Imperial College Disability Advisory Service
The DAS is here to help students archive their potential despite
encountering barriers to study associated with disability.
We:
• offer a high quality advice service
• help to students to access the individual support available to them
both within College and externally (eg. DSA)
• provide study support with experienced specific learning difficulties
tutors and/or study mentors
Successfully
engaging in degree
level studies
Disability related
study barriers
DAS
Mentoring is...
Practical one to one Study support
designed to facilitate the student’s
independent self-management of the
obstacles presented by enduring mental
health difficulties and disabilities.
What is the aim of Mentoring?
• To support students to identify any obstacles to
effective study presented by their disability.
• To facilitate the student’s thought process in order to
identify solutions.
• To help the student implement good study strategies.
• To strongly encourage students to take responsibility
for their own health and study.
• To be clear from the outset where the boundaries of
mentoring lie
What obstacles may students managing
mental health difficulties face?
Anxiety
• College
Environment
Anxiety
• Specific
Experience of
Mental
Health
• Side Effects
of
Medication
Anxiety
How might these obstacles affect study?
Lectures
Personal
Support
Group Work
Social
Interaction
Academic
Support
Assignments
Exams
What can students use mentoring
sessions for?
Study
Techniques
Study
Skills
Support
Study
Process
Systems
Surrounding
Study
What can’t the mentor do?
• The Study Mentor does not engage in therapeutic support.
• The Study Mentor does not provide personal support.
• The Study Mentor does not provide medical support.
• The Study Mentor does not deal with emergencies.
• Students in crisis could be referred to the Imperial College Health
Centre, with their consent. In the event that the student is
deemed to present a threat to themselves or to others please see
Imperial College London: Mental Health Difficulties Protocol, 2011
https://workspace.imperial.ac.uk/college/public/pdfs/MentalHealthDifficulties.pdf
Independent Self-Management
• Mentoring seeks to support the student in
developing their ability to independently
manage their study and health and is based
upon a contract in which the student
acknowledges their own responsibility to take
action in these areas.
Mental Health Support The Health Centre's
Perspective
Background
• Imperial is a toxic enviroment for mental health
• Pressure triggers stress, which triggers the emergence
of mental illlness in those who are vulnerable
• The pressures of the environment are not helped by
current social and economic pressures, nor by
unrealistic expectations of what can be delivered
What sort of mental health
problems do we see?
 Anxiety
 Depression
 OCD
 Bipolar Disorder
 Stress Reactions
 Eating Disorders
 PTSD
 Bereavement Reactions
 ADHD
 Aspergers
 Transient mental health difficulties
What Can the Health Centre Offer
 A multidisciplinary team with lots of expertise
 Hopefully a diagnosis - stress, distress, mental illness
 In-house psychiatric assessment where there is: 1.
diagnostic uncertainty, 2. lack of response to treatment, 3.
high risk, 4. need for a tertiary referral e.g.
ADHD/Aspergers
 Referal to local mental health services for those at high risk
or with complex needs e.g. Crisis team/CMHT/long term
psychotherapy
 Referal to in-house counselling, psychotherapy or CBT
 Liaison with or referal to other Imperial services - DAS, SCS
 Liaison with departments re exams, mitigating
circumstances, fitness to study etc
Important Messages
 Managing expectations is sometimes very difficult
 We cannot offer open access. It is not a drop in service and those
with urgent problems can be seen in the morning or afternoon
triage clinics
 People with suicidal ideas don't always need to be seen
immediately. Those with active intent do.
 If you are worried discuss the individual with the duty doctor
 A certificcate for mitigating circumstances is not an emergency
 A patient's perspective of what is an emergency may be different
from ours
 Immediate (or rather early) assessment is available, immediate
treatment is not - there is a 6 week wait for in-housepsychotherapy,
a 4-6 month wait for in-house CBT and a 6 to 12 month wait for a
tertiary referral for Aspergers or ADHD and a 3-6 month wait for
long term psychotherapy
How do you manage those with
mental health difficulties
•
•
•
•
Be compassionate, but objective
Know your own limits
Know who to refer to and how
If you don't know what to do, know who to
ask
• Set boundaries - don't be a magician and don't
be manipulated
• Consider whether those who require too
much of your time are really fit to be studying