Ulster University has joined Togetherall, an online community platform to support our students’ wellbeing. This has been made possible through funds raised for Mind your Mood, an initiative designed for students, by students who want to remove the stigma of poor mental health and encourage others to connect with the range of support available.
Togetherall is an online community for people who are stressed, anxious or feeling low and who want to improve their mental health. The service has an active forum with round-the-clock support from trained professionals. It allows you to talk anonymously to other members and access a range of self-help resources and information.
Students have access to self-assessments and recommended resources, creative tools that help express how students are feeling, and a wide range of self-guided courses that can be done at their own pace.
The Togetherall community is completely anonymous so students can express themselves freely and openly, enabling them to:
- express their feelings by creating a brick using words, pictures and images and add it to the community Wall
- take online tests to measure their anxiety or depression levels to set goals and track their progress
- register for a wide range of online courses covering mental health and lifestyle topics including things like sleep problems, stopping smoking and anger management.
Claire Drummond, Head of Student Experience & Wellbeing, Campus Life, said:
“Starting and returning to university can be a stressful time for our students, even more so in the current situation. Therefore, we are delighted to be able to offer our students access to ‘Togetherall’, an online 24/7 mental health and wellbeing platform to complement the support provided by the Student Wellbeing team as we continue to respond to the current COVID-19 pandemic.
“Special thanks to DARO and all those staff and students who contributed to the Mind Your Mood fundraising effort, which has enabled us to provide this resource for our students.”
Caroline Armstrong, Deputy Director (Fundraising), commented:
“We have used funds raised through the university’s Mind Your Mood initiative to purchase the Togetherall license for one year, an innovative and responsive approach by our colleagues in Student Wellbeing to supporting our students in the current environment.
“I would like to thank our colleagues across the university, as well as our students and graduates, for their continued support and fundraising for Mind Your Mood which helps us to provide more interventions for our students, at the earliest stage of the development of mental health issues.”
Chris Chambers, UUSU Vice-President for Sport and Wellbeing, adds:
“8 out of 10 UK University students experience some form of mental health issue. So we, in UUSU, are delighted to see that students will now be able to access additional, online, and around the clock support in the form of Togetherall.
“A topic such as this deserves the effort of the entire University community to work together in supporting those suffering from or showing early signs of mental health issues and this is a further step in that direction. I’m happy that I can say with confidence that this platform will be welcomed by many of our students.”
David Linden – Mind Your Mood Coordinator commented:
“As a student, I know how stressful it is to be working or studying virtually, in isolation and how this can lead to higher levels of anxiety. Togetherall provides connection with a community of users where students can openly express their feelings and communicate with others anonymously. Having this platform where students can get support without judgement is brilliant for their mental health and wellbeing”
The Development and Alumni Relations Office is currently assessing what activity we could undertake during this academic year to raise funds, now needed more than ever. If you have any ideas, please contact Caroline Armstrong by email to c.armstrong1@ulster.ac.uk
For more information or to donate to Mind Your Mood go to ulster.ac.uk/mindyourmood