mental Health, Managing Grief, Managing your own health and wellbeing, Movember and Men's Health, Personal Resilience

Physical Wellbeing, and Sleep, and many other topics. See the ‘Managing your health and wellbeing while remote working’ Wiki for more information, and to link to the resources provided (University of York login required).

Well@York

Further health and wellbeing support is provided at the University through Well@York, a staff health and wellbeing initiative, where you can find a number of resources. Events, resources and news are shared via Twitter.

Support for students

Students can access support through the University Health & Wellbeing and Help & Support websites, which includes links to Open Door, Togetherall, other University support services, and external sources of support. Support is also available from YUSU.

External resources

There are additional resources available in the city, and beyond, including:

Health Watch York
City of York Council
York Mind: York Mental Health Services
York Samaritans
Live Well York
Time to Change: Support for employees
Mind: How to be mentally healthy at work
10 Keys to Happier Living (PDF , 306kb)
Take 10 Together: Starting the conversation

You can also refer to the extensive list of mental health helplines provided by the NHS UK web site, covering issues including anxiety, stress, depression, OCD, abuse, addiction, bereavement and much more.