Our clients are individuals hospitalized with challenges related to mental health conditions. Participation in our activities (whether group-based or one-on-one) is always entirely voluntary: respecting client autonomy is a core principle for our volunteers. We prioritize creating a safe, welcoming, and supportive environment designed first and foremost to make hospital stays more pleasant. At the same time, our sessions offer space for personal growth, relaxation, social connection, and self-expression. To support this, we provide a wide range of diverse activities tailored to both our clients' interests and the clinical suitability for specific diagnoses.

Patients can connect with students through a wide variety of free-time teams. Voluntary participation in these group sessions offers patients a meaningful, active way to spend their time during hospitalization. Beyond facilitating each session, our volunteers focus on fostering a warm and welcoming group dynamic. One of our key goals is to help patients get to know one another better and collaborate throughout the activities.

Most sessions run once a week for 60 minutes and are co-facilitated by two students; relaxation sessions are typically led by a single volunteer. Voluntary participation remains essential to our approach. In practice, this means that if a patient feels uncomfortable at any point during a session, their decision to step out or wait for another activity is entirely respected.

At the start of each session, volunteers welcome participants (especially newcomers) and check in on how they have been doing. At the end, there is a brief debrief to discuss what went well, address any challenges, and explore areas for improvement. Our volunteers also actively welcome suggestions and ideas from the patients themselves on what they would like to explore next time.

Joining this team requires volunteers to have completed at least one semester of facilitating group leisure activities. The clinical team focuses on regular, one-on-one sessions between a dedicated student volunteer and a specific patient. The focus of each meeting is guided entirely by the patient's preferences – ranging from informal conversations and board games to reading books or newspapers aloud, solving crosswords together, painting, or taking walks on hospital grounds when permitted.

All meetings take place strictly on-site within the psychiatric facility and solely during the patient's hospitalization. Volunteers are bound by strict confidentiality and fully respect patient privacy. Both the student and the patient have the right to conclude the partnership at any time, following consultation with the supervising psychologist.

The goal of these sessions is to maintain positive, healthy interpersonal connection during the demanding experience of hospitalization, prevent social isolation, and support the recovery process. The student can serve as an informed guide throughout treatment, helping patients better navigate their diagnosis and care journey.

The support team primarily assists clinical psychologists and psychiatrists. You can meet these student volunteers during community meetings, group therapy sessions, or other group activities organized by the psychiatric facility. They take written observational notes throughout each session, helping document group progress and enhance the overall quality of care provided.