Student Counselling Service

The University has a professionally staffed confidential Student Counselling Service for assistance with personal, emotional, social and academic problems. The Service is available free to all matriculated undergraduate and graduate members of the University.

You may find that it is helpful to talk things through first with a friend, family member, tutor, supervisor, chaplain or your college doctor or nurse – often problems can be resolved by talking to someone like this. But if you don't feel that these people could help you, you are welcome to try the Student Counselling Service for confidential help and advice. There are times when it may be right to seek help away from the familiar daily environment and the Student Counselling Service was set up to meet just such a need. The Service has a team of professionally trained and widely experienced female and male counsellors, psychotherapists, psychologists and a psychiatrist, who are accustomed to helping people from many different backgrounds and cultures and with a wide range of personal issues.

[Members of staff wishing to receive counselling for work-related problems should contact the Occupational Health Service, where they can find contact details and further information.]

Opening hours and making an appointment

The Student Counselling Service is available throughout the year except for periods at Christmas and Easter, although reception hours are usually reduced outside of term time. We are open on weekdays from 9.15am to 5.15pm. Occasionally later appointments can be arranged. Appointments can be made by visiting the office at 11 Wellington Square, by phoning (01865) 270300 or by e-mailing us. If you use e-mail you should remember that no e-mail system is entirely confidential. An appointment will be made for you as soon as possible. If you are unable to attend an appointment, please let us know as early as you can.

We aim to see students for an initial assessment within five working days of the student making contact and then to offer regular counselling at an early date. Waiting times for a first appointment can be longer than five working days at busy periods such as the beginning of the Michaelmas and Hilary terms but every effort is made to avoid a delay which involves two weekends.

The Student Counselling Service is not designed to be an emergency service. Anyone who feels in a state of "crisis" should contact a doctor. College doctors can be contacted outside surgery hours as they have on-call arrangements.

What happens in counselling

Counselling is not the same as giving advice. Rather, a counsellor seeks to help you to focus on and understand more clearly the issues that concern you. By respecting your own values, choices and lifestyle, the counsellor can work together with you towards making choices or changes that are right for you. Counselling sessions take place in a comfortable and private setting and are usually for 50 minutes.

As well as individual counselling, the Service offers a range of short- and longer-term counselling groups and workshops. Some of these are specifically for undergraduate or graduate students; some have a clear focus such as stress and relaxation.

What sort of issues can be helped with counselling?

Most personal, relationship or identity problems can be helped through counselling, including anxiety, stress, depression, family and/or relationship difficulties, sexual problems or identity issues. It can also involve adjusting to a new culture or dealing with dilemmas or difficult decisions, as well as more specific problems such as addictions or eating problems. Some of these problems may be interfering with your studies or life at Oxford. Specific problems relating to studying or work blocks can also be addressed, often in a more structured approach focusing on improving study skills.

Ethics and confidentiality

We work in line with the Ethical Framework for Good Practice produced by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. A full version of this is available on the web. All personal details and the content of all counselling sessions are confidential. Under all normal circumstances, nothing will be revealed to anyone outside the Service without your express permission.

In very rare circumstances we reserve the right to break confidentiality. This occurs only where there appears to be a serious risk to your own or to others' safety. Even in these circumstances we would normally seek to speak to you first before contacting anyone else. Please ask if you have any questions about this policy.

The Service works under the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998. The factual data you give to the Service and the dates on which you attend for counselling are stored in a computer database. We use these data to compile anonymous statistics about the use of the Service. Your counsellor may also keep notes on your meetings to help them in their work with you. More information is available if required.

If your work is being affected by personal problems it may be helpful for your counsellor to liaise with your tutor, director of studies or other person within the University. Given our commitment to confidentiality, we would only make such a contact with your agreement – let your counsellor know if you would find this helpful.

All students should be registered with a college doctor or GP and it is often helpful if you inform them that you are seeing a counsellor. If it is appropriate, we can liaise with or make referrals to a variety of psychological, therapeutic or psychiatric services in the community. The medical consultant acts as a consultant within the Service. Counsellors can arrange for students to have a psychiatric assessment with the medical consultant, but will be referred out to the NHS for any ongoing psychiatric treatment. Your counsellor would discuss this with you if this seems the best way forward.

Members of the Service are available to talk through the advisability of and the process for referral and to help you think through appropriate strategies for supporting others in the college or department/faculty.

Peer support programme

There is also a peer support training programme to teach students (and staff) in welfare positions/pastoral roles how to be better listeners and how to refer on students who are experiencing serious problems. The training consists of 10 three-hour sessions. Skills learned through the training include being a good listener, helping others to feel more comfortable with social, academic and personal relationships, helping others to make decisions without giving advice, and managing and communicating about sensitive issues. For further information, please contact the Student Counselling Service on (2)70300, or by emailing the training support programme organisers.

Information on specific problems

If you would like more information and guidance on any of the issues listed below, please click on the word to go to the link.

Abuse Anxiety and panic Bereavement and loss Coming to Britain to study Coping with revision and exams Depression Eating disorders Insomnia Mature students Peer support programme Relaxation

 

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