SLV back in service I did a month with SLV in their mental health placement. It was recommended to me by a friend who did two months with them in 2018. If it wasn't for word of mouth I don't know if I would have gone because I was put off by the reviews here. However I'm very glad that I did. I learned that Covid impacted the operation completely - everyone lost their jobs. It is now a much more streamlined service and they are getting back on their feet. Ultimately it is the service users that lost out - SLV does very good work in many different placements in Sri Lanka and I was proud to be a part of this. I'm sorry that people may not have gotten fully refunded. However now I realise that this was an unfortunate consequence of the global pandemic and that the organisers tried to prevent this outcome to the best of their ability. Besides all that, it was a great experience and I highly recommend it for people who are looking for more hands-on work in a mental health setting. I worked with people with mental health issues, intellectual disabilities and the elderly in various different placements. We were very well looked after in our homestay and people could not have been kinder or more hospitable. I believe in the integrity of this organisation and I hope that it will be able to rebuild itself back to full strength as it offers an important service in a country where mental health is very much marginalised.

Scammy piece of s--t. Avoid anything associated with this organisation or its workers at all costs. They are thieves. Have lost out on £1300 (the deposit AND the rest), and have seen absolutely nothing for it. They shut down their phone line and email inbox with immediate effect, and soon after closed down their website and moved address too. ABSOLUTE SCAM. I am disgusted SLV. You have ruined me.

Was meant to be going on my placement with SLV at the end of March. This didn’t go ahead because of the pandemic. Was told they could not refund my placement fee but as a “form of gratuity” they would give me 50%, so £550. Was not happy but had no choice to accept, because they would of kept it otherwise. Get to this point and they have closed for business. So now my non refundable fee has gone too. An £800 loss. To add insult to injury, they have abandoned ship the same day they informed everyone they were closing. So I am unable to contact them and discuss anything with them. So all in all it seems they were happy to take my money, and couldn’t be bothered to hold communications with me. Cheers SLV 👌

My 3 months in Bali as a Volunteer Coordinator were some of the best months of my life. I am forever grateful to SLV for giving me the opportunity to work in the field promoting positive mental health and gaining hands on experience in one of the most beautiful cultures and countries in the world. The friends I made there and the Balinese staff and homestay families are some of the most incredible and inspirational people I have ever met and I know I will stay in touch with them for a very long time! Doing an SLV placement was by far the best decision I have made and would have no hesitation recommending it to anyone! The hands on experience and skill set it provided me with is invaluable and has already assisted me in interviews and helped me to get a post as a Volunteer AP in an eating disorders clinic in Scotland which I don’t think I would have got without this experience. A lot of people worry about “Voluntourism” with volunteering abroad and I did too however SLV couldn’t be further from it the majority of the staff coordinating the volunteers and placement are Balinese and SLV provide sustainable opportunities and income for the community which is extremely reassuring. I was fully supported by SLV in the London office and in country every step of the way and I cannot wait to get back to Bali as soon as possible! Thank you for everything SLV ❤️

DO NOT give this company your money!!!! I was aware when signing up that the acceptance free was non refundable if you were to end up not going on the trip. However we are not being given the £250 back when our trip can not go ahead due to a GLOBAL PANDEMIC. Utterly disgusting

Terrible company who only care about making a profit. If they cared about mental health at all, they would give back the $500 acceptance fees they take from you during this horrible time that the world is facing. They try to feed the whole “this pays for your acceptance and our correspondence,” but the only correspondence I’ve had from them is that my trip is cancelled. They won’t listen when I say that a deferment is not possible. Their terms and conditions are unjust and they cannot accept fault. I can see on this website that this is not the first time they’ve done something like this.

The experience I gained with SLV global in Bali has given me excellent psychology work experience that is hard to gain in the UK. Working with children and young people, adults and older adults, has helped me think more about what age ranges id like to specialise in. The company had everything very well organised, by the most incredibly supportive and friendly team! I would take part in another SLV programme in a heartbeat! I would recommend this to any psychology student looking to gain global mental health experience. It enables you to build confidence in working in what can be challenging environments if you have no or a small amount of work experience in mental health already, or for those with good experience already - the opportunity to build leadership skills and experience whilst seeing the most beautiful country and working with the friendly people of Bali.

I should be in an India placement with SLV this week but they cancelled due to insufficient volunteers. The original Sri Lanka placement was cancelled last year, I had already bought flight, insurance etc etc. It has been a whole year since I paid the non-refundable deposit eagerly looking forward to volunteering abroad. My predicament is why am I not (and other volunteers) given the deposit back due to these unforeseen circumstances? I understand SLV's terms and conditions but this is just unheard off. Basically I have paid for nothing and that includes my emotional wellbeing. I do not want SLV coming back to me please. You don't understand. You mentioned in an email you had to be 'fair on all volunteers'. Be fair and pay us who you cancelled on. Terribly unprofessional, will never crowdfund again.

Doing my placement in Sri Lanka was honestly the most eye opening experiences I have ever had. Not only did I gain invaluable skills, but SLV also provide you with a glowing recommendation, which has helped me get into my masters course and an assistant psychology placement with NELFT.

After joining the SLV.Global India programme in 2017, it is safe to say my life has been completely transformed. Not only have I completed a further 2 placements with SLV.Global in Sri Lanka (2018 as a peer mentor - 3 months) and in Bali (2019 as a Vol. Coordinator - 3 months), but I have also acted as an ambassador for my university, gaining some extra money whilst promoting a cause I strongly align with. My placements with SLV.Global have given me a real opportunity to explore a massive variety of different areas of interest, whether that’s teaching, activity support work, global mental health, cross cultural psychology, positive psychology or so on. This is NOT just a psychology obsessed company, but a company that places enriching the lives of both its service users, community members and volunteers in a positive way at the centre of what it does. Volunteers continually promote positive mental health whether that’s during projects or even in the community. Despite what people may think, NO level of qualifications in the west entitles you to dictate how another country or culture should approach their mental health issues. This is what is so refreshing about SLV.Global, as they attempt to shift the focus away from the ‘west is best’ mentality and onto supporting the local communities to grow and develop in their own organic way. It is for that reason that volunteers joining the SLV.Global placements do NOT practice complex therapies, irrespective of their level of training. Volunteers work as activity support workers, helping members of the local community and service users gain vital and useful skills to use in every day life. In my experience there are no other companies that offer the unique programmes SLV.Global offers. Despite all this however, the programmes may not be for everyone. If, however, you decide to apply, gain your place, pay your fees and attend placement and then realise that it is not the programme for you, then perhaps a certain level of research was not conducted first. My biggest advice to any future volunteers is READ THE WEBSITE! There’s information about costs, how the money is spent, what SLV.Global offers and what to expect all on the website, whether that’s in the info packs, general info, FAQs, blogs OR vlogs there is definitely a lot of info out there! By the time I had read all these various things I had definitely got a clear idea of what SLV.Global stood for and what they offered, and if anything I underestimated just how amazing the experience would be. All in all, I would not be where I am today without SLV.Global and I am extremely grateful for the experience, life-long friends I have made, and for the opportunity to get to know myself that little bit better! I can’t wait for the next adventure!