Positive Peers
Hey! My name is Cindy, and I’m currently studying a Master’s in Early Intervention in Psychosis. In my spare time I like to volunteer to give back to my community, develop skills and meet new people. One of the organisations I volunteer for is called Positive Peers right here at KCL!
We are trained to provide peer intervention that can change the state of student mental health. I chose to volunteer for this specific group at KCL because I know that student life can be tough, especially for postgraduates. So, I wanted to do my bit to support students who may need a little extra help when it comes to their wellbeing and particularly helping them thrive at university! As a positive peer, we facilitate activities at all of the campuses, in order to improve student mental health and general wellbeing at KCL. Ultimately, our aim is to create a happier and healthier community within the university!
So to give a ‘slice’ of the sorts of activities available, here’s a quick rundown of what we do regularly:
Mondays – we hold a wellbeing workshop where we focus on 5 aspects that promote individual wellbeing and explore the different ways you can thrive.
Tuesdays – we have a ‘positive minds’ workshop for students who are experiencing low mood and/or mild depression, in which we have received training from the charity, Student Minds.
Wednesdays – we hold Zen Zone stalls at various campuses including Denmark Hill.
And finally on Thursdays we have ‘Cooking and Conversation’, where you can learn how to make healthy and cheap eats while meeting new peeps!
If student wellbeing is something that interests you then check out our socials:
Facebook: @positivepeerskcl/
Instagram: @positive.peers
Twitter: @positivepeers17
A note for current students
With exam season just around the corner, sometimes it’s easy to neglect our mental health and wellbeing. To succeed in your exams and assignments, ideally you want to be feeling your best mentally and physically, and we want to help make sure that you’re at the top of your game for everything. As demonstrated above, there are a number of services around campus that you can take advantage of to improve your mental wellbeing, as well as specific support through KCL counselling services.
If you’re interested in ways to get involved in mental health, Mental Health Awareness Week 2019 will be taking place from Monday 13 to Sunday 19 May 2019.
This is effective news for mental health services.