This summer I went to Indonesia with SLV and it was AWESOME!! I was on a years exchange year in Aber Uni, though I am Psychology student from Albania. I loved every minute of it. Bali and Java are amazing countries and the people were so friendly. I would recommend going to anyone, even if you are not on SLV placement. This experience made me know I want to be a Psychologist and dedicate myself to looking after peoples mental health. Thanks to everyone, from Ketut to my Coordinators and all my team, I will never forget you.

It is a brilliant programme that has improved my confidence in interactions with a wide variety of people and has solidified my love for helping others. It is extremely useful for Psychology graduates as it really defines mental health in a positive light whilst enhancing interpersonal skills with the amazing individuals that make it worthwhile. The skills learnt are utilised within each project and new ideas are brought about through discussion with other volunteers and service users. I have had a fantastic time in an immersive cultural experience unique to anything I have ever experienced before and I miss being in Bali day after day! I wish everyone within the placement well and I am so thankful for the amazing experiences I have been fortunate enough to be a part of! 😁

Had the most amazing time spending 5 weeks volunteering in Sri Lanka!! The people I met and projects that I was lucky enough to take part in were unlike anything you could get at home. Every day was so different but felt just as rewarding and I could really see the positive impact I was having on the service users seeing them week after week. My homestay family were the most welcoming people and it was amazing to live with them and experience their culture and food just as they do. Would definitely recommend this placement!!

I had never been to India and it was more than I ever could have imagined. When we first arrived we went straight to the school of wisdom. I arrived earlier than everyone else but it was fine as Manju gave me a great welcome and before I knew it I was eating some delicious fruit he bought from a local fruit seller! I had never done yoga or meditating or anything similar before, it was a steep learning curve. I am not sure I am suited to it but I can see the benefits and I enjoyed the other workshops from the psychologists. I really enjoyed visiting NIMHAS psychiatric hospital and seeing how different the practices were. The family services were especially enlightening. Mysore at the weekend was great, and I bought so much stuff from the market, thanks guys for putting up with my shopping addiction! I was not able to do week 2 due to time restrictions but I wish I had, maybe next time ;) Thanks to the team again!

Loved it!!! I did four weeks in Sri Lanka in the September team. I was in Horana. Our homestay was very small, just three of us, though we were expecting more people, it was so lovely and our amma could not have been kinder. I really enjoyed my projects, even the ones we had to travel for almost an hour to get to! The buses were an experience to say the least. ;) Sometimes we had to get tuk Tuks which was more expensive, so perhaps minibuses should be provided? I loved Sri Lanka, the food was delicious and I had the best times at weekend. We went to Ella on our first weekend and it was so beautiful - would recommend to anyone! We also went to the beach and to kandy. Kandy was very busy and one of our group had her purse stolen from an outdoor restaurant so please be careful. 4 weeks sounds like a long time but it flew by. It was truly life changing - thank you :)

India is such an amazing country. I went on both week 1 and week 2 of the ancient and clinical psych programme. It was an amazing experience. My plane was delayed which meant that I arrived on the programme later than others but it did not matter too much. The school we stayed in at the start was really peaceful, but our shower was a bit off and on but thankfully we were moved rooms. Bangalore was not peaceful, but the hotel was nice and after the seminars at Nimhans it was nice to explore the city. Manju was so long showing us around. Mysore was great. Week 2 was great to see the country, a little bit too much time in the minibus but I suppose there is joy much that can be done. I loved the trek we did and I wished we could of done more! I had an amazing time and thanks again to Manju for his support during the trip.

I completed 12 weeks as peer mentor this summer. I would recommend being a peer mentor as though it was not always easy I feel as I developed as person during my time. The first few weeks included much needed training. My teams were ways great, sometimes there could be a little too much expectation that I would come up with the ideas that was ok. From my experience being a youth leader for my church, I felt equipped to support everyone rub their sessions. Things do not always go the way you plan, this is try anywhere but in Sri Lanka it is too be expected. As the island of serendipity- just enjoy the journey!

After joining the Sri Lanka placement last year, this year I participated in the Bali placement. Both were amazing but also really different. I did the level 1 placement last year so I could bring many ideas that we had used in Sri Lanka to the team in Bali. Many of my projects in Bali were children focused and the type of sessions we did at the psychiatric hospital were different but often we could use similar session ideas. I enjoyed the extra workshops and the weekends off to travel. I left on Friday after my placement finished but I would recommend staying for the last weekend as most of my group stayed but I had to get back.

After graduating this year in Psych I joined SLV.Global on their Sri Lanka advanced placement. I stayed for 5 weeks and was based in the Colombo. The start of the placement involved us getting training up and then we also visited some of our projects. Alongside my AS projects at the psych hospital, I also volunteered at 2 centres for people with special needs. I got ill for a bit and the weather was a really bad so I couldn’t volunteer at one of the children's projects that I was assigned which was a shame. But I felt like I gained a lot of skills while doing the projects and my confidence really grew too. All of the staff that supported me on placement were amazing, especially the local staff who went above and beyond for us. They gave us such an insight into their culture and I miss them so much. I did leave feeling like family.

I have just got back from doing a 5 week foundation placement with SLV in Sri Lanka. I can safely say it was the best thing I have ever done. However, it was not without its hard times. I was not used to such basic living and I am proud that I coped so well. Our homestay family were so kind but whenever I have been in hot climates before I have had AC! I had not worked in an environment like this before and I know I gained a great deal about knowledge about global mental health. Sri Lanka's mental health resources are scarce and I am so proud that together we worked at places that so clearly needed our support. I am proud that I did this and grateful for the opportunity.