Appointments to see a counsellor are usually made by the student in person, but as a member of staff you may be aware of problems facing a particular student and be in a position to suggest counselling if it is appropriate.

 

The service is unable to guarantee same-day appointments, and is not an emergency service.  We do however have a duty counsellor each day who staff are welcome to consult. Details of locations and telephone numbers on each site can be obtained under How to make an appointment.

 

Once a student has contacted us s/he will be offered the first available appointment, usually within 5-7 working days.

 

At this first meeting we aim to give the student an opportunity to tell us about their reasons for coming and to gather enough information to enable us to discuss with the student the best way forward. If appropriate, we will offer brief counselling. Other options may include workshops, groups, self-help resources or referral to more appropriate internal or external services.

 

The counsellors work within the BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) Ethical Framework www.bacp.co.uk/ethical_framework. Under all normal circumstances everything said within counselling sessions remains confidential to the Counselling Service.  We do not normally inform tutors of the progress of a student's counselling and would communicate only if requested to do so by the student concerned.

 

In exceptional circumstances, the Counselling Service may not be able to offer this level of confidentiality.  This might be on the rare occasion where we consider someone to be at risk of serious harm to self or others . Please refer to the Confidentiality & Data Protection page.

 

Please do not refer students to the service simply for a letter in support of extenuating circumstances, as we will not be able to provide this unless the student's circumstances are already known to us and they are either waiting for, or engaged in ongoing counselling.  Academic staff are able to provide corroboration, and may be in a better position to do so if the student's situation is known to them.