Mental health and wellbeing service available to students online

Around 1 in 4 people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year.*

Big White Wall is an online mental health and wellbeing service available to OU students now. 

Big White Wall is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, offering a confidential space for students to access resources and to chat with fellow students or counsellors to share their concerns. 

The site has a range of resources including art and writing therapies, group courses, and a supportive community of members to talk to any time.   

OU students can join and access the Big White Wall service free of charge, by signing up with their OU email address, as part of a pilot project for this academic year 2018/19. The service was officially launched at the OU on World Mental Health Day, 10 October 2018. 

Information about the service was shared with OU students on their own Student Home webpages and is available on the OU’s online Help Centre. The features were explored in a session on the OU students’ live events site, Student Hub Live. It was also discussed on the OU Students Association’s radio show, Studio. 

Staff and tutors supporting OU students in Scotland and across the UK are attending information sessions about the resource, to be able to share the information with students.  

* Figures from Mind: for better mental health