Student wellbeing

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 Prathna Singh, Neenu Kuruvilla and Chiaramaria Cutajar. They are all western-trained professionals accredited by relevant professional bodies and qualified to provide emotional support and guidance.

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. 

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

Types of support

Self-help resources and services

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

Student wellbeing advising

In some instances, it might be helpful for you to consult with a student wellbeing advisor 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

Emergency support and helplines

Please be aware that the Student Wellbeing Service is not an emergency service. If you are experiencing a crisis or emergency, please go to the nearest emergency section in any hospital. Alternatively, you can go to Al Amal Psychiatric Hospital in Al Aweer or Rashid Hospital, where specialist psychiatric emergency support is provided.

Additionally, you can phone the following toll-free helplines: 

  • Hope (by NPHW) Tel: 800 4673 or connect on WhatsApp video calls
    • Taalouf (by MOCD) Tel: 800 623 (9am-9pm Sun-Thurs) booked online via the Ministry of Community Development website 
    • Talk and well listen (MOH) Tel: 045192519 (9am-9pm Sun-Thurs) 
    • I'm Alive (global instant messaging-based crisis service) 
    • 901 (local police suicide prevention hotline) 


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. 

Key information