London South East Colleges marks Mental Health Awareness Month

: Created: 06 June 2022

Across the month of May, a host of events and activities took place across our campuses to help drive greater awareness around mental health conditions and signpost support services available to staff and students – finishing off with talk panel events at our Greenwich, Bexley and Bromley campuses.

Approximately 120 students attended the three talk panel events, delivered by our Mental Health First Aiders, Mental Health Champions and Wellbeing and Safeguarding teams. The sessions also included some personal stories from panel members about their own experiences, coping mechanisms and successes in overcoming difficult situations and periods of their lives.

Comments from staff included:

"A great event, informative, uplifting and moving’, whilst student comments included: ‘I feel I’m well supported if I have any sort of crises,’ and ‘I feel better about the times that I get low and the confusion of not knowing the reasons why."

A special thanks go out to staff members Kat Copley and Angela Beaton for attending each panel event, as well as Karen Cairns, Leah Stone, Muhammad Ruhani and Catherine Jack who also joined the panel and were all very helpful in sharing their experiences, along with insightful advice.

Karina Thomas, Engagement Officer at London South East Colleges’ Greenwich campus, said:

"[It was] a great event – informative, uplifting and moving. Staff on the panel shared their own personal stories of their own mental health journey. This role modelling was really powerful and helped students to see that talking about their feelings and challenges is a strength. They also learned how to access help and support when they need it and staff shared share coping mechanisms. It was very thought-provoking and impactful."