Disclosure requires believing the response will help

Students calculate this before they speak.

Whether somebody discloses a difficulty is a judgement they make in advance about what will follow. If they expect a form, a delay, a referral elsewhere, or a note on their record, they weigh that against the benefit and frequently decide against it.

This means uptake of support is largely determined by reputation rather than by promotion. A service that is known to respond quickly and usefully is approached; one that is known for a three-week wait is not, regardless of how well it is advertised.

The most damaging version is where disclosure has a consequence, or is believed to. Where a student thinks that mentioning a health condition or a caring responsibility might affect their standing, their placement or their visa, they will not mention it, and the belief does not need to be correct to operate.

Stating explicitly what happens to information, and what does not happen, addresses part of it. Saying plainly that a conversation with an adviser does not go to a teacher, or does not appear on a record, is concrete in a way that assurances of confidentiality are not.

It is worth asking students who did use a service what nearly stopped them. The answers are usually specific and fixable, and they are not the answers the service would have guessed.