University & College staff
We are available to receive referrals of students about whom you are concerned. In addition, we support your welfare provision in colleges and departments in a variety of ways.
- Referring a student to us
- Liaison Counsellor scheme and 'Out of the Box' talks
- Support for colleges and departments coping with a trauma
Referring a student to us
When to consider referring a student for counselling
Student distress may become apparent in a variety of ways. Some students may be open about their difficulties and proactive in discussing them with you. Others may cope by avoiding or denying difficulties, in which case these may become apparent through changes in the student’s appearance or manner, or in the consistency and quality of their academic work. For detailed guidance on recognizing potential mental health difficulties, see the Committee on Student Health and Welfare's ‘Mental Health Policy and Supporting Students with Mental Health Problems’.
Briefly, we suggest referring a student to the counselling service if you are concerned about the student and either: (1) you do not have a personal relationship with the student, or (2) the relationship feels over-close or too intense, and you have the sense that the student is coming to expect more involvement from you than you are willing or able to give. Even if you have a good relationship with the student it may be that the problem he or she is bringing to you makes you uncomfortable or is beyond your pastoral competence.
Making a referral
If a student is able to admit to you that he has a problem you can suggest that it might be helpful to approach the counselling service. Your encouragement can make a real difference to a student who is wavering, unsure whether they need help, whether the problem is important enough to warrant counselling, or whether the problem is the sort with which the counselling service can help. It may also help to convey that you see getting counselling as a positive adult step which represents taking responsibility for the situation (versus seeing it as a sign of weakness or failure). Many of the students we see tell us that they have been referred to us by a tutor or someone else in their college or department who is concerned about them.
Wherever possible we ask that the student himself or herself make contact with us to request the appointment. This procedure invites the student to take ‘ownership’ of the process and avoids difficulties which can arise when students feel they have been ‘sent’ for counselling by someone else. We recognize there may be special circumstances in which you feel you need to make the contact on a student’s behalf. If so, please get in touch with us so that we can agree the best way forward.
If you are finding referral in any way problematic you are welcome to talk the situation through with your college’s Liaison Counsellor (see below) or with Alan Percy, Head of Student Counselling.
Protecting student confidentiality
Although a code of confidentiality underpins all counselling work many students are happy to give their counsellor permission to liaise with other members of the University. Indeed they often request it because they recognize the interplay between their academic progress and their psychological well-being. Before we can discuss a student with you - or even confirm to you that a student has attended the counselling service - we will need to obtain the student’s written consent.
Liaison Counsellor scheme and 'Out of the Box' talks
Besides working directly with students we support college and departmental staff responding to the welfare needs of their students.
Liaison Counsellors
We operate a ‘liaison counsellor’ scheme in which most colleges have chosen to participate. Under this scheme we designate a member of our counselling staff to act as a link between the counselling service and the college welfare team. Liaison counsellors are available to support colleges in a variety of ways. For example, they contribute to induction sessions for new students, attend termly welfare lunches and can serve as a point of reference for senior members of college with concerns about students. List of Liaison Counsellors 
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‘Out of the Box’ talks
In addition to responding when there is a problem we undertake preventive work: helping students to anticipate and prepare for key challenges and transitions. One way we do this is to get out of our premises in Wellington Square and into colleges and departments to talk to students about important challenges and transitions they face. Two examples of what we can offer are:
- Finalists’ talk: An engaging and thought-provoking one-hour talk about the practical and emotional challenges of Finals developed by Alan Percy, Head of Student Counselling, in collaboration with Dr Trudy Watt, Senior Tutor of Trinity College. (Mr. Percy and Dr. Watt received a University Teaching Award in 2009 for their work in developing this programme.)
- Talk for new graduate students: This session, generally offered within academic departments in collaboration with departmental teaching staff, begins with the observation that ‘embarking on doctoral research is like setting out to sail across a vast ocean with very few islands. Sometimes a supervisor will be sailing alongside, but most of the time you will feel as if you are in sole charge of your own progress.’ It explores ways of managing this sometimes lonely journey, both practically and emotionally.
Support for colleges and departments coping with a trauma
Detailed guidelines on dealing with student tragedies have been developed by the University. As noted in these guidelines, the University Counselling Service can help but will only do so if requested by the college. Please contact Alan Percy, Head of Student Counselling, if you would like to discuss how we can support you.
It is not our usual practice to send teams of counsellors into colleges following a trauma. We do not believe this is generally helpful. We believe the most valuable support for individuals who have been especially affected by trauma comes from those in college with whom they already have a personal relationship, including friends, tutors, chaplains, JCR or MCR officers, etc. For this reason, our usual approach is to work with those in college who are providing this support. Some of the forms this might take include:
- Acting as a resource for senior staff to think through how best to respond to what has happened, e.g. what should be said, by whom, and in which forum.
- Convening a quiet meeting for close friends of a student or member of staff who has died to think about the impact of the death. This is not counselling or psychotherapy, but simply a space in which to acknowledge what has happened and some of the feelings about it.
- Giving priority appointments to students from the college who find their way to the counselling service in search of help.