UniSupport - University Mental Health Support Platform

A Flask-based web application designed to streamline access to mental health support services for university students. The platform provides a centralized system for self-referrals, appointment booking and management, and wellbeing tracking.

Features

User Roles

• Students: Submit self-referrals, track appointments, monitor wellbeing
• Counsellors: Manage appointments, view assigned students, maintain session notes
• Wellbeing Staff: Review and process referrals, assign to counsellors, generate reports
• Admins: System configuration, user management, full access control

Core Features

• Self-Referral System

  • Student users can self-refer for counselling via the referral form.
  • Referrals are added to the counselling waitlist with date of submission for priority-based processing.
  • Wellbeing Staff users can view and approve counselling referrals on the waiting list, and can view the referrals which have been approved.
  • Student users can also view, edit and delete their submitted referrals while on the waiting list.
  • Once approved for counselling, student users can access the counselling appointment booking page.

• Appointment Management

  • Book Appointment: Students view and book available slots grouped by date. Each slot shows time and counsellor.

  • Confirm Appointment: After selecting a slot, students enter a reason to confirm the booking. The system updates the slot status to “Booked.”

  • Create Slot: Counsellors can add new appointment slots by specifying start/end time and an optional note. These appear as bookable for students.

• Wellbeing Tracker

  • Students can log mood (1–10) and describe symptoms
  • Mood logs are visualized in a simple line chart using Chart.js
  • If mood ≤ 3, logs are flagged and shown as alerts to staff and counsellors
  • Tracker access is restricted to students only, alerts to staff only
  • Mood trend is visualized as a line chart using Chart.js
  • Chart updates dynamically based on user log history
  • Only shows when user has 2+ logs, otherwise helpful message is shown
  • Displays dates on the x-axis and mood levels on the y-axis

• Alert System for Wellbeing Tracker

  • If a student's mood rating is ≤ 3, the entry is flagged with alert_flag=True
  • Counsellors and wellbeing staff can view flagged logs in the /alerts route
  • Other roles cannot access /tracker; staff cannot log or view student logs
  • Alerts help staff identify students who may need immediate attention

Technical Stack

• Backend: Python/Flask
• Database: SQLite (development), PostgreSQL (production)
• ORM: SQLAlchemy with polymorphic inheritance
• Authentication: Flask-Login with role-based access control
• Frontend: Bootstrap 5, Font Awesome
• Templates: Jinja2
• Testing: Pytest

Project Structure

unisupport/
├── app/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── models.py         # Database models with polymorphic inheritance
│   ├── views.py          # Route handlers and business logic
│   ├── forms.py          # WTForms for data validation
│   ├── debug_utils.py    # Development utilities
│   ├── templates/        # Jinja2 templates
│   ├── static/
│   └── data/             # SQLite  database
├── tests/                # Test suite
├── requirements.txt      # Python dependencies
├── run.py                # Runs the whole app
├── config.py
├── .gitignore            # Files to ignore on commit
└── README.md             # Project documentation

Setup and Installation

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/yourusername/unisupport.git
   cd unisupport

2. Initialize the database You can initialize the database in two ways:

   a. Using the Flask CLI command:

   flask seed-db

   b. Using the Python shell:

   # From the console start the shell 
   flask shell
   
   # In shell write:
   >>> reset_db()

   Both methods will:

   • Create all necessary database tables
   • Seed the database with test users for each role
   • Create an admin user (username: 'admin', password: 'admin123')
   • As only Authorised Users can login, you will need to seed Users to test the App

   Note: The database is not automatically seeded on startup. You must explicitly run one of the above commands to initialize the database.

3. Run the development server

   flask run

The application uses .flaskenv for environment configuration, which includes:

• FLASK_APP=app
• FLASK_ENV=development
• SECRET_KEY=your-secret-key

Database Schema

The application uses SQLAlchemy's polymorphic inheritance to manage different user types:

• Base User Model: Common attributes (username, email, password)
• Student Model: Student-specific attributes (student_id, course)
• Counsellor Model: Counsellor-specific attributes (specialization, availability)
• Wellbeing Staff Model: Staff-specific attributes (department, role)
• Admin Model: Full system access

Security Features

• Role-based access control (RBAC)
• Password hashing with Werkzeug
• Session management
• CSRF protection
• Input validation

Development

Debug Utilities

The application includes debug utilities for development:

• Database reset and seeding
• Test user creation
• Development-specific routes

Testing

The test_features.py file holds the tests for the 3 core features of the app (referral, booking system, wellbeing tracker).
There is one positive and one negative test for each.

Run the test suite:

python -m pytest tests/

if pytest is already installed and accessible globally, you just run:

 pytest tests/

###DEVELOPEMENT NOTES

Database Relationships

The application uses a polymorphic inheritance pattern for user management with the following key relationships:

• User Hierarchy:

  • Base User model with polymorphic inheritance
  • Specialized models: Student, Counsellor, WellbeingStaff, and Admin
  • Each user type has specific attributes and relationships

• Role-Based Access Control

  • Secure authentication system
  • Role-specific dashboards and functionalities
  • Protected routes and resources

Design Patterns

• Polymorphic Inheritance: Used for user management to maintain clean separation of concerns
• Repository Pattern: Database operations are encapsulated within model classes
• Factory Pattern: User creation and management
• MVC Architecture: Clear separation of models, views, and controller(View for routing/decorators)

Development Methodology

The project was developed using an iterative Agile approach:

• User Stories: Feature development driven by user requirements as scoped out in Assignment1.
• Continuous Integration: Regular code integration and collaboration via Teams & Github.
• Incremental Development: Features added iteratively with regular feedback including acting as QA for eachothers work.

Future Iterations

AI-Enhanced Features (Next Phase)

The next iteration of UniSupport will incorporate AI capabilities to enhance the support system.

Team member contribution

Student Name & ID	Contribution (%)	Key Contributions / Tasks Completed	Comments (if any)	Signature
Vasiliki Ziaka	25%	tracker, unit testing, video		VZ
Alexander Bond	25%	referral form, unit testing, video		AB
Nikki Evans	25%	booking system, unit testing, video		NE
Elizabeth Tobin	25%	core structure and setup, login, video		ET
Joseph Liam Fisher	0%