Support groups

Our support groups offer a chance to share and learn from others in similar situations to you. Our current groups are:

• Bereavement support group
• TransMission
• Navigating Neurodiversity
• The Body Project

Bereavement support group

Our in-person bereavement support group is for students who have experienced the loss of a loved one whether recent or past. We understand that everyone has their own unique experience of grief, and we also know that sharing our stories and getting support from others who have also been bereaved can be really helpful.

We hope by facilitating this group, you can get together in a confidential and safe space to share stories, thoughts and feelings and be in a supportive space where people just 'get it'.

When

The Bereavement support group runs fortnightly on Tuesdays 11.00am - 12.00pm (term-time only).

Where

Chaplaincy Lounge (2nd Floor)
Chaplaincy Centre & Prayer Rooms
St Pauls Road
Portsmouth
PO5 4AQ

If you would like more information or to have an informal chat about this group, email wellbeing-admin@port.ac.uk and our admin team will connect you with the practitioner running this group.

Further information about the start dates for the new academic year will be posted here shortly - please check back in.

You can also go along to our Get Connected weekly social drop-in to ask for more information and have a chat with Student Wellbeing staff.
 

TransMission

TransMission is a supportive and relaxed space for transgender, non-binary, gender questioning and gender variant students to socialise together, make new friends and network. This group runs in-person.

When

First Wednesday of the month, 2.00pm to 4pm (term-time only)

Book

If you would like more information or to have an informal chat about this group, email wellbeing-admin@port.ac.uk and our admin team will connect you with the practitioner running this group.

Further information about the start dates for the new academic year will be posted here shortly - please check back in.

You can also go along to our Get Connected weekly social drop-in to ask for more information and have a chat with Student Wellbeing staff.

Navigating Neurodiversity

This is an 8 week skills based course designed with, and for, neurodivergent students. It is jointly run by Student Wellbeing and Disability Advice teams, and is a safe space for both diagnosed and self-diagnosed neurodivergent students to learn skills to support you as you navigate your studies. 

If you would like more information or to have an informal chat about this group, email wellbeing-admin@port.ac.uk and our admin team will connect you with the practitioner running this group.

Further information about the start dates for the new academic year will be posted here shortly - please check back in.

You can also go along to our Get Connected weekly social drop-in to ask for more information and have a chat with Student Wellbeing staff.

The Body Project

Student Wellbeing together with Sports and Rec will be offering a new support group for female students focusing on body image.  The Body Project is an all-female pilot group that will run for 4 weeks in November 2025 offering a space to talk in confidence about societal pressures around body image.

More details to follow but if you are struggling with these issues and wish to access some support sooner, please book an advice session or register with Student Wellbeing.

If you would like more information or to have an informal chat about this group, email wellbeing-admin@port.ac.uk and our admin team will connect you with the practitioner running this group.

Further information about the start dates for the new academic year will be posted here shortly - please check back in.

You can also go along to our Get Connected weekly social drop-in to ask for more information and have a chat with Student Wellbeing staff.

Setting up a new support group

Would you like to be put in touch with other students with similar circumstances to you?

Sometimes it can really help to know others are facing similar challenges and to share thoughts and coping strategies. But it might be difficult to find them – and that’s where we’d like to help.

Connect with others in the same boat

We can work with you to bring together small groups of students who would like the opportunity to meet, share and support each other around a particular challenge or concern that they have in common.

Are you:

• a student who is the main carer for a family member?
• a student who commutes to university from a distance, rather than living in Portsmouth?
• a student who is estranged from their family?

Challenges like these could leave you feeling isolated when others on your course or who you live with don’t understand.

The important thing to realise is that you’re not alone and that maybe you have something to offer others who feel the same as you. For example, the students who attended our bereavement group said that it was really valuable to meet people with similar experiences and have that group support.

Find a support group

If this is something you think you’d like us to develop and provide, why not get in touch and tell us and we’ll see what we can do to help find others who feel like you. Contact us at wellbeing-admin@port.ac.uk and put ‘It’s not just me’ in the subject line.

Or perhaps you might be interested in an online group?

Would you be interested in attending an online Wellbeing Workshop?  Somewhere you could chat with supportive Wellbeing staff, learn some skills to manage your wellbeing, as well as connect with other students - all online?

Maybe you are a Postgraduate Researcher, a Commuter student, or have commitments that make it difficult for you to be here on campus for our other wellbeing groups and workshops?

If you would like more information or to have an informal chat please email wellbeing-admin@port.ac.uk and our admin team will connect you with a practitioner.