A Specialist Mentor provides tailored one-to-one support for students with autism and certain mental health conditions. The role of the mentor is to enable you to recognise the barriers to learning, empower you to develop strategies that will manage your wellbeing, and meet your academic and personal goals.
If you have been recommended a Specialist Mentor and have any questions or queries about the service, please discuss with your Mentor or contact [email protected]
Mentoring sessions are collaborative and will provide you with the opportunity to discuss issues or concerns and to explore support strategies to overcome them. The sessions are a dedicated, focused time to consider your needs while at university.
Your needs will inevitably change over the duration of your course so you and your mentor will regularly review action plans and goals, as well as review your progress, to keep track of your objectives.
Mentoring sessions are for you to use should you need them; so you will discuss with your mentor how frequently you would like the sessions and whether you need any breaks in support.
Examples of the specialist support provided includes:
"The most important message I have is, mental health doesn't have to be a barrier to succeeding at University. Our service focuses on empowering and enabling our students throughout their University experience, so they're not disadvantaged.
I've provided support to students with long term conditions, such as; Autism Spectrum Disorder, Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, OCD, Personality Disorder and Trauma.
When I meet with students, I help them to set goals and discuss how specialist mentoring can help achieve these goals. Sessions are flexible, as all students' goals are very different. They're also collaborative and provide students with the opportunity to break down their work into manageable chunks, find out about other useful services within the University, receive emotional support, obtain practical advice and gain support by working through any issues.
My role is very rewarding as I work with the most incredible students throughout their University journey. The best part of my job is seeing the students accomplishing their personal goals, no matter how big or small, and being proud of themselves."
If you have been recommended a Specialist Mentoring support, you will receive an email from a member of the team to arrange your initial appointment. Please see guidance on managing your appointments. Follow on appointments are made with your Mentor at the end of each session.
Developing a good working rapport with your mentor is important especially as you may use the service long term, therefore we try to find a good match as it must work for both you and the mentor. This can be something that you and your mentor discuss and you may be able to change mentors if you find that you are not a good fit.
Please be aware, like many of the other services, we will have busier times and there may be a waiting list. You will still be able to access other services that might help during this period.
To discuss support available for students with Mental Health Conditions / Autism, and to determine whether you are eligible to access Specialist Mentoring support, please book either a 30 minute Wellbeing Advice Appointment or a Disability Adviser appointment.