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It’s important to look after your general wellbeing. Try to find healthy ways to relieve stress, especially when you’re away from home, friends and family.

In addition to counselling and mental health advice, we offer LSHTM students a number of free activities and support to help your general well-being so you can make the most of your time. 

This includes:

  • Weekly half-price yoga
  • Free termly massage
  • Free termly therapy dog visit
  • Tea and talk drop-ins with free drinks and snacks

Pentacell

Students are warmly encouraged to participate in our award-winning Pentacell scheme, which aims to enhance wellbeing and help you build a supportive and diverse network. 

The idea is simple:

  • Five people meet weekly for five weeks
  • Listen to and learn from each other’s ideas and perspectives
  • Share your passions, perceptions, outlooks and opinions

Through this, you contribute to other students’ wellbeing as well as strengthening your own.  

Our Pentacell Alumni Ambassadors are available upon request to enrich your sessions by sharing their experiences at LSHTM. You can explore their digital profiles on Moodle to learn more about their current roles and how they can assist you, whether it’s recommending places to explore in London, dealing with imposter syndrome or stress, or making new friends and connections. You can invite alumni to join a session or simply email them for advice—whatever suits your needs. 

“Our Pentacell alumni was very generous with his time. He also offered a lot of practical tips related to the modules and our programme. I was able to share the courses in which I was struggling and learned how my peers were doing too. Pentacell helped me to adjust to student life at LSHTM. Thank you!” - previous Pentacell participant 

Making time to do this in your first term is crucial in building your support network and foundation for the rest of the year at LSHTM. Since you’ve chosen to study here in person, why not seize the opportunity to connect with fellow students right from the start?

The benefits of Pentacell depend on the effort you invest in it. Students who have completed the programme often share that it significantly improves their wellbeing, with many forming lifelong friendships.

Most MSc programmes will be participating in Pentacell, now in its fifth successful year. Hear more about this incredible initiative from our Director, Professor Liam Smeeth.

Look out for an email about Pentacell from your Programme Director to start connecting with your group.