Dear Laura,

Thank you for your kindness in today's session, during what was clearly a very emotional time for me.

I have consistently found your mixture of practical and emotional support extremely helpful. Indeed, compared to some of the other time management and productivity workshops I've done, nothing has been as useful as the guidance and approaches you've given, so I just wanted to take a moment to pass this onto you. Honestly, I think by the time I finish working with you, the practical advice and support you've given me is going to have, and is already having profound effects on my personal, creative and working life. I know this might sound hyperbolic to you, but I really mean it. It's the difference between thinking 'nothing can change and I am hopeless', to realising actually I can learn how to balance and juggle all these different things and interests and goals, and actually get a sense of self-confidence and self-esteem from being able to complete the things that I want to.

Thank you again.

I want to commend Laura for her approach, which is refreshing and makes my study manageable and less stressful.

Somehow the benefits of the mentoring exceed the sum of it's parts. I've found having a regular time to take stock of progress has been key to maintaining momentum when otherwise I'm sure I'd have burnt out. I especially appreciate the flexibility with which Laura approaches each session, providing support across a multitude of needs often with zero notice.

Laura helped me very much during a time when I was feeling very stressed, depressed, and thinking I might not be able to finish this degree. I think what mainly helped me was the idea that I could confess and share my real feelings, thoughts, and avoidance without fearing being judged or cancelled, which is something I did with her for the first time in my life. She gave me the validation that I'm not "weird" or just making up excuses (as my mind used to tell me). She helped me realise that I can make mistakes without punishing myself for them, and for me, genuinely, maybe one of the most tiring habits I used to have (and maybe still do on some level), which I managed to work on during the sessions with Laura and the student counsellor, was my avoidance. I'm doing much better now and showing daily for my labwork and studying for my exams (finger crossed). Thanks Laura

Laura's report is pretty accurate. Laura has been lovely and now that she put in those comments, I must admit we did do a lot more than I had processed myself, which is again, really helpful.

Really good, very flexible and has a lot of breadth in approach and topics we cover. I like the flexibility of online vs offline support. Really good listening, and able to cope with with my unique changing circumstances.

Laura has been of great support and has given me very good advice to have confidence in myself again.

Laura has been an immense source of help and support, and I've learned so much from her. She has always been patient and cooperative, and I consistently left our sessions having learned something new. Now that I'm doing my internship, I can see how the skills I gained through her guidance are benefiting me not only academically but also professionally and personally. I'm very grateful for all the support and encouragement Laura has provided throughout this period.

I'm finding our discussions incredibly valuable.

This is the help that I needed from the start! Laura is great, professional and really easy to work with

Laura has been very helpful.

Extremely kind and helpful words

Laura was excellent—so friendly, warm, and welcoming. I felt comfortable sharing my concerns with her, and she was a valuable partner in helping me identify strategies for studying and building a calendar to develop my dissertation. I would like to continue working with her as I continue researching and writing my dissertation. Laura, your support made a huge difference and I appreciate your time! Thank you so much!

Feel it is helpful as I need encouragement to try new methods.

The support that Dr Laura has given me has been paramount to me successfully graduating this year. I cannot thank her enough for the support she gave me and I will try my best to use the techniques she gave me for my future. She was kind and understanding of my situation and I hope more people get to experience the type of help I received.

I was very happy with the flexibility of my mentor for both in-person and online sessions, and felt genuinely supported and listened to as we discussed my plans and struggles. It was lovely to feel like I'd connected with someone who understood how I navigate issues, and who could help me whilst understanding the differences that ADHD/ASD can make in troubleshooting and planning. I felt very encouraged after each session. Even if I was already having a bad day or was overwhelmed, I would feel happy afterward. Thank you :)

Laura has been really beneficial despite just having two sessions.

Great session very organised

I would like to thank Laura for her support and kind words in this report about me. I should learn to talk with that kindness towards myself on my own as well. Nevertheless, it’s still an encouraging description. Thank you !

Laura has been great and very supportive. It is amazing having someone to keep me accountable and help me break down my assignments to smaller tasks. I couldn’t have asked for a better tutor.

I wanted to say that I am really happy with the help Laura has given me so far. She is really understanding of my needs and has given me confidence in my PhD applications.

I really found it helpful, Laura has helped me in ways I couldn’t imagine have improved on. She really allowed me to tune my focus on what’s important and slow down when I need to and take insight on what’s important in life allowing me to recover from burn out. I will always be thankful for the sessions.

Just that I really have found this support invaluable. I am so grateful to have been offered a safe space to unmask and be honest about my condition and how it has been affecting my daily life alongside my studies. It really has been so so helpful - this level of understanding and encouragement is exactly what I have needed to overcome the barriers that my diagnosis often puts between myself and succeeding.

Thank you again so much for the support you provided this past term. Even with all my various health issues, it ended up being a very successful term. You were so helpful and had such practical, actionable advice that got me on track. Thank you!! And for the ILP- reading it made me feel very proud of myself and our work this past term.

I really appreciate the support they have provided for me.

It's very good, I feel I would have been quite lost without it. I think more students who are the first person in their families to attend university, not just those with disabilities, could really benefit from similar support. Laura has been very understanding and helpful.

Laura has been tremendously supportive. She has had the time to focus on my circumstances and help me from that. There is no rush with her, but also she helps me to remember me, which is my final goal.

My mentor has been incredibly supportive and instrumental in developing my skills for the MSc and my future career. I would not have excelled without their support! This is a fantastic program, thank you!

It was so nice to read Laura's review of our work together as it helped me to see the progress I have made and to reflect on the strategies used. I found our check-ins a huge support, especially during the dissertation phase, which could otherwise have been a more lonely process. I am continuing to reflect on my values and to prioritise rest and self care, and finally feel a bit more balanced after a few weeks off. I am also about to accept a fixed-term role working with a new integrated neighbourhood team. It's a pharmacist position, which I thought I would feel really anxious about, but it's a very different role, and I feel with better self management skills and understanding of my own needs I can approach it positively and hopefully make it a success. Thank you, Laura!

The sessions have indeed been very useful and reflective. It's really helpful to talk things out with someone.

Even though it's difficult to get used to, I like that the nature of the support is so flexible and we can discuss work specifics or less tangible things. I appreciate that Laura is great at meeting me where I am emotionally and it's really helpful that she has technical experience so we can discuss the finer details of my PhD methodology as well.

I am very happy with the support I've been receiving. My support worker Laura has been excellent and having regular support sessions with her has been invaluable.

Laura was always very patient and supportive, even when I was giving up or wasn't feeling confident about finishing tasks. She constantly offered me useful new ideas to help boost my efficiency and encouraged me to try them out without feeling guilty if I didn't think they were for me. Her kindness was calming when I felt overwhelmed, and I enjoyed talking to her every time.

My mentor has been so incredibly helpful and supportive! They are an extremely good listener and I feel like they really understand what I am struggling with and have had many suggestions for coping strategies and provided a very helpful perspective, which has made such a difference in my ability to study. This is such a fantastic program, thank you so much!

I already have found that the work on my academic skills with Laura also has really helped with my anxiety, difficulties planning my work, and other issues even though we've not been discussing them directly.

I’ve really benefitted from the support as it has kept me accountable for my weekly work tasks. I’ve also had amazing support when I am struggling to keep up with all my life and work responsibilities. Laura provided perfect support for me and I’d love to work with her again.

I am tremendously grateful for my tutor. I can't imagine being able to complete my degree without these sessions. I am so impressed by her expertise and the fact that she is familiar with my uni. As a person with ADHD, I love that she lets me brainstorm and talk but can also help me rein in ideas and find a way to focus. She also helps me interpret writing feedback from my professors so I can do better on subsequent papers. I learn so much from our sessions.

I really enjoyed my sessions with Laura throughout the year. She really listened and understood my needs to help me with my studies. She was patient and supportive. Laura is very dynamic and smiley, which kept me motivated even during difficult exam periods. I'm very grateful to have had her as my study skills tutor.

Laura is helpful. She was non judgemental about the level of work I had already done and showed me new computer skills. Open and honest. Laura helped me structure and format my assignment. She helped me verbalise ideas that I had and optimise the knowledge that I had to put that knowledge onto paper.

I am incredibly grateful to my mentor, Laura Brown. As someone who likes to share whatever is happening to me, Laura always listens so patiently. When I am sharing my concerns or successes, I feel very comfortable as my mentor is very supportive. I can strongly say that I am getting proper support and encouragement from my mentor. When it comes to being open, I don't share much if I don't find the person caring. But, my mentor is very caring to me, and I share everything without being judged. I have strong motives for my life, and being mentored by someone who understands me is the most important thing for me. I believe my purpose in life is to help others, and getting the right support in my journey is something which makes a difference. During my hardest time in life, I remembered that I had an appointment with my mentor, and even going through so much, the fact that I was thinking that I had an appointment with my mentor, which I was looking forward shows the impact of getting sessions from Laura for my wellbeing.

Laura is great and I look forward to her continuing support

Laura is very welcoming and encourages confidence in my learning.

She is really very supportive

I have found the sessions to be invaluable and extremely useful!