What is talking therapy?
Talking therapies such as counselling and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) provide a safe and confidential space for you to discuss your problems with an accredited and highly trained professional therapist.
In therapy, you can explore your thoughts, feelings and behaviours so you can develop a better understanding of yourself and of others.
Your therapist will listen and try to understand in a non-judgmental way. Sometimes the therapist may gently challenge you, but will always respect your values, choices and lifestyle.
Your therapist will not tell you what to do or prescribe medication. Instead, therapy can help you find your own way forward – whether that’s making effective changes in your life or finding better ways of coping with your problems.
To get the most out of therapy, it’s important to have a clear idea of your goals. You'll also need the time and motivation to attend regular sessions.
How to access talking therapies
If you think you might benefit from talking therapy, you’ll need to arrange an appointment with the Wellbeing Service. This is your first step to accessing the right support for you.
What to expect
If the outcome of your initial consultation is a referral for talking therapy, we aim to contact you within two weeks to offer you a first appointment.
We provide short-term therapy – in most cases, up to six sessions. This is usually enough to help you start moving forward with your life.
You might work with one of our in-house therapists or a therapist from one of our partner organisations. Sometimes, we suggest you work with a trainee clinical psychologist from the University's Doctorate in Clinical Psychology.
Therapy sessions take place either in person or remotely on Microsoft Teams. We will try to accommodate your preference.
Occasionally, we might ask to make an audio recording of a session. This is an important way therapists seek to improve their work. It's fine to say no to this request. If we do ask to record a session, we'll give you lots more information about this so you can make up your mind.
Courses and workshops
We also offer a range of courses and one-off workshops to help you manage and overcome mental health difficulties and develop your emotional wellbeing.
You’ll be introduced to ideas for changing how you approach your problems and you'll learn new skills for building resilience and wellbeing. We aim to give you tools and support to overcome whatever is holding you back.
Other kinds of help on offer
The University offers art, gardening and exercise programmes to help you improve your mental health. You can also access Wellbeing support.