The whole experience was so good. The adventure week was amazing spending time in the jungle and doing all the activities was so fun. Able to settle in and get to know the rest of the volunteers, there's that opportunity for everyone to bond and make friendships. The placement on the first week is very challenging but after that it gets so much easier and coming up with ideas gets so much easier. There is so much support given to you from the staff. However, it is very art and crafts which isn't what I was expecting but thinking about the psychological background you understand why it is like that. Bali in general is an amazing country 100% definitely recommend spending time there a few before or after there is so much to see and do.

I had the most thrilling and life changing time during my placement with SLV in Bali. The support and organisation of the managers and coordinators was first class. Despite being 33 years old I had the opportunity to work alongside some inspirational people and make friendships with people from right across the globe. The placements were challenging but also rewarding all the same and working in organisations such as mental health institutions, autism centres and orphanages really made me re-assess what I had achieved in life and what i now wanted to achieve. In short, my experience with SLV has totally changed my outlook in life, and the new skills i have acquired will equip me well for my future career. Everyone should experience what i had the privilege to do, don't be stranger and get yourself signed up to an SLV programme.

At the time of doing my slv placement I was very naive and taken in by the way in which the placement was presented, as an opportunity to gain clinical experience and help individuals in disadvantaged areas. In reality, it was a money making scheme, charging extortionate fees from volunteers with minimal money going to the projects we worked at. Nothing more than a profit making tourist operator masquerading as a charity offering “unique experience”. Not only this, but the placements were actually highly unethical and frankly immoral, expecting volunteers to do arts and crafts with some service users whilst others were naked and caged mere metres away. Some of the psychiatric hospital wards were unsanitary, with patients being left in beds all day long. I saw no evidence that slv were doing anything to change these conditions so I am unsure where any of the money from placement fees were truly going. The organisation simply turns a blind eye to all of this, citing “cultural differences” as an excuse to do nothing. Despite some of the highly emotive experiences of the placement, no supervision was offered or any opportunity for reflection, in fact nobody at any point even checked in with how we were feeling. There was minimal care for the safety of volunteers, I recall working with a service user who supposedly wasn’t allowed scissors due to her risks and yet scissors were clearly available for making Christmas cards with (another of the therapeutic activities) No indication of any risk assessment which is highly concerning given that lack of experience of volunteers, most of whom have just left university. This is just a snapshot of some of the very worrying practices of slv. I would avoid these placements at all costs.

I am left out of pocket due to my project not actually taken place . My Sri Lanka trip was cancelled last minute however due to understandable circumstances however i have now left without the £250 deposit for a project that never happened. This was money I had to lend and now had to work even more to try and pay off- even though I’m in my last year at university and this has been very difficult. Slv suggested I swapped to a different project however they should understand this is a massive thing and decision that shouldn’t be taken likely. I really just want my money back now as I feel this is the most fair option. I don’t agree that a project that is suppose to be help others should affect my mental well-being , please act according Slv.

The time I had during my SLV placement in Bali was incredible! I was recommended SLV from the university where I want to pursue my Ph.D., therefore, I already knew that I would gain relevant experience for my Clinical Psychology aspirations. Even though I had previous experience working within different mental health organisations, my SLV placement strengthened and added more to my skill-set, whilst allowing me to travel around a wonderful location and make some great friends. We worked with a multitude of different groups and locations whilst gaining a breadth of knowledge about mental illness and positive psychology. It was fantastic having the opportunity to work within a Psychiatric Hospital as this would normally be extremely difficult to do in the UK as an undergraduate. We also gained vital project management skills as we prepared for the different projects that we had. I was able to utilise the skills that I had but also enhance other areas such as my confidence and time management. One of my favourite parts of the placement was learning all about the Balinese culture and how different the UK mental health system is in comparison. I especially enjoyed staying over in the jungle: eating delicious food; partaking in traditional dancing and being able to absorb the culture. My host family and the managers were so lovely and amazing, and they made it an even more enjoyable experience! Although we had the weekends to travel and enjoy the beautiful landscapes of Bali, I appreciated that there was a focus on our main role being there was to help the people within our projects, and it was an added bonus to be able to travel around. This is especially important when you are working with vulnerable individuals. I definitely recommend SLV Bali to anyone who wants to gain relevant experience and enhance their skills, but also push themselves out of their comfort zone, make some fantastic friends and immerse themselves in a new, wonderful culture!

Why did you decide t o volunteer overseas as part of your degree? I had previously spent 11 months on placement in Dublin and had a vast knowledge of the way that mental health facilities are run in Western societies. I wanted to experience something different, get out of my comfort zone and see how other cultures run their facilities. Where else better to do this than the tropical paradise island of Bali? What did a typical day involve? I spent four weeks in Indonesia working as a Mental Health Activity Support Worker in Bali. Throughout my time abroad I worked in a psychiatric facility as well as a rehabilitation centre, running activities with service users at varying stages of their recovery. In addition to this I taught English to youths whilst role modelling life skills to promote positive mental health and also ran therapeutic activities for at-risk children and for individuals with special needs.For the duration of my time in Indonesia I lived with a local family and immersed myself in various vibrant, exciting Indonesian cultures. I was also able to travel all around the beautiful island of Bali, as well as other neighboring islands such as Nusa Penida and the Gili Islands. The highlight of my trip was climbing Mount Batur during sunrise, an active volcano. What advice would you give to other considering the SLV placements? I would honestly say JUST DO IT! As clique as it is to say it was honestly one of the most amazing things I have ever done, and I am so glad that I done it on my own too. It is such a huge step to travel to the other side of the world as it can be very daunting, however there are so many students from around the world who are on the same boat. I feel this experience will also help to make you stand out above the rest and so make you more employable. SLV are also extremely helpful in answering any questions you may have.

I was lucky enough to spend two weeks in India on the Ancient and Clinical Psychology Programme, and I had the most fantastic time! I gained such a breadth of knowledge about so many different areas of psychology, mental health and mindfulness. Everywhere we stayed and visited made us feel so at home, and the people were lovely! We were made to feel safe and secure, and confident in our guides. It was a fantastic way to experience the culture first hand, and learn about the challenges facing psychology-related professionals practicing in this area of the world. The friends you make while travelling and the ones you’ll keep forever, and the weeks fly by when you’re with such fantastic, inspirational people. Honestly I cannot recommend SLV.Global enough.

I volunteered as a mental health activity support worker in Bali with SLV.Global this summer. Four weeks of being immersed in a beautiful culture, travelling to stunning places on the weekends, and promoting positive mental health in the local community. I gained practical psychology work experience with a range of service users, which I would not have access to otherwise. The placement increased my confidence in working in teams to plan and deliver sessions. I developed many transferrable skills and learned a lot about myself.

I have been very fortunate to take part in both the India Clinical and Cultural program and a 4 week placement in Bali, and I absolutely loved both of them! India was extremely interesting and informative. Learning about the different ways that other cultures look at mental health was a real eye opener. The importance of meditation, mindfulness and yoga and the positive impact these have on mental health and the way that these are used before medication was really interesting, particularly when you hear of the positive impact these can have. Bali was much more of a hands on experience where we developed interactive sessions and then delivered these to service users, ranging vastly in ages and abilities. This was something which I would never have been able to experience in the UK. Each session was planned with a specific psychological goal and tailored to the particular group of service users we were working with, but all sessions also included yoga due to the positive impact this has. Both experiences were vastly different, but at the same time there were some similarities. Firstly, the support from the SLV staff is amazing. They were all so supportive and helpful to every single volunteer there, but made each of us feel individual. The homestay families were amazing, so friendly and accommodating – I miss my Bali family! I would love to go back to India and Bali again and again because my time at both locations was such a positive experience, however, i'm not sure i would enjoy the places so much without the support of the SLV staff.

I have been a part of both the Sri Lanka (2018) and Bali (2019) SLV placements now and loved both so much! My placement this year in Bali was fantastic and I particularly loved being able to experience and understand how different the mental health sector in Bali differs from back home, as well as to Sri Lanka. Although both placements have the same aim of promoting positive mental health, the project opportunities in Bali differed from those in Sri Lanka, furthering the experience I now have within mental health, which can be really difficult to get back in the UK! I really enjoyed the range of projects that I worked on as this allowed me to experience working with individuals ranging from young children to elderly adults. This to me has been an incredibly valuable opportunity as it has helped me to clarify the specific group of clients that I wish to work with. Whilst in Bali I attended a number of workshops that were very interesting and diverse, I gained an in depth understanding of the mental health sector in Indonesia as well as how the subject is approached and managed due to culture. This again has been very valuable as there is an increasing focus on working with respect to cultural/ethnic diversities within the UK and NHS. Lastly, the SLV Bali team are incredible! They were so supportive, encouraging and helpful towards every single one of us, it definitely wouldn’t have been the same without them! The homestay families were all so accommodating and everybody settled in in no time! Whenever I am next in Indonesia I will be sure to go back to the little village to visit everybody, and the pugs!! Hayley