Specialist Consultant And Trainer
CurrentI provide consultancy support to counselling and mental health support teams in higher education and beyond, to re-model their services. The emphasis is always on ensuring a proactive approach to the management of clinical risk, the effective management of waiting times and the development of robust multi-disciplinary practice.I deliver on-campus half-day, one-day and two-day courses on mental health awareness, tailored specifically for the higher education sector, including:• Managing Distressed Students: A guide for frontline staff in faculties and professional services• Personal Tutors and Student Mental Health: What you need to know • A Security Officer’s Role in Responding to a Mental Health-Related Student Incident• The Role of Staff in Student Accommodation to Support Students’ Mental Health• Clinical Risk and Suicide Prevention in Universities: What to say to a student who may present a risk to themselvesI adapt these courses for teams in other sectors - including any public or private sector organisation where staff need to feel confident in responding to client or customer distress. This includes primary care settings such as GP practices, social housing providers, private student accommodation providers, primary and secondary schools, and further education institutions.After staff are trained, it is often helpful for them to have access to a 'facilitated peer support group' (for example, monthly), to help them reflect on their own experiences and practice and build on their confidence for managing student distress. I can advise on how to establish such a group or facilitate such groups myself. These are particularly helpful for staff who may not themselves be mental health-trained but who routinely work with distressed students; in higher education, for example, this might include roles such as Accommodation Wardens, Disabilities Advisers, Frontline Enquiry Staff, Welfare Advisers, International Student Advisers, and Security Officers.
