You can ask for help before you have all the words.

Urgent help comes first

If someone’s life is at risk, or you cannot keep yourself or someone else safe, call 999 or go to A&E. For urgent mental health help in England, call 111 and select the mental health option, or ask for an urgent GP appointment. Do not wait for a tutor, platform message or AI response.

The NHS urgent help page explains these routes. Journey is not a clinical or emergency service. For help outside England, use the urgent-care information for your location.

Start with one conversation

If the situation is not urgent, you can speak to your GP about mental health concerns and available services. You can also ask your provider about its learner support or wellbeing arrangements. The person supporting your learning does not need to diagnose a condition to listen and discuss practical next steps.

A useful opening is: “I am finding things difficult and it is affecting my learning or work. Can we arrange a private conversation?” Explain what is becoming harder, such as concentration, attendance, managing tasks or taking part in a group. You can ask to write your concerns down rather than explain everything aloud.

Make learning support practical

Ask your tutor and, where appropriate, your employer to discuss what could help. Possibilities to explore include clearer instructions, a manageable sequence of tasks, an accessible format, planned check-ins or adjustments to arrangements. What is suitable depends on your needs, the role, assessment requirements and the circumstances.

• Identify the specific difficulty you want help with.
• Agree the action being considered and who needs to approve or arrange it.
• Record the practical arrangement and when it will be reviewed.
• Ask how changes to attendance, deadlines or the programme would be handled.

Do not assume that asking for a change automatically changes an assessment deadline or attendance requirement. Ask for confirmation so everyone understands the agreed position. Acas explains reasonable adjustments at work, including support related to mental health conditions.

Choose what to share, and ask about privacy

Ask who needs to know about a support arrangement and which information will be recorded. You can describe a practical difficulty without putting a detailed personal history in your learning evidence. Avoid sharing medical information in public website forms, group messages or an AI chat.

Ask the support professional to explain confidentiality before you go into detail. If there is a serious safety concern, they may need to involve another person or service. If someone else is causing harm or making you feel unsafe, use your provider’s safeguarding route as well.

If you need someone to listen

You can call Samaritans on 116 123. If you are under 19, Childline is available on 0800 1111. These listening services are also listed by the NHS; emergency help is still the right route when someone is unsafe.

• Shout: text SHOUT to 85258 for support by text.
• Mind Infoline: 0300 123 3393, weekdays 9am–6pm excluding bank holidays, for information and service finding.
• Papyrus: current HopeLine 24/7 contact options for suicide prevention support.
• The Mix: information and support options for young people.

If the first support arrangement is not helping, say what remains difficult and ask for a review or another route. Keep your provider’s named contacts somewhere accessible, including an alternative contact and any arrangements for help outside teaching sessions.