At Act we will support you through mentoring if you have mental health needs, physical difficulties and learning difference. 

The foundation of our philosophy is the belief in the ‘core conditions’: empathy, congruence (honesty/integrity) and unconditional positive regard (acceptance) and every student’s sessions with a mentor will begin from those solid foundations.

We see mental health as existing on a continuum rather than a binary ‘mentally healthy vs. mentally ill’. Historically, mental health has been understood through a medical lens and whilst we understand the importance of this in regard to diagnosis and treatment, at Act we also contextualise mental health into the wider societal framework. This means that we understand that if you come from a marginalised group e.g., if you are LGBTQ+, BIPOC, have a learning difference, disabled or a woman, there are existing systemic barriers and prejudices in our society, therefore we understand that feelings of anxiety and depression are a response to feeling excluded. 

Therefore, we see mental health not as an inclusion/exclusion criteria but as points along a continuum between the OK and ill.  Philosophers who consider themselves a part of the neurodiversity movement claim that our concept of mental illness should be revised to reflect the diverse forms of cognition that humans are capable of without stigmatising individuals that are statistically ‘non-normal’.