Counselling service a lifeline for students suffering increased psychological stress

The University of Sheffield is set to celebrate the success of its Nightline service with a week of events starting on Monday, November 17.

This coincides with a recent study which has revealed that one in four students show raised levels of psychological distress.

The report by The Association for University and College Counselling showed that student distress levels are higher than that of the general population.

Nightline is a listening and information service provided for students, by students, available each night from 8pm to 8am.

The Nightline Awareness Week will see the start of a variety of events and promotions around the university in celebration of the organisation.

Beth Mobey, one of the public faces of Nightline, said: "[We] just decided that it’s about time we had a week to celebrate, publicise and raise money for the organisation".

The week will play host to bake sales, speed dating, and glow stick selling, as well as an arctic-themed Roar club night on Wednesday, November 19, in homage to the organization’s mascot, the Nightline Penguin.

Although affiliated with the umbrella organisation National Nightline, Sheffield’s Nightline is an autonomous organisation run completely by students for the last 35 years.

Last year the organisation received the Outstanding Volunteers Award, along with Sheffield Volunteers, at the Union’s Activities Award.

The core principles of Nightline are anonymity, impartiality, and confidentiality.

Each volunteer will devote approximately 300 hours per year to the organization and they are not paid for their time.

An anonymous volunteer said: "Call numbers vary from night to night, with certain times of the year being busier than others, especially in exam period and Freshers’ Week."

Because of its confidential nature, Mobey is unable to answer some of the more intrusive questions about the inner workings of the organisation.

But she said: "The University of Sheffield Nightline provides three services. The one that has been around the longest and that we are best known for is the telephone listening service.

"We also provide a telephone information service and an e-listening service via email.

"I guess the information service is seen as a bit of a cheap version of 118, which isn’t a bad thing."

When asked what it means to be a night line volunteer, Mobey added: "It can be challenging but it’s the most rewarding thing I’ve ever been a part of."

If you are interested in volunteering for nightline you can contact the organization via sunl@sheffield.ac.uk.

Imogen Child