Mental health concerns & other student support
An unofficial guide I made for myself and any keen Waipapa Taumatau Rau folks
Mental health discussed. Staff members can contact the Employee Assistance Programme for individual support.
This is not an official Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland resource.
Emergency
If it is an emergency call 111. You can then call Campus Security as well on 0800 373 7550 or 966 (internal).
If you do not have enough information to call 111 (i.e., the student is not with you, you do not know where they are), Campus Security can call the listed emergency contact for a student, but be careful about this if it risks putting the student in a more difficult position. For example, if you are somewhat concerned about an email or Piazza/Ed Discussion post that indicates the student is very upset and they say something like “I just want to die” — having their parents called when they were letting off steam, albeit doing so inappropriately, could make things a lot worse for them.
For the most updated central University emergency contact information: Contacts and information sources.
📱 To do: Save Auckland University Security — 0800 373 7550 — in your phone.
💡 Adding it to your Contact Favourites and/or having it start with ‘A’ will put it near the top for easy access.
Discussion boards
If the concern you’re dealing with is based on a post on Ed Discussion or another discussion board you manage, and is currently public, please make the post private to instructors.
Referring students:
Main go-to: Te Papa Manaki | Campus Care
What will often be the best option if you are concerned about a student during business hours (but the situation does not appear to warrant a 111 call) is to reach out to the Campus Care team. They can handle acute concerns (e.g., a student indicates a desire to self-harm in a discussion post or via email), as well as less time-sensitive referrals for issues around:
Mental health concerns and support planning
Family violence and other safety issues
Anxiety and distress issues impacting study
Financial concerns and stress
Stress related to caring responsibilities
Bullying, harassment & discrimination
Sexual harm, including sexual harassment and assault
For those facing an exceptional circumstance outside of their control, one of the team can work out a support plan with you looking at academic and other needs.
In-person: Counselling service
If you are present with a student in distress on campus you can go together to the University Health and Counselling Service in Kate Edger (opening hours here, usually at least 8:30 to 4PM, Monday to Friday, semester breaks may be different) and ask for a counsellor ASAP. You may have to wait with the student for a little but, but this enables you to keep them safe while also moving the responsibility to a trained helper.
Thank you to Charlotte Jones-Todd for this info!
Phone counselling (free for students)
Online support available seven days a week, 9am-9pm.
Get support with feelings of anxiety, low mood, relationships, grief, addictions, low self-esteem or low confidence.
A phone and online support service to help strengthen your wellbeing.
Counselling sessions are held over the phone and use a web-based program.
The service is independent, confidential and free.
To enrol, call 0800 782 999 or click the link below.
Please note: you will be asked for your student ID number to confirm you are an enrolled student.
For less acute situations & general pastoral care
You can encourage students to reach out the student advisers to book an appointment and/or make a referral, with the student’s permission.
Writing as of Feb 2025, the adviser website has changed and no longer shows the advisers for each subject and identity and instead there is a general inbox to reach out to. Unfortunately, this team has lost some members (including the amazing Emma who some of you will have met at a 2024 department meeting) and is now a bit short-staffed.
Provide students with a link to the ‘Getting support’ hub, or having it linked prominently in your slides/course,
Making a referral - sample language (non-emergency)
Source: From the Building Connections — Our role in supporting student wellbeing and safety training (2023-07-13)
Other services
Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand
🔗 Where to get help for mental health
There are a range of digital tools and resources on this page as well as helpline information, mental health services and suicide prevention.
Sexual harm
Safe to Talk: http://www.safetotalk.nz/
Ministry of Justice Victims Information: www.victimsinfo.govt.nz for info for victims/survivors, and their support people, about reporting, investigations and the court process.
Bullying, harassment and discrimination policy and procedures (UoA)
Counselling Support Services
From the University Health and Counselling website, check there for the most update to date info.
For additional support, there are a range of options both within and external to the University that can be accessed:
For immediate assistance via text or phone, contact 1737, a free 24/7 counselling service
For immediate assistance via chat or phone, contact Safe to Talk, a free 24/7 help service specialising in sexual harm
For assistance with online bullying, harassment and discrimination call Netsafe on 0508 638 723
Students in University Accommodation, can contact Resident Advisor or Managers on site.
The University also provides access to phone counselling 7 days a week between the hours of 9am-9pm, via Puawaitanga
Self-serve: Whai Ora Be Well
“Be Well offers a range of tools and information to help you care for your physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing, so you can thrive.”
This is a great portal for general information for your students, especially about ways for them to improve their skills/knowledge/wellness etc. outside times of acute distress or struggle.
Te Whare Tapa Whā | The Four Pillars of Health
Whai Ora Be Well considers Te Whare Tapa Whā, the Four Pillars of Health to be:
Taha hinengaro | emotional wellbeing
Taha tinanga | physical wellbeing
Taha wairua | spirutual wellbeing
Taha whānau | community and social wellbeing
Some of the workshops/information they offer:
Financial wellbeing
Sleep
Healthy relationships
Sexual health
Consent
Summer safety
Self-serve: Science Student Experience Hub
This hub is linked in the Faculty of Science Canvas Baseline practices template under the Pātaitai | Help & Support heading. It has some helpful links for students. (Note: At time of writing it says 2024 academic year, but this will likely be rolled over.)
Training options (staff)
Building Connections — Our role in supporting student wellbeing and safety
Want to feel a bit more confident about handling wellbeing situations with students? I’d really recommend the Building Connections — Our role in supporting student wellbeing and safety training available to all staff. It is tailored to UoA, and while some if it will seem obvious or straightforward, there are also lots of great reminders, resource overviews and tips. Takes ~30 minutes, self-paced.
Course description:
This online learning takes us through how we can support tauira | students in a pastoral care capacity as kaimahi | staff at Waipapa Taumata Rau | University of Auckland.
Completing this learning will enable you to:
Have a broad understanding of the range and types of challenges tauira face while at university.
Understand the basics of the Pastoral Care Code of Practice.
Understand the University’s role and the limitations in supporting tauira.
Understand the range of support services universities typically provide.
Understand your role, and your boundaries, as kaimahi when encountering tauira in difficulty.
Know how to get help for tauira and refer them to appropriate services.
Feel more confident in handling difficult or uncomfortable situations until help arrives.
To meet our responsibilities under the Pastoral Care Code of Practice, learning completion reports will be provided confidentially to selected individual(s) in Campus Life to view who has completed the online learning. This may also be used to provide aggregated and anonymised reporting back to regulatory bodies.
Other ways to share information
Do you need help?
Add this to your Canvas page, an announcement, etc.
Email signature options
Have support at our tauira’s fingertips by adding useful resources to your email signature. Sample text could include any/all of the following:
😟 Do you need help? Or worried about another student? The Te Papa Manaaki | Campus Care team provides a safe, confidential and free service that supports the health, wellbeing and safety of everyone at University.
☎️ Several crisis helplines are available if you are worried about your safety or the safety of someone else, including the Mental Health Crisis Service (Phone: 0800 800 717).
💰 There are many personal, academic and learning, financial (including emergency funds), and tech support services available to all students—learn more here.
🌺 Whai Ora Be Well offers a range of tools and information to help you care for your physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing, so you can thrive.
Canvas ideas
These may be redundant with the new Canvas Baseline Practices. Please consider in conjunction.
Link buttons for your homepage!
HTML
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<h3 class="col-xs-12"><strong>Resources</strong></h3>
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<div class="btn" style="background: #0039A6; border: none; height: 45px; margin: 5px; text-align: center;"><a style="position: relative; padding: 12.5px 0; height: 40px; display: block; text-decoration: none;" title="Assistance Hub schedule and information" href="/courses/89825/pages/assistance-hub-on-campus-and-online" data-api-endpoint="https://canvas.auckland.ac.nz/api/v1/courses/89825/pages/assistance-hub-on-campus-and-online" data-api-returntype="Page"> <span style="color: #ffffff;">Assistance Hub</span> </a></div>
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<div class="btn" style="background: #188398; border: none; height: 45px; margin: 5px; text-align: center;"><a style="position: relative; padding: 12.5px 0; height: 40px; display: block; text-decoration: none;" title="Tuākana programme for Māori and Pacific students" href="https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/science/study-with-us/tuakana-programme.html"> <span style="color: #ffffff;">Tuākana programme</span> </a></div>
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<div class="col col-md-3 col-sm-12" style="text-align: center; padding: 1 1;">
<div class="btn" style="background: #A1BE6A; border: none; height: 45px; margin: 5px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ffffff;"><a style="position: relative; padding: 12.5px 0px; height: 40px; display: block; text-decoration: none; color: #ffffff;" title="Te Papa Manaaki | Campus Care for mental health support for you and others" href="https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/student-support/personal-support/te-papa-manaaki-campus-care.html?_ga=2.180790372.232695089.1686091452-605446100.1683666903">Campus care</a></span></div>
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<div class="btn" style="background: #FF961C; border: none; height: 45px; margin: 5px; text-align: center;"><a style="position: relative; padding: 12.5px 0; height: 40px; display: block; text-decoration: none;" title="Student support (personal, academic and learning, financial, and tech support services available to all students)" href="https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/student-support.html"> <span style="color: #ffffff;">Student support</span></a></div>
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<hr />Add Campus Care to the Course Navigation Menu
Instructions
Go to Settings -> Apps in your course and select the redirect tool (look for the arrow, should present this text upon hover.)
Make sure you select ‘Show in Course Navigation’ for it to appear in the course menu for students.
Note: Unfortunately you can’t edit these after you make them. To correct a mistake, remove the link in the Navigation tab and start again. You can also change the location of the link in the course navigation menu here, after you save and refresh.