Mental health training for universities

The Charlie Waller Trust has, for many years, offered mental health training for universities. We have trainers across the UK, all of whom have many years’ clinical, academic and educational experience which they draw on to deliver high-quality, evidence-based training and advice.

How we deliver mental health training for universities

We work in partnership with you to develop a whole-institution approach to mental health in a personally tailored programme that suits your specific needs.  Through our consultation service, we provide advice and guidance that builds on your current mental work and helps you create a roadmap for the future.

We deliver training to support staff as well as students, either face to face or online. We tailor the sessions to suit your chosen audience, and we make them as informative, interactive and engaging as you need. They can be shorter sessions (30-45 minutes) or full/half day programmes.

Examples of training topics are listed below, but we are happy to create something that suits your specific needs. The list of topics is regularly updated to reflect current themes and changes in awareness.

How do our partnerships work? 

The particular needs of the university are discussed, and a plan agreed.

The Trust allocates a trainer as a dedicated link person, with whom all collaborative initiatives are planned and agreed.

Such input might include, for example:

A train the trainer programme around mental health for key staff in the institution, led by the trainer (or co-facilitated with the institution’s mental health lead, if preferred).
Direct training for staff and/or students around mental health.
Charlie Waller training and mental health resources to support institutional initiatives.
Access to the trainer for ongoing consultation and support around generic (not student-specific) mental health issues and new development ideas for the institution. (This would not be supervisory input, but a general consultative space in which to discuss project identification and development.)

What are the benefits of mental health training for universities?

Being a student can be an important period in life. Students today face new experiences, challenges and some unique pressures that can contribute to changes in mental health.
Universities care deeply about their students. Their primary purpose is to educate, to help students gain qualifications, and to progress in work and further study. However, we know that they also need to support them to gain skills to lead happy, successful lives.
Underpinning all our higher and further education programmes is a belief in a partnership approach that embeds a positive mental health culture within the ethos of the organisation.

Who is the mental health training for?  

Generally, our training is for anyone in a non-specialist role, although mental health professionals are always welcome to attend.
Mental health training is essential for everyone as it encourages people to talk more freely about mental health, reduces stigma and creates a positive culture.
When inviting attendees to a talk or training session, the event organisers should ensure that the topic is relevant to all the participants and their roles so that they remain engaged and derive clear benefits from the training.
Our courses are aimed at all non-specialist mental health staff including teaching and pastoral staff, librarians, cleaners, technicians, facilities and catering staff.
Organisations should ensure there is sufficient time and support given to attend the training, have safe conversations and share questions that may arise from a session.

Training topics

An overview of what we mean by eating disorders and their prevalence, factors to consider within the student population, what to do if you are concerned about a young person and further resources and support.

This training gives you the tools and resources to feel more confident when having difficult conversations with young people experiencing distress/mental health difficulties.

This session identifies adverse childhood experiences and offers guidance for working successfully with students who have experienced such challenges.

How to make sense of today's ever-changing world from an evolutionary perspective. Covering physiological, psychological, emotional and behavioural responses to stress with a focus on the immune system.

In this session we consider the nature of resilience, factors which affect a person's capacity for resilience and how to help students become more resilient.

This experiential training invites participants to explore their own experiences of race and racism, in order to better support young people.

Supporting staff to notice and support students at risk of falling into crime or being exploited, and the subsequent impact on their mental health and wellbeing.

Companion presentation to our Talking About Suicide: A Guide For University Staff, which explores what to do if you think a student is as risk. The presentation explains the guide and offers the opportunity to ask questions.

This session defines different substances and considers their impact, highlights signs to spot and includes a discussion/Q&A on concerns regarding drug use.

Types of gambling and gaming that might become problematic for students, the potential impact on mental health, and ways staff might support and signpost students.

Different types of abuse, how to recognise potential signs, the impact on the student/colleague and guidance on difficult conversations, including support for mental wellbeing.

This session is designed for supporting students who are unsure about exam results and their next steps and may be feeling anxious.

A 30-minute presentation (which can be extended) exploring how to use mindfulness in everyday situations to help improve mental health and reduce anxiety.

The spectrum of mental health, how to identify and engage with students who may be experiencing difficulties and how to use a triage triangle to refer students to appropriate help.

This training looks at how self-compassion and self-acceptance can create a positive shift in many areas of mental health.

This session gives you a better understanding of loneliness and will help you to feel more confident in offering support to young people experiencing symptoms of loneliness, who may have barriers in trusting others.

Training enquiry form

Enquire about our mental health training for colleges.

Please complete this short form about your organisation and it's training requirements. A member of the training team will be in contact soon.

Training enquiry form

Frequently Asked Questions

Our trainers are usually very busy, particularly at certain points within the academic calendar. To ensure that we can fulfil your request for training, we ask you to try to give at least three months’ notice for bookings.

The cornerstone of our offer to universities is that it should be free of charge – this has been a key element of our offer since the charity’s inception in 1997.

We are not directly funded by local authorities or CCGs, so our work is made possible through fundraising. While we don’t charge universities for our services, we do ask you to make a donation if you can.

We also like to encourage universities to fundraise for us to enable our work to continue. We are always grateful for these donations and are in awe of the energy and creativity colleges and individuals put into their fundraising!

Mental health training for universities