About us

Mission and vision

• every student is able to talk about their feelings in a safe, non-judgmental environment
• fewer students have their education compromised by emotional difficulties
• fewer students die by suicide.

Who we are

Volunteers are at the heart of the Nightline Association: it has only one paid member of staff.   The Chief Executive works alongside a voluntary Trustee Board and an operational team of 33 volunteers.  See the Nightline Association organisation chart.

In addition, the charity has a supplementary volunteer team and has secured honorary consultants and related organisation partners.

Related organisation partners
Nightline works closely with other charities and groups tackling similar issues, including:

Honorary consultants
We have secured pro bono support from experts in a range of fields:

Nightline Values

• Nightline call-taking values
• Run by students for students at their university
• Training for volunteers

Nightline call-taking values

We listen because giving students undivided empathetic attention and the opportunity to explore their feelings in a safe, objective and caring environment alleviates distress and feelings of despair, provides perspective and gives them the space to identify the options open to them – so they can come to their own solution or resolution.

Confidential: We won't divulge anything in a call to anyone outside the service. You are safe to talk.

Anonymous: We won't make any attempt to find out who students are, you don't even have to give a name. You have no fear of come-back.

Non-directive: We won't steer students towards any particular course of action or get them to think about their situation in any particular way. You get as much time as you need to see clearly and identify what you’re feeling, without someone directing you according to their own bias.

Non-advisory: Someone else telling you what to do often won’t work if you haven’t yet understood why you need to do it. We give you an objective caring space to work things out for yourself and make decisions for yourself so that you’re ready to take responsibility for any change and action. Although we're also an information service, the only information we provide is factual and impartial from reliable sources. We don't give advice ourselves but we can give details of relevant professional advice sources.

Run by students for students at their university

Training for volunteers

Facts and Figures

• Students tend to confide in and seek help from peers, and yet students have been shown to be poor at recognising the presence and severity of psychological symptoms in others (Malla & Shaw, 1987; Broadbridge, 1996; Sell & Robson, 1998). Some students cite stigma as a reason not to access counselling services. Peer support training may be of value in this respect; and continuing education and anti-stigma campaigns are needed to improve perceptions of mental health issues (Royal College of Psychiatrists et al, 2001).
• In a survey of ten British Universities, Webb et al (1996) found that 15% of students were drinking at a hazardous level. Among medical students, half exceeded World Health Organisation guidelines.
• Webb’s questionaire survey (Webb et al, 1996) indicated that 17% of male and 25% of female students had scores on the HAD scale suggesting moderate to severe levels of anxiety.
• The 2001 Leicester study found that 20% of undergraduates reported concerns about anxiety symptoms and 35% about feelings of sadness or depression. 7% reported that psychological symptoms had adversely affected their studies.
• In a survey of Oxford students, Sell & Robson (1998) found that 10% of women reported a current eating disorder.
• In a study of over 3000 students at ten universities (Webb et al, 1996), Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) questionnaire scores identified 12% of male and 15% of female students with measureable levels of depression.
• Doll (2000) found that 30% of UK Students experienced ‘emotional or psychological problems’ in the past term.
• As many as 60% of first-year students report homesickness, and of all university students they are at the greatest risk of developing mental health problems (Adalf et al, 2001). This can be compounded by the lack of a confiding relationship, and a subjective feeling of loneliness, which has shown to be correlated with symptoms of anxiety, depression, alcohol and drug misuse, and suicidal ideation. (Curtona, 1982; Perlman and Peplau, 1984).

• Only 1 in 5 of 16-24 year olds with suicidal thoughts would seek help from a GP.  Research shows that suicide risk is raised for virtually all mental health problems.
• One in ten young people have self-harmed at some point.  The UK has one of the highest rates of self-harm in Europe. 
• The largest group of males who attempt suicide are aged between 20 and 24. Suicide, second to accidents, is the largest cause of death in 15 - 24 year old men. (The Samaritans, 1990)

Responses and Prevention in Student Suicide Study, commissioned by Papyrus, 2007:

• Over the past ten years, evidence concerning the levels of mental health problems in the student population in the UK has been accumulating (Phippen1995: Grant 2002; Rana et al 1999; Stanley and Manthorpe 2001a; Waller et al 2005). Rapid rises in student numbers, accompanied by only a limited expansion of student support services, have made this issue more visible (Baker et al 2006; Royal College of Psychiatrists 2003). Adolescence and young adulthood are periods when young people are likely to participate in risky behaviour and the absence of parental scrutiny for students living away from home offers increased opportunities for this.
• Meltzer’s (2002) community study of non-fatal suicidal behaviour found that young people between 16 and 24 were more likely to attempt suicide than those in older age groups.
• The 1995 National College Health Risk Behavior Survey found that ten per cent of the 4,600 undergraduates surveyed had seriously considered attempting suicide during the previous twelve months and seven per cent had drawn up a plan (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 1995). Westefeld et al (2005) surveyed 1,865 students at four universities in the US and found that five per cent reported attempting suicide whilst at university and a further 24 per cent had thought about attempting suicide. Only 26 per cent of their sample was aware of services which might assist someone with suicidal thoughts.
• The likelihood of students arriving in higher education (HE) with a formal diagnosis is low as mental health problems often only make their first appearance in late adolescence or young adulthood.
• Mental health needs in students were in some cases exacerbated by the heavy use of alcohol and drugs. Other factors which interacted with mental health needs included relationship breakdowns and difficulties, financial and academic problems. Many of the students included in the case studies were experiencing a web of problems which appears to have left them feeling trapped at a time of transition.
• Configuring and presenting student support services in a way that makes them attractive and accessible to the student population, particularly to young men, are recommended. Use of student volunteers… and services out-of-hours may increase their appeal.
• The 18-21 age group continues to dominate the demographic picture with 78 per cent of full-time undergraduates being aged under 21 in 2004-05 (HESA 2006)

Background: promoting good emotional health in students for 40 years