My experience with SLV was absolutely out of this world! Even though the Bali project is quite new, it went very smoothly and I felt like I got the most out of the placement that I could have. The homestay families, the projects, the staff (special shout out to Aisha, she is a true star) literally everything was perfect. I made some amazing friends along the way and gained invaluable experience. All I can say is, if you're thinking about doing it, DO IT. You definitely won't regret it. SLV makes you feel at home, and it genuinely felt like we were all one big family. As its quite a new project, that only means its going to develop into something bigger and better, which I'm so excited to see. The whole experience was something that you could not get at home, and I'm so glad I chose SLV!

I have just returned from the 4 week mental health placement in Bali and it’s hard to sum up into words how amazing the experience is, I would reccomend it to anyone interested in psychology, mental health and wanting to gain hand on experience! The projects were amazing and give you to opportunity to work with service users in need and create a positive psychological impact to their lives. As you don’t get to choose your projects, some may be outside your comfort zone, but this really encouraged you to think outside of the box to apply skills you didn’t know you had! All of the service users are so happy and grateful for your work and it is so heartwarming to see a difference you have made from week to week, even if you didn’t think you were at the time. Aswell as this, what made the trip so amazing was the people you will meet there. Within the volunteers I spent every second of the day with them and have made some friends for life. From experiencing the placements to traveling with them at the weekends you find really close friends and I couldn’t have asked for better people to experience it all with! The staff on the Bali placement are some of the loveliest people you will ever meet. Everyone is so welcoming and goes above and beyond to make your time there amazing. It hardly felt like I was across the world with how welcoming everyone makes you feel. This also includes the homestay family’s who will do anything to make sure your time at there homes is as good as it can be. Overall this is an amazing experience to help you explore mental health within a different culture, but also provides you an opportunity to travel around Bali, meet amazing people and learn things about yourself and others. Can’t wait to come back!x

The SLV Bali Mental Health Placement has been one of the most amazing ways to gain valuable hands-on experience working in the psychology field, which can be difficult to gain in the UK. Going abroad alone to work can seem daunting but you meet such amazing volunteers and the staff are all so lovely and supportive during your time on placement. I would highly recommend if you want to gain practical psychology experience whilst immersing yourself in the culture of Bali!

It was an amazing experience and I would highly recommend going. The projects are not quite as described when I was signing up, they're more focused on special needs and learning difficulties than mental health issues, but was still a great learning experience. The people you meet will also become your main support system and will truly become life long friends. The placement can get rather pricey with paying for all your transportation to and from projects, buying lunches, and paying for accommodation at weekends. So make sure to bring plenty of spending money. There are obviously flaws, as there is with everything, such as the SLV staff in Sri Lanka seem a bit unorganised, you have to write a review to gain access to your downloadable reference when you're finished and some of the conditions of the service users can be upsetting to see. But the positives do out weigh these!! The weekends are amazing, SLV peer mentors and supervisors really do help when it comes to recommending places to visit! All in all I do not regret my time on the placement and very strongly urge anyone considering it to do it too!

My time on my four week Sri Lanka placement was memorable in all the right ways. I had wanted to do the placement for a long time but kept waiting for 'the right time'. The longer I left it to wait, the harder it seemed to jump on board, but I am so glad I did! It was a fantastic mix of facing new challenges while still feeling supported the whole way through: from arriving at the airport, to meeting my roomies and homestay family, to planning and travelling to project sessions, and working with service users across a wide range of settings, I knew there was always someone who had my back while still having the freedom to experience it all in my own way. The placement projects gave me so much well-needed experience in such a short amount of time (four weeks), but I truly felt like I learned more in that time than I would have if I had done anything else in my home country. I am not an extraverted person but the placement, homestay experience and weekend travels with fellow volunteers (and now great friends) pushed me happily out of my comfort zone. I came home with so many amazing stories to tell. I know that I made friends for life, learned things I will never forget, and will always recommend this placement to others. Thank you SLV Global!

I had such am amazing time making a difference and making memories to last a lifetime

The best, most rewarding five weeks of my life. SLV really does what it set out to achieve and I am happy to have been a part of that. I would 100% recommend it for anyone who is interested in mental health or anyone who just wants to give something back to people.

My Bali Mental Health placement was one of the best decisions I've made. The people I met and the experiences I gained in my one month abroad was incredible. SLV did an amazing job at organising everything, and making sure all projects ran smoothly, as well as ensuring all volunteers were looked after. I would definitely recommend SLV to anyone that is wanting to gain some first-hand experience in the mental health field, and have fun and meet amazing people along the way!

There are no words that could ever describe how incredible, excited, and happy I felt during the entire 5 weeks of my placement in Sri Lanka. I met the most incredible people there, was able to share my love for spreading mental health awareness, and make an impact on the lives of the wonderful people in Sri Lanka. It was much different than I expected but I still felt as though this will be very useful for my future in graduate school to get my PhD in child psychology and eventually open my own practice. It was a very difficult but rewarding experience that I will carry with me forever. Not only did I have to rely on my own confidence to help get me through the tough weeks, but I had to be strong for all the service users there that needed my assistance. It was such a unique experience that I wish for everyone to be able to have!

I completed a three month placement with SLV.Global in 2015. I completed the Peer Mentor placement and couldn’t recommend it enough. The whole experience was something I’ll never forget. From getting that much desired hands on clinical experience to spending time with new found friends who shared so many passions as I did, I developed both my professional and my interpersonal skills. The people of Sri Lanka are so warm and welcoming, and I always felt at home. The projects were really diverse and I loved being able to apply what I had learnt during my psychology lectures to real life situations. The weeks were hard work, but incredibly rewarding. I loved the weekends too - there’s SO much to do in Sri Lanka! I wish I could go back to explore the country all over again!