I had a really positive 5-week placement in Sri Lanka. The staff and peer mentors are amazing and make you feel supported the whole time. I really enjoyed the opportunity to experience living in Sri Lanka and running creative therapy sessions for service users. My only wish is that it was a bit more Psychology-focused but even so, the incredible experience and the awesome people that I met made the placement more than worthwhile.

The Bali placement was an amazing and eye opening experience that I will never forget. It was very valuable to be able to work with service users of all ages, ranging in all kinds of abilities. I enjoyed being able to plan and then run these projects whilst seeing service users enjoy and positively take part to improve their strengths and abilities. I hope that we helped to leave a positive impact on all service users and the projects benefited them. A bonus to this placement was that we were able to explore the beautiful island of Bali during our free time! That is the great thing about this placement, not only are you gaining valuable experience in Mental Health, you are also able to travel and explore a place that people dream of going to! Living in Bali and being a part of the community was also an experience I am grateful to have gained, we got to see all parts of Bali that not every 'tourist' would experience. Our homestay family were amazing and made my experience even better!

Volunteering for SLV is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I would recommend it to anyone who has thick skin and can see the gold in any situation. Although the living conditions weren't amazing (which is a given), the experience gained is invaluable; it'll open your eyes to global mental health, and enhance your CV greatly! It's also a great step to take if you want to see more of the world, immerse yourself in a vibrant culture, and meet new people.

Throughout my 12 weeks as a volunteer coordinator for the SLV.Bali team I learned so much! I gained an immense amount of valuable psychology experience, ranging everywhere from working with geriatrics, to special needs, to mental illness. SLV has made it such a huge priority to reach as many as we can to promote positive mental heath, and in doing so has such a wide variety of projects running on this placement, that you will inevitably gain experience working with any population you can imagine. I loved having the opportunity to play such an important role in revealing everyone's strengths, volunteers and service users alike, and pushing them to use these strengths to their full potential. It was amazing being able to remind people that everyone is good at something, and choosing to focus on this rather than flaws and deficits. I look forward to my next adventure with SLV!

I was able to gain a variety of skills through the psychology hands on work experience by running activities with people with mental health issues and special needs but also teaching English within the community in Sri Lanka. I also had the opportunity to meet a psychologist who had experience in Sri Lanka, England and Australia who gave me insight into how attitudes on mental health differ in Sri Lanka. Overall, I had an amazing experience and would definitely recommend it to anyone who is looking to learn about global mental health and gain hands on experience.

To summarise my 5 week placement (advanced) in Sri Lanka in a short review is simply impossible. I am immensely proud to have been part of the SLV.Global community and to have contributed towards their beautiful vision. It is such an incredible company and I hope to do more work with them in the future. I often find myself thinking of the service users, my homestay family, other volunteers and the incredible travels I embarked on during my time in Sri Lanka, I was truly sad to leave. Though I have left empowered with a breadth of experience and knowledge and inspired to continue to contribute towards better mental health provision word wide.

Great hands on experience! I had a lovely time working in Sri Lanka over the summer where I go to meet some inspirational service users and fantastic colleagues which have become great friends. I would recommend to lots of people but the cost of the placement should be considered.

A great experience with lots of access to opportunities to make a difference in the community and promote positive psychological wellbeing.

My experience on this placement has been invaluable. I had the opportunity to work with a diverse range of service users: from all backgrounds, ages and abilities. It has been a rewarding journey, allowing me to expand my skill set while doing something meaningful and having a positive impact on others. Living in a traditional Balinese village allowed me to fully immerse myself in the culture and I enjoyed every aspect of it - my homestay family were so kind and welcoming.

I just finished the 5-week Advanced Placement in Sri Lanka, and it was better than I could have ever imagined! I got to work on so many types of projects, from Child Development to Activity Support. This placement has helped confirm my specific interests within Psychology, and helped me gain more confidence in my own knowledge. I have also learnt so much, such as working in mental health, cultural awareness, the importance of body language, and how using therapeutic activities can be extremely beneficial for service users. Thank you SLV. Global for this opportunity!