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Student wellbeing

Three students standing in a corridor looking at a phone.

The Student Wellbeing Service is specifically for the provision of support for students who are experiencing personal challenges. This service is free.

Our service is designed to offer you support to effectively address any personal challenges that might be impacting upon your engagement with your studies. In some instances, we may refer students for further professional help outside the university for more specialised support when required. Students requiring support with specific disability issues and effective learning advice are advised to consult the appropriate webpages located elsewhere on the website.

Our student wellbeing advisors are Neenu Kuruvilla, Layaly Hamayel and Linah Kareem. They are all western-trained professionals and qualified to provide emotional support and guidance.

Types of support

Emergency support

Please be aware that the Student Wellbeing Service is not an emergency service. If you are experiencing a mental health crisis, please go to the emergency room nearest to you or call the local police suicide prevention hotline (901).

For on-campus crisis support, contact the safeguarding team through the SafeZone App or inform a member of the security team.

Self-help resources and non-emergency helplines

If you are not yet ready to talk with one of our student wellbeing advisors, you can first explore some self-help resources that might be helpful to you. We would recommend the following:

1-1 Counseling Service

In some instances, it might be helpful for you to consult with a student wellbeing counselor at our Dubai Campus. Reasons for this might include:

  • Personal or emotional difficulties
  • Needing a referral to more specialised services for support
  • Requiring help with a Mitigating Circumstances application related to wellbeing
  • Thinking about a temporary suspension of studies due to wellbeing concerns

How to make an enquiry or appointment

If you are seeking support for yourself or someone you are concerned about, please email us on dubaiwellbeing@hw.ac.uk or come to one of our drop-in sessions on Wednesdays from 2-3 PM in the Wellbeing Area 1.06 (except on public holidays and campus closures).

All information is held securely and complies with the General Data Protection Regulation and CDA professional code.

Confidentiality

Wellbeing advising within the Heriot-Watt Student Wellbeing Service in Dubai is conducted in accordance with the Dubai Healthcare City Regulatory (DHCR) and Community Development Authority (CDA) Code of Ethics.

This means that everything that you speak about within a session will be confidential and will not be discussed with anyone else without your permission. The only time that this would not be the case would be if the student wellbeing advisor is concerned for your safety or thinks that you, or someone else, are at some sort of risk. The aim would always be to strive to discuss this with you, but in rare or extreme cases this might not always be possible.