Self-help Resource List

The resources listed on our website are intended for guidance only, and although they have been looked at and endorsed by experts within our Student Support and Wellbeing team, the views expressed or advice given by any of these organisations do not necessarily reflect those of the University of Kent as an organisation. 

If you have ideas about other organisations that might be listed here, please email StudentServicesWeb@kent.ac.uk.

• Local support for drug and alcohol addictions in Canterbury is provided by Forward.

• Turning Point offer local support for drug and alcohol addictions in Medway: 01634 820 390. 
  

• Gam Care: the leading UK provider of free information, advice and support for anyone harmed by gambling.

• Gamblers Anonymous offers various aids for the compulsive gambler including a forum, a chat room, literature and most importantly a meeting finder. 

• Frank offers advice and education about drugs. 

• NHS alcohol addiction help offering facts, advice, and support. 

• Centre for Clinical Interventions (CCI) self-help booklets with brief information sheets, along with a series of worksheets that you may wish to use. 

• NHS Inform Anxiety Self-Help Guide where you can work through a self-help guide for anxiety that uses cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).

• Mindful Healthcare: a service for anyone experiencing anxiety. It provides coping strategies and suggests further help for those in need. Mindful Healthcare can provide a free 20 minute consultation, free support webinars and online video therapy.

Social Anxiety

• Starting point for people finding out about Social Anxiety and related issues. 

• The Centre for Clinical Interventions (CCI) - Social Anxiety. 

Panic Attacks

• NHS Inform: How to deal with panic attacks.

Health Anxiety

• Health Anxiety: an NHS self-help guide.

• Cruse Bereavement Care: national charity offers group and one-to-one support to those who have been bereaved: 08456 030024. 

• Marie Curie: practical advice and confidential support covering all aspects of terminal illness and bereavement for patients, and their families and friends. 

• Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide (SOBS): support for those who have been bereaved through suicide. 

• Winston’s Wish: A national charity supporting children, and parents of children, who have been bereaved.  

• AtaLoss: a charity enabling bereaved people to find bereavement support, practical information, and resources. This service is free of charge to everyone across the UK.
• Bereavement Support for Medical Students - a compassionate space for information and sharing that specifically addresses the experience of loss during medical training and the unique aspects of that for medical students.

Bullying UK: Bullying at University. 

• Rethink Carers Support Group: aims to help carers and their partners, relatives and friends with a wide range of mental health problems, including accessing the information they need. 
  

• Carers Support offers support to those who care for a relative or friend –or 01304 364637. 

• Carers First: a UK registered charity working with unpaid carers to provide practical information and advice. 

• Get Self Help. 

• NHS Inform Chronic Pain Self Help Guide: work through a self-help guide that uses cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to help you live with chronic pain.

• Arthritis Action: a UK charity giving hands on, practical help to improve the quality of life for people affected by arthritis.

• Eating disorders national helpline for young people (aged14-25) 0845 527 4809. Offering free mental health information and affordable therapy options. 

• NHS Inform: Eating Disorders. 

• National eating disorder charity B-eat: Helpline services and online peer support services.

The Engagement Blog has been designed to help anyone experiencing problems in attending and engaging teaching sessions, consisting of interactive sections and packed full of friendly advice.

Citizen’s Advice Bureau: information that you need to make the right choices, including help to deal with your debt problems and how to get your finances back into shape.

Kent Union's Student Advice Centre offers free, confidential and impartial advice for all students studying at the University of Kent. They offer advice on financial issues, student visas, housing concerns and academic issues.

Citizens Advice Bureau – Canterbury  01227 452762 or Medway  01634 383760. National helpline: 0844 499 4128.

• NHS self-help guidance: a series of leaflet guides that are meant as an introduction to self help techniques.

• Self-help guidance 

• NHS Inform. 

• Ted talks on depression, mindfulness, self-esteem. 
• Brené Brown: the power of vulnerability. 

Wellbeing and self-help books: A collection of books, both electronic and print format, on self help and wellbeing subjects

Porchlight Canterbury offer local support to those who may find themselves homeless - 01227 760078 or 0800 567 7699. 

• Stonewall is an organisation that empowers LGBT people to be their authentic selves, and empowers LGBT people and allies to create positive change to challenge homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying, celebrate difference, and step up to improve inclusion and visibility of role models and allies. 

• LGBT Foundation, formerly known as The Lesbian & Gay Foundation (The LGF) is a national charity delivering a wide range of services to lesbian, gay and bisexual and trans (LGBT) communities. 

• Switchboard LGBT+ Helpline: a safe space for anyone to discuss anything, including sexuality, gender identity, sexual health and emotional well-being.

• Pink Therapy is an online directory of therapists of all sexualities and gender identities who work with gender and sexual diversity clients across the LGBTIQ spectrum from a non-judgmental standpoint.

• Metro is an equality and diversity charity providing health, community and youth services in England.

• Medway Gender Sexual Diversity Centre (MGSD) provides a place where LGBTQI+ people their families and friends can meet in a safe environment to enable them to receive peer support, counselling, education, training, advice, and information.

• The Be You Project connects young people in Kent who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, non-binary or are questioning their sexual orientation and / or gender identity.

• Gendered Intelligence exists to increase understandings of gender diversity and improve trans people's quality of life. There is also a counselling directory available.  

• GIRES is a UK wide organisation whose purpose is to improve the lives of trans and gender diverse people of all ages, including those who are non-binary and non-gender.

• Beaumont Society is a national self help body run by and for the transgender community.

• Tranzwiki is a comprehensive directory of the groups campaigning for, supporting or assisting trans and gender non-conforming individuals, including those who are non-binary and non-gender, as well as their families across the UK, in which support groups can be sorted by region.

• Mindline Trans+ is an emotional and mental health support helpline for anyone identifying as transgender, non-binary, genderfluid, and can also support family members, friends, colleagues and carers.  

• Support Group for Trans Students: a free, confidential peer-support group run in partnership with TG Pals for all trans, intersex and non-binary gender people at the University of Kent.

The School of Music and Fine Art in collaboration with the Counselling and Wellbeing team and the Student Learning Advisory Service have produced a Meditation Mix on Spotify: a sound track of guided meditations and original compositions to help students deal with stress and anxiety.

University of Kent students wherever they are located can access free, 24/7 online support for issues around mental health and wellbeing. Togetherall is a Care Quality Commission registered service recognised nationally through awards by the NHS and is a safe environment overseen by qualified therapists.

Togetherall offers:

• peer talk therapies where members initiate or join forums on topics ranging from depression and anxiety to relationship issues, work stress, abuse, self-harm and eating disorders

• peer support and networks where students make ‘friends’ to create a support network as a reference group, source of motivation and a means to improve self-awareness

• creative therapies employing art and writing therapies where members express themselves are posted to TogetherAll where they can choose to share and discuss the underlying ‘story’

• brief counselling providing immediate 24/7 support from Guides who are trained counsellors

• 24/7 guided groups that are based in therapeutic approaches such as interpersonal therapy and cognitive behaviour therapy

In order to gain access to this service click on the TogetherAll link and sign-up using your Kent email address. 

As part of the registration process, do not use your KENT account password for this service. Note, you may, upon completion of the registration process change your contact email address to a non-Kent email account. TogetherAll take privacy very seriously. Read their privacy policy for more information. 

To access this service please use the following code: KENT1

• Access Togetherall

If you are experiencing a mental health crisis or need emergency in the moment crisis support outside of Student Support and Wellbeing working hours, our external partners Spectrum Life can offer you online, text and telephone support from qualified counsellors and mental health professionals.  

Spectrum Life will work with you in getting initial support and help during your crisis and the University Student Support and Wellbeing teams will contact you on the next working day

• Spectrum Life is available on Monday to Friday evenings from 8pm till 8am, and on weekends and Bank Holidays.
  

• Telephone: 0800 0318227 and press option 1, or Text ‘Hi’ to: +44 (0)7418 360780

• Search for the Spectrum Life app from your app store and follow the log in instructions

There is an active Mindfulness community at Kent who is always ready to welcome new students: find out more on the Mindfulness web page.

Phobias self-help guide: Work through a self-help guide for phobias that uses cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).

Overcoming Procrastination from Mind Tools, discussing overcoming the habit of delaying important tasks.

"How to Stop Procrastinating: There Is a Science to It" an article published by Georgetown University, which provides an insight into behaviours related to procrastination and the science behind it, also offering resources to develop healthy time management and study practices. 

You Tube videos – search for guided meditations with Jon Kabat-Zinn or Mark Williams. 

East Kent Early Intervention in Psychosis Service - 01227 812390: This service is based in Littlebourne Road, Canterbury. They are a specialist team who work with people between 14 and 65 who experience symptoms of psychosis for the first time. 

• Best Practice in Sexual Health (BISH) is an online guide to sex, love and relationships. 

• Relate offers counselling for those with relationship problems - Canterbury: 01227 766094 Medway: 01634 380 038. 

For extensive information on support available from a specialist Wellbeing Adviser at the University of Kent, as well as external resources, please look at our web pages on Sexual Assault and Harassment.

• Canterbury Women's Refuge and Rising Sun Domestic Violence Project offer advice and counselling for women who have experienced domestic violence - 01227 452852 (crisis line).

• Beech House Sexual Assault Referral Centre offers local, confidential support for victims of sexual assault. 

• East Kent Rape Crisis Centre offer support to male and female victims of sexual abuse. Crisis Helpline: 0800 4582818, 18:30 to 21:30 Monday-Friday.  Counselling available via:  01227 451753. Referrals can be taken Monday to Friday 09:00 – 17:00

• Family Matters offer counselling for children and adult survivors of sexual abuse - 01474 536661.

• National Domestic Violence: 24 Hour National Domestic Violence Helpline, run in partnership between Women's Aid and Refuge, is a national service for women experiencing domestic violence, their family, friends, colleagues and others calling on their behalf. 

• Samaritans, a National helpline 116 123. Canterbury & Medway 0330 094 5717.

• Papyrus / Hopeline, a charity providing support for young people who are experiencing suicidal thoughts. Papyrus can support you if you’re worried about a friend who may be suicidal.  

Student Space can offer one-to-one support for whatever challenge you’re facing, designed for students. Whether it’s your mental health, your studies, money, housing or relationships, there is support available through Text, Webchat, Phone or Email.

There is now dedicated support for students who have been most impacted by the pandemic including: 

• Muslim students: helpline service for young Muslims, offering support and signposting seven days a week by phone, Whatsapp, webchat and email.

• Trans students: phone and webchat support for trans, gender-diverse and nonbinary students, available 9am-9pm, Monday to Friday.

• Working-class students: monthly webinar & podcast series exploring the challenges that students from working-class backgrounds are facing during the pandemic.

• For various apps to aid your wellbeing, from mood trackers to meditation mixes, relaxation aids and background ambient sound apps, check out the Wellbeing category of the Software Finder.

Please note that all the above resources are external organisations and not part of the support services offered at Kent. The University of Kent will not accept any responsibility for any action taken as a result of the content, guidance or advice given by the organisations listed.