As a committee we run our support groups. These are separate from our main meetings and are not public. To find out the time and location of these meetings please either contact us at lgbt@bath.ac.uk or read our weekly emails.
T-Time
T-Time is a weekly meeting for transgender students or students questioning their gender identity. There are no expectations for attending but more than welcome to participate and ask questions or talk about your experiences. This is a good opportunity to get in touch with your community and make new friends. For more information and details email our transgender representating at su-transgender@bath.ac.uk.
Us@Home
Us@Home is a monthly meeting for members who do not have supportive family life and would like a safe space to ask for advice and talk openly. Confidentiality is the upmost concern for us and we will aim to work round any adaptations that you need. For more information and details email us and we will admit you into the group at lgbt@bath.ac.uk
Other Groups
The Mature & Postgraduate and POC groups are run to relate to LGBTQIA+ people with those respective additional identities, by the Mature & Postgraduate and POC reps of our society respectively. The Mature & Postgraduate group is run once each fortnight.
Other Support
REPORT AND SUPPORT
This is the university system for reporting incidents of bullying, discrimination, sexual misconduct etc. When reporting an incident it can be done by you, someone you trust or anonymously. The university offers support to people throughout this process so you do not need to go through it alone.
You can find it here: https://www.bath.ac.uk/campaigns/support-and-report/
UNIVERSITY WELLBEING SERVICE
University wellbeing advisors
The university wellbeing advisors are available for drop-in sessions (no appointment is needed) and their service is fully LGBT+ inclusive. Drop-in sessions are available both on campus at the Roper Student Services Centre, or in town at The Virgil Building. You can find details of their timings on their website.
Counselling & mental health assessments
Student Services offers counselling and mental health assessments to students for free, and they are confidential. Skype/telephone appointments are available in cases where access to campus based services are restricted. It is important to note that there is usually a waiting list for the university counselling and they are currently not able to provide long-term counselling, but it is definitely worth booking it despite this. In doing this, you can discuss your feelings and experiences with a professional, and decide what you want to achieve at the end of the support offered. They can also help you decide what other options are available to you.
Counselling workshops & courses
Student Services offers several courses/workshops at various times of the year in areas such as managing procrastination, coping with low mood and depression, mindfulness, and sleep.
NIGHTLINE
Nightline is a “student-run, confidential, and non-judgemental peer-to-peer support listening service”. The volunteers are fully trained and are there to listen and talk about whatever it is that’s on your mind (it could be something as small as just wanting to chat, to something as serious as self-harm or needing them to contact an ambulance). They won’t judge you or tell you what to do, so you can feel comfortable contacting them. You can contact them via instant messenger, phone or email. It is entirely anonymous, so the volunteer’s you talk to won’t know your identity unless you tell them.
It is completely free and they are available 8pm to 8am every night during the semester - you can find their contact details on the back of your library card.
STUDENT MINDS
Student Minds is a UK charity focused student mental health, and it is also a student-led group that supports mental health in 2 ways:
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Campaigning to raise awareness for mental health issues and the importance of student wellbeing.
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Student Minds Facilitators run several courses focused on different mental health issues (such as low-mood/depression and eating disorders). They also run courses on how to support someone else, for example if you have a friend who self-harms.
These courses are all free for students.
EXTERNALLY
There are many options to help you with your mental health outside of the university:
GP
You can visit your GP, who will have your medical history and background, to discuss your options and they can refer you to a counsellor if necessary.
NHS Self Help Leaflets
The NHS produces leaflets with information on self-help for various problems, such as depression, anxiety, alcohol abuse, domestic violence and eating disorders. You can access them here.
Counselling and Low cost counselling
There are a variety of counselling services in Bath that offer private counselling and group sessions. Long-term counselling is available at full-price for sessions, and some services offer low-cost counselling for students (however, this may only be available for short-term counselling and the waiting lists may be longer). You can find more information here.
Samaritans
The Samaritans are a non-judgemental listening service who you can contact for free 24 hours a day. You could contact them by phone, email, letter, or talk to them in person. More information can be found on their website.
LGBT+ domestic abuse support
Galop - the LGBT+ anti-abuse charity
Recommended by coordinators of the Freedom Program in Bath for LGBT+ specific domestic abuse support. They have multiple dedicated hotlines for supporting the LGBT+ community:
LGBT+ Domestic Abuse Helpline 0800 999 5428
Conversion Therapy Helpline: 0800 130 3335
LGBT+ Hate Crime Helpline: 020 7704 2040