Mental wellbeing
Pastoral tutors
Whilst at college, you will be supported by your pastoral tutor. This will include weekly tutorial sessions to include keeping safe, health, money management, careers and employability support. Your pastoral tutor will also support you with your college journey, goal setting and progression. Your tutor will be a point of contact for you if you need extra help or have a concern that could be preventing you from attending College or progressing with your studies.
Your pastoral tutor is here to support you and is your first point of contact for any issues that may impact on your ability to achieve and enjoy your time at college. Your pastoral tutor is also responsible for delivering your tutorial, which will include healthy relationships, sexual health, finance, substance misuse, physical and mental health. Your pastoral tutor will be able to offer you support outside of tutorial time.
Mental wellbeing advisers
Our mental wellbeing advisers are here to help you if you are struggling with significant stress, worry, anxiety, depression, having difficulty coping, sleeping, eating or suffering with any kind of trauma.
They are here to talk to you about your mental health, with a view to identifying issues that are affecting you, be it at college or in terms of your general wellbeing. They are non-judgemental and keep information as private as possible.
Their support includes basic assessments around mental health, offering 1:1 sessions to help you cope better, and referring you on to specialist mental health or counselling services for diagnosis and treatment where needed. They will also link with parents and carers when requested, and talk to professionals, tutors or other staff members on your behalf if needed.
You should speak to your pastoral mentor in the first instance, and they can refer you to the mental wellbeing adviser for your campus.
Counsellors
We all face difficult experiences in our lives from time to time that may cause us to feel upset or anxious. Counselling provides a safe and confidential space for you to explore personal and emotional issues about any aspect of your life. These issues do not have to be related to college. The counsellor will support you to understand what's going on for you and to look at ways forward.
If you would like to talk to a counsellor here at college, you can ask your pastoral mentor to make a referral for you, or you can contact us directly on counsellors@gbmc.ac.uk or find out more on our counselling service page.
In addition, to meet the growing mental health needs of our nation's Children and Young People, Chichester College Group has been part of a group pioneering a UK-wide directory of qualified Children and Young people counsellors and therapists with TAC Access. Our students can use this exciting and powerful tool to select a professional they would like to work with either face-to-face or online.
Please note, funding for this service will need to come from external funds e.g. parent/carer.
