Meet ULIP Counsellor, Christopher Butler:
I became a full-time worker with Relate in 1989, was co-author of their guide to couple counselling and also completed an MA in Management at Greenwich Business school.  From being a senior officer with Relate, I moved to be Head of Student Counselling at Royal Holloway in 1995, and then after several year became the Head of all the Student Wellbeing and Advisory Services where I made a particular specialism of supporting students with mental health conditions.  
At that time Royal Holloway was ULIP’s link College and so we were involved in helping you set up a reliable student counselling service in the aftermath of the Paris terrorist incidents in 2015 and I have travelled over and counselled ULIP students ever since.
I am a Senior Accredited Counsellor and am conversant with all the different current methodologies. I find most students, even if they are currently troubled, have a strong sense of what they wish to achieve and who they want to be, so I favour a student-centred approach to help them clarify their own preferred way forward and address the self-doubts which are holding them back.  I find cognitive behaviour techniques are useful to address anxious and troubling thoughts and to address procrastination and perfectionism.
Online Counselling Services:
  • Big White Wall: we are partnering with Big White Wall this year to offer 24/7 mental health support to students. It is free for everyone who signs up using their Queen Mary emails. You will have an online support network which includes guided support progammes and resources for self-management. Find out more here: https://www.bigwhitewall.co.uk/ 
  • 7cups.com is a website that offers free online counselling via instant messenger. It’s completely anonymous and worth a go if you think it might be beneficial.
  • iAPT: If you’re in the UK (over summer, for example), you can refer yourself to a mental health specialist via - https://www.nhs.uk/Service-Search/Psychological%20therapies%20%28IAPT%29/LocationSearch/10008 
  • The International Counselling Service can provide private, english speaking counsellors. It is free to have the initial consultation but there will be a charge for any counselling sessions you book. The university may be able to help you cover these costs but it’s worth checking with Student Services first  : http://www.icsparis.com/index.asp 
  • Nightline is a confidential and anonymous listening support service. It is run by volunteers throughout the night and allows university students to talk about whatever is on their mind. Every university has its own Nightline that is run by students from their university : in our case, the University of London.  http://nightline.org.uk/ ​
^Click on the image above to read the information pack from our latest 'Mind Your Head Week' campaign!
The SU will be running various mental health campaigns throughout the year. Keep your eyes peeled on social media and in your emails for more information and if your mental health is affecting your studies, it is best to consult your personal tutor and they will then be able to guide you.
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You can also check out Queen Mary's Welfare site here: https://www.welfare.qmul.ac.uk