Counselling
Frequently asked questions
• Where can I find the Counselling Team?
• When are the counsellors available?
• How do I make an appointment?
• How can counselling help me?
• What kinds of problem can I talk about?
• Is it confidential?
• Who will I see?
• What does it cost?
• What happens during a counselling session?
• Where can I access a list of useful websites and organisations that might
help me?
Q: Where can I find
the Counselling Team?
A: The counsellors are part of the Student Services, Student
Health and Well-Being Team. All initial enquiries should be directed
to the Student Services Centre located in 4 West.
Q: When are the counsellors available?
A: The counsellors are available by appointment Monday to
Friday during semesters for undergraduates and all year round for postgraduates.
Appointments are
not available when the University is closed. Only limited counselling provision
is available during vacation periods. The normal appointment hours are 9.15am
to 4.15pm.
Q: How do I make an appointment?
A: Prior to an appointment being arranged you are requested to complete a
Registration Form and Contact Details Form. These forms are also available
from:
• The website: www.bath.ac.uk/counselling
• The Student Services Centre in 4 West.
• By telephoning the Student Services Centre: 01225 385538
When we have received your registration form a member of the Student Health &
Well-Being Team will
contact
you to arrange an appointment.
The appointment system fully respects privacy and confidentiality.
Q: How can counselling help me?
A: Sometimes it helps to talk to someone outside your immediate network of
friends and family, who can listen carefully to you and help you to make
sense of events or experiences that may be on your mind as well as explore
options to enable you to feel more in control of your life. Counselling may
help you to make changes in your life. At other times though it may not seem
practical or possible to change your circumstances, it may be possible to
find a way of dealing with difficult circumstances at less cost to your physical
or mental wellbeing. If we feel we are not the most appropriate source of
help we will help you to find the most suitable assistance inside or outside
the University.
Q: What kinds of problem can I talk about?
A: Students come to counselling with lots of different problems and concerns.
These include:
Difficulties in settling in
Pressure of work and meeting deadlines
Exam anxiety
Loneliness
Relationship difficulties
Loss or trauma
Lack of self esteem and confidence
Depression
Overwhelming feelings such as anger, anxiety, panic
Whatever your concern, the counsellor will take you seriously
Q: Is it confidential?
A: Counsellors respect confidentiality. This means that
we will not discuss your case with others unless it is in your best interest
and we have your permission to do so. However, if we have concerns for
your safety or the safety of others we may be required to break confidentiality,
again
we will endeavour to ask your permission first. Any records are
confidential to Student Health and Well-Being and
held in a secure file.
You will have an opportunity to discuss confidentiality in more detail
at the first counselling meeting. Student
Services Confidentiality Policy.
Q: Who will I see?
A: You will see one of the counselling team, all of whom are professionally
trained. They are used to working with students and with the wide range of
concerns that can affect people’s emotional and psychological wellbeing.
If you prefer to see an external
counsellor, we can help you to find a private counsellor or a counselling
agency in the community or, you can be referred to the University Medical
Centre - you will need to be registered as a patient with the University
medical Centre in order to access their counsellors.
Q: What does it cost?
A: Counselling is provided free to all registered University of Bath students.
The University Medical Centre counselling service is also free of charge.
Q: What happens during a counselling session?
A: The first session is what we call a mutual assessment session. You will
be given a chance to decide whether you think counselling could be helpful
and whether you want to make any further appointments. The counsellor
will also be able to let you know whether they think we can offer what
you need.
If not we can help you to get to the most appropriate source of help
or advice inside or outside the University. In the first session you will
also be able
to arrange with the counsellor the frequency, day and times of meeting
if you both decide further sessions would be useful.
In further sessions the counsellor will provide you with time and space
to talk about and think about the concerns that are affecting you. Normally
sessions last for 50 minutes and you will be given a specific time and
day
for the session. This way you can easily fit them into your schedule
of lectures and other commitments. You will be in a private room, where
you
will not
be interrupted by other people or by phone calls. The counsellor may
ask you questions to help you to explore things in more depth or may
check
with you that they have understood exactly what you have said and particularly
how you may be feeling, or they may share with you some of their thinking
or understanding of the situation. However, above all else, what happens
in the counselling session will be guided by your needs and priorities.
Up
to six sessions may be offered. The counselling team does not offer
long term counselling.
Q: Who do I contact if I have forgotten my appointment time, need to
cancel or re-arrange an appointment?
A. Email listening@bath.ac.uk
Q: Does the service have male and female counsellors?
A: Yes
Q: Am I able to access my notes if I wish?
A: The Data Protection form you are asked to complete at
the assessment session states that you do have the right to access your records.
Q. Where can I access a list of useful websites and organisations that might
help me?
A. Further information is available on:
• Student
Health and Well-Being website
• mindmatters website