Welfare and mental health resources

Student Support

Please remember that your college Welfare Team are still available to provide support and guidance during this time, even if you are not currently residing in Oxford.   If you are estranged from your family, or a care-leaver, and would like clarity around what support is available to you, please contact the Dean of Welfare, or other member of the college Welfare Team in the first instance. Our Assistant Deans are still living on-site and are available to help you during term-time.

Counselling and University-Based Support

The Student Welfare and Support Services are open but have transitioned all services, including Counselling, the Disability Advisory Services and Sexual Harassment and Violence Support, to a remote service. The building on Worcester Street is closed with all staff working remotely. Online and telephone appointments are being offered, and students should continue to refer themselves to the relevant services through the existing routes. Students can also make use of the free self-help resources available on the website. 

Details of college chaplains and contacts for other faith groups are available on the University website here.  

Oxford University Coffee Ambassadors offer 1:1 meetups (online) with a trained peer supporter, many of whom are DPhil students.  

Mental Health Support Relating to COVID-19

The following websites provide a range of online resources and advice for managing your mental health during this challenging time:  

• Mind – advice for everyone from charity Mind, which focusses on how to cope with self-isolation/ staying at home 
• Student Minds – a range of resources for people with existing health conditions, and who are struggling with social distancing, or have experienced xenophobia 
• Centre for Disease Control and Prevention – advice around managing anxiety and stress 
• The Mental Health Foundation  

• BBC advice on protecting your mental health 
• World Health Organisation – mental health considerations and coping with stress during the outbreak 
• NHS advice on self-isolation and dealing with stress, anxiety or depression 
• NHS mental health apps – the majority of these are free  
• COVID-19 and Anxiety – advice from the charity Anxiety UK 

• COVID-19 and OCD – advice from the charity OCD-UK  
• Advice from The Blurt Foundation who support people with depression and anxiety 
• Eating Disorders and Coronavirus – advice from Beat, the UK’s eating disorder charity 
• Advice from UK charity The Mix – The Mix provides free, confidential support for young people under 25 via online, social and mobile 
• Suggestions for looking after yourself from the Oxford Centre for Anxiety Disorders and Trauma – part of the University’s Experimental Psychology department 
• Mesothelioma.com Mesothelioma.com have been a leading source of mesothelioma information since 1996 and now with the current COVID-19 pandemic situation worldwide, their organization provides a wealth of information and resources for patients and their families. All of the information is accredited by the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information, and their content is reviewed and verified with doctors before publication.