Counselling is a talking and listening process that helps you to focus on, and understand, the concerns that are troubling you. It provides a space where you can feel comfortable and at ease while talking with an empathic listener, and where you have the opportunity to explore as much or as little of your concerns as you choose to bring. Counselling may be concerned with addressing and resolving specific problems, coping with crisis and change, developing personal insight and knowledge, improving relationships with others, making decisions and working through feelings of inner conflict.
Counselling support can be offered through supported self help, individual sessions or within a workshop or therapeutic group. You can access a one off session or opt for a series of sessions.
People bring a large range of issues to counselling and no two client stories are ever the same. No issue is too small to bring nor, in our experience to large, though we may also recommend other help if we feel this would complement or be more appropriate than the counselling process. The common problems under self help information give you some idea of the sort of issues people bring, but this is not an exhaustive list.
Research suggests that counselling can be an effective process for a range of common presenting issues. These include anxiety and depression, loss and bereavement, management of change, decision making, social isolation, difficulties with self esteem, problematic eating, phobias and the management of physical discomfort and pain. The evaluations we receive also suggest that people have been helped by our services.
Research also suggests that counselling is more effective where clients believe it is capable of making a difference and where counsellor and client forge a good working alliance, so your own positive attitude to the process and the joint endeavour of developing a good working relationship are of central importance in the effectiveness of counselling.
The length of contract you will be offered will depend on the issues you bring, your level of present need and a joint process of assessing your needs with your counsellor. Many people only come for a single session, some for 6 weeks and some for longer contracts of work. You can choose to leave counselling at any point or return whenever you chose.
For some individuals having regular contact with a counsellor throughout the academic year is what enables them to stay on their course or cope with difficult life circumstances. Although we cannot offer this to all of our clients we can sometimes offer this sort of longer term work where the situation requires it. The length of contract offered will be decided on a case by case basis and in consultation with the Head of Service who also monitors for need in the service as a whole. If you are involved in longer term work this will be reviewed on a regular basis and you may be required to take breaks or swap to self help or group work if there are good clinical reasons for this or if demands on the service mean that resources need to be shared out amongst more students.
When was the last time that someone really listened to you and gave you an uninterrupted 50 minutes for this? For many people the one-off experience of counselling can be all they need to talk about what is going on for them and find a way to keep going or make changes for the better. For this reason we are very happy to just offer initial sessions without any strings attached, if this is your preferred choice.
If you want to have individual counselling or join a workshop or group this needs to be booked in advance. You can attend a drop-in, without appointment on any Wednesday from 2.45-3.45pm.
You may not have to wait at all as we can often arrange appointments on the same day or same week that you make contact with us. We aim to respond to all enquiries within 2 working days and to arrange for you to speak to or see a counsellor within 2 weeks. You can also attend a drop-in session, without appointment on any Wednesday between 2.45-3.45pm. If you want to join a therapeutic group you may have to wait a few weeks for the next group to start, and if you want ongoing counselling sessions there may be a wait depending upon demand in the service at the time. However, we know that early intervention is often the most effective help so we will seek to prioritise our resources according to the demand and you may be offered supported self help or one off sessions at busy times in the service.
The counselling service is only available to individuals who are currently full or part time students at the university. If you leave your course prematurely we will arrange for you to have a final session with your counsellor who may then be able to refer you on for counselling elsewhere. For information about other counselling services in Bristol click here.
When you first apply to have individual counselling you can state your preference to see a man or a woman. If you have other preferences then please do let us know and we will try to accommodate them. We can refer you to see a deaf counsellor if this is appropriate to your needs. If you would like to work for further sessions you can request to see the same counsellor and we will try to accommodate this, though you may be seen more quickly if you are willing to see anyone.
Within any counselling service, the need for confidentiality is paramount. Consequently, confidentiality is a most important part of this service, and the service subscribes to the ethical framework of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) . In practice this means that:
Find out more by reading our confidentiality policy
Our confidentiality policy makes it clear that in normal circumstances we will not contact other members of the student services team nor disclose to them that you are having counselling. However in some cases students may give consent for us to make routine contact with other member of student services in order that they can be provided with shared care. This may be particularly helpful if you have a registered disability, a medical condition or are involved in a disciplinary or appeals process. We will not liaise in this way without your specific written consent.
Our confidentiality policy makes it clear that in normal circumstances we will not contact your tutors nor disclose to your tutors that you are having counselling. However students sometimes ask us to provide letters for tutors in the event of a disciplinary process or appeal. We will always agree the content of these letters with you in advance. In some cases students may give consent for us to make routine contact with their tutor in order that they can be provided with shared care. We will not liaise in this way without your specific written consent.
Our confidentiality policy makes it clear that in normal circumstances we will not contact your parents, nor disclose to your parents that you are having counselling. Sometimes parents contact us wishing to inform us of concerns they have in which case we will take clear notes and let them know that we will disclose what they have shared should you approach us for counselling.
Our confidentiality policy makes it clear that in normal circumstances we will not contact your GP not disclose to your GP that you are having counselling. However in the unusual event that we have serious concerns about your welfare or the welfare of others we may wish to contact your GP in order to minimize harm. In making such a decision we will be guided by the bacp ethical framework and our own confidentiality policy.
In some cases students may give consent for us to make routine contact with their GP in order that they can be provided with shared care. This can be particularly helpful where a student has both medical and psychological needs. We will not liaise in this way without your specific written consent.
Counsellors are required to take notes in order recall information, monitor their practice and so that the service as a whole can respond to you appropriately during your work with us. Notes are kept securely and confidentially in line with our own confidentiality policy and data protection processes. If you would like to see your notes please make a request in writing via student-counselling@bristol.ac.uk. Notes will only be passed to third parties where you make a specific request for this to happen or if we are required to produce them for legal reasons. Your tutors and course administrators do not have the right to access your counselling notes.
We welcome your feedback, good and bad. In the first instance please speak to your counsellor as often problems can be ironed out through discussion. If you are still unhappy please arrange to speak to Jackie Head, the Head of Service by calling in to reception or email her on student-counselling@bristol.ac.uk.
Although you will be allocated a counsellor in the first instance, if for any reason you feel you would like to work with a different counsellor you are always free to do so. To request a change of counsellor please talk to your existing counsellor or contact Reception.