Resilience & Wellbeing

Formerly known as the Resilience hub, the SAY toolkit was developed as a resource to support students' wellbeing and resilience during their time at university. It includes a range of TED talks, playlists and activities to guide students in the development of core resilience skills such as strategic and reflective thinking, grit and a growth mindset. The toolkit is now a university-side provision and was developed and continues to be supported by Dr. Karisha George, the University of York’s Student Wellbeing team, and College staff.

Ways to get involved: Have a look at the SAY toolkit and engage with the resources there. And give feedback! 

Email: success@york.ac.uk

Based on the success of SAY, the development of a similar hub for the Hull York Medical School is in progress. This will focus on including a range of talks, playlists and activities to support medical students as they pursue their degrees. Content will cover issues such as perfectionism, workaholism, and isolation.  

Ways to get involved: Have a look at the SAY toolkit and engage with the resources there and give us your feedback on what should be included for medical students! 

Email: success-in-hyms-toolkit-group@york.ac.uk  

As part of the Psychology Department's focus on supporting student wellbeing, the Student Wellbeing officer and the Wellbeing champion have collaborated with Open door to launch a series of events to support students every academic year. Keep up-to-date with it all via the Departmental Psychology Wellbeing website.

Launched in early 2023, the BAME Chill Corner is a student committee within the Psychology department which focuses on providing a safe space for BAME students to speak about their experiences in an informal atmosphere. The Committee will be working alongside the University's BAME officer and the Student hub to run a series of events focused on creating similar opportunities university-wide. These will include events such as games nights, as well as talks on Black Mental Health. 

The Committee has successfully received funding for a range of projects including the Crowns Exhibit, the Multicultural Dictionary, the BAME advice column, and have organised a network of informal support through the BAME Bliss Hour. They continue to provide tailored support based on student feedback, launching an entire timetable of events for international students in Semester 1, 2025. They also take charge of a range of research projects to better understand students' wellbeing needs. 

Ways to get involved: become a member of the BCC committee and get involved in running events, or performing research projects. Send us any ideas you may have concerning events that can be run in the department.

Email: psychology-student-wellbeing@york.ac.uk

The peer mentor scheme was launched in the Psychology department in 2021 in order to link first-year students with a mentor who is currently a third-year student in the department. As part of this scheme, the mentors take their mentees to a range of social activities in the University and the wider York city as well as advise them on department-related issues and the general ins-and-outs of student life. The mentors also receive training related to the role including training on Professional Resilience and maintaining Professional Boundaries. 

Ways to get involved: Consider becoming a peer mentor to incoming first-year students.

Email: peer-mentors-group@york.ac.uk. 

 Research Project: How do self-efficacy and self-assurance impact achievement and wellbeing in ethnic-minority university students?