UCARMHSS - University of Cambridge and Anglia Ruskin Mental Health Student Service

Students who are studying at either the University of Cambridge or Anglia Ruskin University based within the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough areas and meet the criteria for the specialist support offered by UCARMHSS.

All students need to be registered with a GP in Cambridgeshire or Peterborough to access help from UCARMHSS. For more information about registering with a GP contact your Student Services team.

The care pathway is based on formulation and need rather than limited to specific diagnostic categories. Further details can be found here: Forumlation BPS - for Students.pdf [pdf] 3MB

The aim of the service is to provide timely, evidence-based mental health support and interventions to students to enable them to achieve their goals. There is no upper age limit for accessing the service.

What happens to my care if I go back home or travel abroad?

We understand many students are likely to return to their family homes between term times. During these periods we care able to offer online appointments if your place of residence is in the UK. 

UCARMHSS cannot provide support to students if they are outside of the UK. If you go abroad, please let us know and the service will book appointments around this.

For students who leave Cambridge and Peterborough on a longer-term basis, for example due to intermission or remote studying, we would need to consider if UCARMHSS is still the most appropriate service to meet your needs. We would discuss this with you and what this means for your support plan.

The First Response Service provides 24-hour access, seven days a week, 365 days a year, to mental health care, advice and support.

For help in a mental health crisis out of hours, call 111 and select option 2.

Please contact your GP for local service details if you live outside Cambridgeshire or Peterborough.

For students at Anglia Ruskin University (Cambridge or Peterborough campuses), first contact the counselling and wellbeing service. Details can be found on this link.

All referrals for students at the University of Cambridge are made by the University's Mental Health Advice Service (MHAS). For a referral to the MHAS, please speak to the wellbeing team at your college. You can also be referred to the MHAS if you are already a client of the Accessibility and Disability Resource Centre, Student Wellbeing Service, University Counselling Service or Harassment and Violence Support Service.

Students may also be referred into UCARMHSS via other CPFT services.

More details about support for students can be found below:
Anglia Ruskin University — Health and wellbeing
University of Cambridge — Get support

If I need to be a student to access UCARMHSS, what happens if my studies are due to end soon?

At UCARMHSS we believe all students deserve appropriate, timely, and equitable mental health support.

In some circumstances, a student may be ending their studies and no longer be enrolled with their university before UCARMHSS involvement is able to begin. In these circumstances we would aim to signpost the student to other services for support or make an onward referral to a different CPFT mental health service if appropriate.

If your studies are due to end soon, and you feel you would benefit from mental health support, we would still encourage requesting a referral to our service.

What happens after I’m referred?

UCARMHSS clinicians will review your referral and confirm with you if we feel an assessment with our team is appropriate. An assessment could be with any of our clinicians (see Meet the Team below). Assessments typically last up to 90 minutes and can be either in person or online.

Following your assessment the multi-disciplinary team will review whether UCARMHSS is able to provide a support plan that meets your needs. If other services are better able to meet your needs, we will facilitate onward referrals or signpost you to these services. You will receive an assessment letter summarising the information you shared and detailing our recommendations for your support plan.

For support available should UCARMHSS be the most appropriate service to meet your needs, please see our FAQ on what support is available.

UCARMHSS offers a range of evidenced-based mental health and psychological interventions delivered by mental health practitioners, psychologists and psychiatrists.

If you are a student referred to the service, you will first be offered an initial assessment, and then – in partnership with your clinician – if appropriate you will agree on a support plan. 

Your support plan will be regularly reviewed with you and the multi-disciplinary team to ensure you are receiving these most appropriate and effective support. Once your care with UCARMHSS is complete, we'll review your needs with you to see if any further support is required.

What are the expected wait times for support?

We know that waiting for support can be difficult. We aim to respond as quickly as possible. Waiting times can vary depending on demand and the support you need. We are currently able to see all students referred within 18 weeks of their first referral for their assessment appointment, which is in line with national minimum standards. 

If your circumstances change or you feel that your mental health has worsened while you are waiting, please update us so we can review your situation.

Please see your FAQ on urgent NHS mental health care if you need more immediate support in the meantime.

We are a team of experienced mental health professionals working daily towards the recovery of students who are experiencing mental health difficulties such as psychosis, self-harm and suicidal thoughts, anxiety, depression, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

This is provided through timely access to evidence-based interventions through a multi-disciplinary team approach.

Each student’s needs will be carefully considered by the MDT to ensure there is a holistic, evidence-based approach to their care. 

The team is made up of the following staff: 

Service Manager
Consultant Psychiatrists
Consultant Psychologist
Highly Specialist Clinical Psychologist
Specialist Clinical Psychologists
Mental Health Practitioners
Business Support Manager
Senior Administrator

Below you can find the details for other services and groups that you may find helpful while waiting for an appointment.

• How Are You Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
• Keep Your Head Adult Mental Health
• The Cambridge Group Therapy Centre
• Relate Cambridgeshire and Fenland for Relationship Counselling
• Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and South Lincolnshire Mind
• Richmond Fellowship housing and employment support
• Fitness to boost mental health
• Active living Cambridgeshire
• Cambridge Samaritans
• Peterborough Samaritans

UCARMHSS will work collaboratively with the University of Cambridge and Anglia Ruskin University and other support services so that we can use all available resources and work on a shared plan of care.

In doing so, the UCARMHSS clinician may discuss relevant aspects of your engagement with your university teams. This would only be with your consent to share this information unless we are worried for your or someone else's safety.

The UCARMHSS clinician will not discuss your care beyond other relevant services unless risk levels indicate a need to. We will ensure that information is passed to the most appropriate people/agency, who can work with you to reduce this risk. In some circumstances this may be a family member. We will always try to share information with your prior knowledge and consent, except in emergency situations.

Please see the UCARMHSS privacy notice for details on how we will handle your data. CPFT UCARMHSS Privacy Notice FINAL Sept 2025.pdf [pdf] 195KB