Presentation
This session presents King’s College London’s Health Advisor for Mandarin Speaking Students (HAMSS) pilot programme and showcases reflections and findings from the past 18 months.
HAMSS is an innovative and collaborative initiative by King’s College London’s Counselling Service and King’s NHS Health Centre (university GPs), aiming to support international students whose first language is Mandarin in navigating university services and the NHS, with an emphasis on mental health support. HAMSS offers one-to-one appointments, advising on wellbeing and health-related resources and how to access them.
The programme emphasises psycho-education on mental health and tailored support for service navigation. The pilot also creates a culturally-aware listening space for students to talk about and make sense of their life experiences, which for many is a period of exploring social identities and transitioning into young adulthood.