AC encourages mental wellbeing by providing scaffolding for dealing with personal challenges, developing a healthy study-life balance, accessing mental health support services and building an inclusive campus community. The college promotes awareness and understanding of mental health issues in the work, research and study environment, so that people feel supported.
The Student Support Team can provide access to a trained pastor or counsellor on campus or online. Students requiring professional services are provided with a range of external wellbeing and mental health services. In addition, AC campuses run Christian mindfulness sessions for students during the stress of final weeks of semester. Further details regarding wellbeing and health can be found on Moodle.
Wellbeing at AC is overseen by our professionally trained staff:
Elizabeth Skinner (Registered Counsellor, ACA)
Dr Rebecca Loundar (Registered Psychologist)
AC's Wellbeing Centre provides a range of support services to students
Free counselling
As part of our commitment to student welfare, AC provides a free counselling service. Our trained Intern counsellors are available to meet with you for counselling over zoom and where possible, in person. Please note that this service is subject to availability of our Intern counsellors.
To request counselling, please fill in our intake form here.
Study Without Stress Program
Each semester we also run workshops dedicated to equipping students with time and stress management skills. These workshops draw on research conducted by Macquarie University.
Topics covered include:
- Understanding stress
- Recognising and challenging unhelpful thinking
- Patterns that affect performance
- Setting goals and managing study stress
- Problem solving strategies
- Understanding procrastination and perfectionism
- Creating timetables and schedules
You can read more about the Study Without Stress Program here.
For more information about when the next workshop is running, please email us at wellbeing@ac.edu.au
Other services we recommend include the following:
- Beyond Blue provides information and support to help everyone in Australia achieve their best possible mental health, whatever their age and wherever they live.
- ReachOut is an online mental health organisation for young people and their parents which provides practical support, tools and tips help young people get through anything from everyday issues to tough times.
- Headspace is the National Youth Mental Health Foundation providing early intervention mental health services to 12-25 year olds. headspace can help young people with mental health, physical health (including sexual health) alcohol and other drug services, and work and study support.
- Lifeline exists to ensure that no person in Australia has to face their darkest moments alone. Our experience has shown us that it is through connection that we can find hope. We are available 24 hours a day to listen, without judgement to any person in Australia who is feeling overwhelmed, experiencing crisis or longs to be heard.
RESEARCH ETHICS POLICY
The Research Ethics Policy notes that that: “human research is justified by its potential benefits to knowledge and understanding, to improved social welfare and individual wellbeing, and by its alignment to the Code of Conduct Policy”.