We provide support for health issues that may arise during your time as a student. Find out about our services for sexual health, alcohol and drug consumption, and addiction.
University can be a time of change, but it is important to understand risks and to know where to go to seek help.
Sex and relationships
Healthy relationships can help us cope with the stresses and strains of everyday life. Being at university may put a strain on a relationship, especially if you are living apart from your partner or if the nature of your relationship changes.
If you do experience relationship issues or troubles while at the University of Greenwich, you can talk in confidence with a professional counsellor or more informally with one of our Listening Ears team.
Your local Medical Centre will provide a full range of sexual health services, including full contraceptive services and Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) advice and testing.
Healthy Sex and Relationships Training
We have developed an online Moodle training course on healthy sex and relationships which will provide you with training on consent, rape culture and how to tackle it, intimate partner violence and the law on sexual offending.
You can access the course here and complete it at your own pace.
We are continuously developing this training to ensure it is relevant to you and value your feedback on content and presentation to enhance it further.
If your birthday is on an odd date, we ask you to complete this survey before doing the training.
If your birthday is on an even date, we ask you to complete this survey after doing the training.
Alcohol and drugs
Alcohol is often seen as a big part of student social life, and it can be all too easy to over-indulge. But drinking too much can affect your judgement and reflexes.
You may also be tempted to take drugs like ecstasy and cannabis, especially if they are widely available and seen as socially acceptable. However, this will affect your ability to concentrate and may cause depression and anxiety.
We equip all our students with realistic, practical information and advice on alcohol consumption and the risks involved in drug taking. We also offer guidance to students who are worried about drinking too much or are feeling social pressure to try drugs.
If you experience problems with alcohol or drug consumption, your local Medical Centre and our professional counsellors will give you the help and support you need.
Addiction
Addiction can be defined as not having control over doing, taking or using something to the point where it could be harmful to you*.
This includes things like alcohol, gambling smoking and drugs, but people can also become addicted to other things like shopping for example, there are lots of reasons why addictions start. Trying to manage an addiction can be difficult and cause problems for example in your homelife, at work and can affect your wellbeing.
*https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/addiction-what-is-it/
Help and support is available
Report and Support (university)
If you would like to disclose how you have been affected by any form of harassment, including bullying, discrimination, hate incident/crime, and sexual misconduct, you can do so by using our new Report and Support platform. This enables you to speak to a specially trained advisor who can advise you on reporting options and support available, so that you can make an informed decision on next steps. You can also disclose issues anonymously. Visit the Report and Support website for more information.
Drugs
Your GP can give you information on what is available to you. If you prefer you can also talk directly to your local service yourself. The NHS also has information on the types of support they offer.
Frank can also provide information and advice with a phone line available 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
Alcohol
The NHS has information on support for those who need help due to alcohol dependency, they also have a search facility for local services and list some useful contacts.
Smoking
There is lots of information available from the NHS if you want to stop smoking or are thinking about doing so. This includes a local stop smoking service look up facility.
Gambling
If you think you have a problem with gambling and would like to stop the NHS has information on what is available as well as support groups and helplines.
Mind have a guide to addiction and dependency support which lists a number of support resources for different types of addiction and dependency.
You can speak to someone anonymously about any type of addiction by calling the Samaritans free on 116 123
You can also contact our professional counselling team at the University.
Spectrum.Life may also be helpful to you; it provides you with access to counselling support to help you cope and deal more effectively with any personal problems.
Livewell Greenwich Hub Live Well Greenwich | Healthy living activities around Greenwich, London They deliver smoking cessation support and signposting to local services for substance misuse.
We aim to equip students with realistic, practical information and advice on alcohol consumption and the risks involved in drug taking. We offer guidance to students who are worried about drinking too much or are feeling social pressure to try drugs. We also have a duty to provide a safe and healthy environment for study and work and our policy statement on drugs and alcohol provides more information on this.