Free coaching and mental health support for students via OpenUp

The therapy and coaching platform OpenUp is now also available to students. Staff have been able to use it since the pandemic. Previously, students could use a different platform offering support in English and Dutch. The new platform supports 35 different languages.

“The online coaching via OpenUp is an addition to existing support for students”, says Robin Eijlers, project manager at Student Wellbeing. This includes the Living Room, study advisers, student psychologists and the mental health app ROOM. OpenUp is an external online therapy and coaching platform. “The best thing is: the platform’s support is available in 35 different languages.” According to Eijlers, this means not only that students can speak in their mother tongue, but also that they receive help from someone who fully understands their culture.

You don’t need to have mental health issues to use OpenUp. “OpenUp primarily offers preventive support. Sessions with professional psychologists can also focus on personal development. And there are experts in lifestyle areas, such as mindfulness and nutrition.” Sessions can be one-to-one, or in a group setting, like a masterclass. You can choose whichever suits you best. The psychologists at OpenUp will always check at the start whether there are any more serious mental health issues. If that is the case, they will help with a referral.

4 sessions

While there is no limit on the number of sessions staff can have via OpenUp, the situation is different for students. They can have four conversations, just as with its predecessor Siggie. That platform ceased to exist in December. Students can use OpenUp for the rest of this calendar year, i.e. up to and including December. “We monitor students’ needs and then assess what our budgets allow”, explains Eijlers.

Erasmus University can never see who is seeking help via OpenUp, emphasises Eijlers. However, they can see how many students are involved, in which languages, and what kind of conversations are being requested. On the previous platform (Siggie), around 1,000 students followed a support programme between 2020 and 2025.

Here, students can find more information about OpenUp and how to sign up.