Remote/online support
Student Counselling and Wellbeing appointments are available in-person and online. Find out more about our remote support services.
When you register for Student Counselling and Wellbeing, you will be asked for your appointment preference (ie face-to-face or remote). Please note that we may not be able to offer your first choice and we ask that students select remote appointments where convenient.
If you are unable to access a private space for your Zoom appointment, we may be able to offer you the use of our on-campus quiet room. Please contact us for more information about booking the quiet room.
Please note: Remote support is not appropriate where students are experiencing thoughts of self-harm or suicide. In these cases, students must contact their local GP and/or crisis team as a matter of urgency.
How our remote support services work
Our remote appointments are hosted via Zoom. Before your appointment, you will need to download Zoom on your device. None of your personal data will be shared with Zoom.
Before your appointment, you will receive an email containing a unique URL for the meeting. At the appointed start time, you and your practitioner should click the URL to open Zoom on both of your devices. This will provide a secure, private chatroom for the appointment.
You will need a working webcam, sound and a microphone on your device. If you are using a tablet or mobile device, please ensure that it is fully charged or plugged in before your appointment begins. We recommend using a headset if possible.
If we are experiencing technical issues, we will contact you by email to offer an alternative appointment. If we are unable to email you, we will call you on the contact number provided. Please note that calls from the Student Counselling and Wellbeing service will display as a private number.
Any communication that takes place between you and your practitioner outside of the appointment (eg ‘I’m going to be 5 minutes late’) must be through your University of Leeds email. For reasons of security and confidentiality, the Zoom messaging function is not used as a part of this service.
Data protection
As with our face-to-face services, remote appointments are not recorded or stored. This is for security and confidentiality purposes and to ensure parity with our face-to-face services.
Please contact us immediately if you believe the security or confidentiality of your connection has been in any way compromised.
Protecting your own confidentiality
Please ensure that you are in a private location where you cannot be overheard for the duration of the appointment. Appointments cannot take place if we believe you are in a public place or if anyone else other than you is in the meeting.
If you are using your own device
Consider whether you can be overlooked/overheard. If you leave your station, no matter how briefly, minimise the page so it cannot be casually seen by others.
Consider whether anyone else has access to your computer or email account. We suggest you protect your computer and email account with a password which you change regularly.
If you are using a shared device
Consider whether you can be overlooked/overheard. If you leave your station, no matter how briefly, minimise the page so it cannot be casually seen by others.
Before you shut down the device after your appointment, we suggest you delete the browsing history, temporary internet files and cookies so that this information cannot be accessed by the next user.
Further information
Counselling, Wellbeing and Mental Health support are recognised and well-established practices in the UK and in many other countries, however we can't be aware of its status in all territories. We would like to make our remote services available to all students, however we are aware that in some countries or specific local areas within a country, receiving online wellbeing, counselling or mental health services is either not permitted or requires locality specific further permissions or licences that as UK based practitioners we will not have. For example, we are aware that we cannot provide remote counselling services to students who are temporarily resident in the State of California.
Given the number of countries in the world and the possibility of further local rules within the country, we cannot guarantee that our information is up-to-date. We therefore ask that you please tell us if you are aware of any legal restrictions relating to us providing online wellbeing, counselling or mental health services in your current location.