UCOPE and Student Liaison Service guide

Who is eligible for the service?

The UCOPE and Student Liaison Service work with students who are registered at the universities below. It doesn’t matter where their GP is located, as long as they are registered at one of the following:

• University of Liverpool (UOL)
• Liverpool John Moores (LJMU)
• Hope University
• Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM)
• University of Liverpool International College (UoLIC)
• Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA).

What does UCOPE offer?

UCOPE offers access to therapy which is a blended model of Psychodynamic Interpersonal therapy (PIT) and Cognitive Analytical Therapy (CAT).

This therapy is for students who engage in self harming behaviour and consists of an initial assessment (usually about four weeks from referral), then five therapy sessions (usually about six to eight weeks from referral). 

Inclusion criteria:

• Student is registered with one of the above universities
• Student consents to the referral
• Recent (within the last year) self harming behaviour
• Self harm refers to an intentional act of self poisoning or self injury, irrespective of the motivation or apparent purpose of the act and is an expression of emotional distress (NICE 2004).

Exclusion criteria:

• Presenting with symptoms of acute mental distress such as psychosis
• Already engaged with asecondary mental health service
• Currently engaging with another therapy
• Drug or alcohol use is the primary problem.

Students cannot self refer but we accept referrals from Student Mental Health Services, other Mersey Care services, GPs and other professionals involved in the students’ care.

What does the Student Liaison Service offer?

Student Liaison Service offers an interface between the universities and the NHS. Students must consent to student liaison intervention.

The Student Liaison Service is appropriate for:

• Students who contact Mersey Care urgent care phone line
• Students who have had an assessment by A&E mental health
• Students who come into contact with one of our mental health triage cars
• Students who have prompted concerns from university support services
• Students who are admitted to acute mental health hospitals
• Any student contacts with primaryor secondary care services.

The purpose of the Student Liaison Service is to enable all services to have up to date, timely information to ensure robust risk management. We also attend university mental health multi-disciplinary teams, are available to discuss students' mental health needs and signpost, if required.

Our patients matter

Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust listens and responds to patients and their carers to help improve the services we deliver.

If you have any comments, compliments or concerns you can speak with a member of staff or contact our Patient Advice and LiaisonService (PALS) and Complaints Team.

Telephone: 0151 471 2377 Freephone: 0800 328 2941 Email: palsandcomplaints@merseycare.nhs.uk