Dialogue has been chatting to Kate Augarde, our new Head of Counselling and Mental Health Services. Kate and her team work alongside Rachel in Student Support Services, providing specialist support services to our students.
Kate said: “As a child I always wanted to be a nurse but was diverted by an English degree and a brief dip into publishing. However, I never lost my drive to work with people, so I returned to university and qualified as a Mental Health Nurse in my early 20s.”
Originally from Oxford, Kate has been an NHS Mental Health Nurse for over 25 years now, moving to Durham City in 2009.
So how did she end up at Durham University?
Kate Augarde, Head of Counselling and Mental Health Services
I’ve always had a particular interest in young people’s mental health, and when I moved to Durham I became interested in the needs and concerns of university students. As a nurse in the local NHS mental health team, I used to see students at the University, and from there I was offered a secondment. I became the University’s first, lone Mental Health Advisor. From there I developed the Mental Health team to the five-strong team we have.
Speaking about her new role Kate said: “I’m delighted. This job is a privilege and really exciting. Every week something new comes up, and the variety makes the job interesting, if at times stressful. Plus, I work with great people not just in my Service, but across the University.
Now she is heading up the service, what will she be concentrating on?
“I have a number of priorities,” she said. “Meeting the growing demand for support is key and that includes diversifying the help we offer. One of the things I’ll be doing is relaunching our Psychological Wellbeing Advice Team. I want to make our Service as accessible and flexible as possible. It’s also important to improve our communications to students and staff and to ensure we support all University staff to manage the increasing complexity of student mental health need.”
There’s no doubt that her remit can be challenging so what does Kate like to do when she’s not working?
“I’m a big fan of work-life balance and making sure non-work time is preserved for friends and family. I also love the outdoors, pubs and food, and rather a lot of telly.
She continued: “I am the owner of a notorious, over-friendly, wandering cat famous with students in the city, who frequently causes me to drive out late at night to rescue him from locations as scattered as St Mary's, County Hall and the railway station.”
Kate’s favourites:
Film/TV series: A romcom I am too embarrassed to name
Book: A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
Cake: All. Any.