Kathryn Holmes is the Student Wellbeing Coordinator at the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) in Canterbury.
Her background includes supporting young people in NHS mental health services as a Child and Young Person’s Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner.
Kathryn is part of UCA’s Wellbeing and Counselling Team and the wider Gateway Services, the central point for all student services at UCA.
Here we find out a little more about Kathryn’s role:
“Our aim is to make sure all students and staff are well informed about what support is available and how to access it if they need to whilst they study with us.
Ultimately, we want students to feel empowered to learn tools to manage their mental health and to use this to enjoy their time as a student.
We have a Single Point of Access (SPA/triage model) where students can self-refer to our team. They are then offered an initial Wellbeing Check-in meeting where they can discuss what is happening for them, the impact their wellbeing may be having on their studies and options of support available, such as a referral to UCA Counselling, accessing an external mental health service, contacting another UCA academic support team or wellbeing support such as psychoeducation around self-help.
We try to encourage all staff and students at the University to take some time to look after their mental and physical health throughout the weeks, even if they do not have a diagnosed mental health condition.
Throughout the year, we hold exciting events for students to attend, such as Pets as Therapy visits, smoothie bikes for healthy eating and creative sessions such as clay modelling for mindfulness for University Mental Health Day, all whilst delivering important information about support available.”
For more information about Disability support at UCA, visit the University for the Creative Arts website.