Your health and wellbeing matters to us
Coming to university is exciting, but it can also be a challenge.
Big life changes like moving cities or starting university can impact your mental health, physical health and your wellbeing — so you'll have access to lots of support when you get here.
In regard to the extra help and support with uni work and student wellbeing, it was nice to know the Uni offered a lot of different services.
How we support your wellbeing
From the moment you start with us, our Student Wellbeing Service is on hand to provide personal and emotional support, mental health support and counselling. They organise workshops, courses and events throughout the academic year.
And, as we know living away from home for the first time can be daunting, you'll also have access to free 24/7 confidential welfare support and advice from our Residence Life Team when you move into your accommodation.
They manage the welfare and concerns of students living in our halls of residence, and provide support for all first-year students living in private accommodation or Unite halls.
Find out more about each of these wellbeing services on MyPort, our student site, below.
Already a student with us? Find out more about looking after your mental health while studying.
Student Wellbeing Service
When you need support, you can book a same-day short advice session or register for a longer appointment with our team of counsellors, wellbeing or mental health advisers.
Residence Life Team
Our Res Life Assistants are returning students who are on hand to offer help with issues like health concerns, homesickness, issues with flatmates, noisy neighbours and general wellbeing.
Other sources of wellbeing support
Learn more about each of these sources of support on MyPort:
Wellbeing workshops, courses and events
You can sign up for workshops and courses run throughout the year by our Student Wellbeing Service and partnering organisations. These are run in small groups, letting you share and learn from others in a relaxed and friendly environment while developing strategies that you can implement to improve your wellbeing.
Support groups
Our support groups offer a chance to share and learn from others in similar situations to you. Our current groups include bereavement support, TransMission for transgender, non-binary, gender questioning and gender variant students, and groups dedicated to living and learning well with neurodivergence and autism.
Feel Good Fest
Each year, we run Feel Good Fest to inspire you to take care of your wellbeing. You can join other students, staff, local artists and organisations at this free event packed with activities to promote personal wellbeing, including free food tasting, craft workshops, and performances and entertainment from our societies.
Multi-faith Chaplaincy
With a multi-faith quiet room and Islamic prayer rooms, our Chaplaincy is a quiet space to reflect or pray. You can speak to our chaplains who will listen non-judgmentally, encourage you to develop and grow, and support you for as long as it takes.
Students' Union Advice Service
You can get confidential, impartial and non-judgemental support on academic and University issues from the Students' Union Advice Service. They can support you in academic appeals, extenuating circumstances and complaints.
Online resources and other support
We offer a series of guides to help you with any issues you may encounter, and work with a range of providers to also offer you options for independent, anonymous and external support.
Read Roxanne's storyYou are never alone with services like Wellbeing, the Student Finance Centre, and Careers and Employability.
The services that the uni offer are so valuable and I would recommend utilising them if you ever need to — everyone is really friendly, helpful and impartial and have a vested interest in your wellbeing.
Supporting your physical health
If you live in Portsmouth while studying with us, you can register as a patient at a local doctor's and dentist's surgery for NHS advice and support. You can book appointments, request repeat prescriptions and view your GP record and tests results online.
You can also keep fit by getting a student membership to our Ravelin Sport Centre facilities from as little as £15.99 per month. As one of the UK's greenest sports centres, you can enjoy our eight-lane swimming pool, 175 station fitness suite, climbing wall and Les Mills classes.
Already studying at Portsmouth? Read our advice for looking after your physical health while you're at university.
How to register for NHS services while at uni
Find out how to register with a local doctor and dentist to access NHS health services when you're at uni.
Student memberships at Ravelin Sports Centre
Discover our great value, flexible memberships to keep you active and healthy, including gym use, fitness classes, swimming, climbing and more.
Other ways we support you
Learn more about the support you'll have access to when you study with us.
