Picture of a student
Meet Lucy
Both Lucy's parents have had bouts of depression and her GP says she has 'bipolar' tendencies. Her depression and self harm started young, and although she feels she will never be totally free from it she feels she can live a good life and not let it rule her... more >>Picture of Hiresh
Picture of Iona
Picture of Rees
Picture of Lucy
Picture of Emily
Picture of Greta
Picture of Tony
Picture of Aron
Picture of Alma
Picture of Will
Picture of Leigh
Picture of Megan
Picture of James
Picture of Charlie
story archive >> '; document.getElementById('storyimage').src='images/mike100.jpg';">Picture of Mike
"I was prejudiced against counselling. I'd already told myself it wasn't going to help. It was a bit of an intellectual exercise for me - I just wasn't willing to open up to her about anything. I guess I wouldn't discourage people from going to see somebody, but give it a little while. Give it longer than I did." Kristy
"I didn't know the counselling service really existed until I needed to talk to somebody. I won't lie to you - I went down there 4 or 5 times and pulled away from the door before I went in but the time I walked through was probably the best thing I ever did." Darren
Students Against Depression
print preview
print page
close preview
Counselling
Counsellors are professionally trained to work with people on their personal and emotional issues, including depression and suicide. Counselling is about talking to someone who understands what depression is and what can help. Because everyone is different, a counsellor does not simply dish out advice - the discussions in counselling are aimed at helping you understand what is going on for you and what would help you best.
In the first session you will usually:
What you say will be kept confidential to the counselling service and will not be discussed with anyone else in your university/college (except under certain circumstances which will be explained in advance).
A counsellor will aim to help you get an overview of the problem, as well as looking for ways forward. You can see the kind of framework a counsellor might use to explore your depression story using Anna's story as a case example .
Counsellors do not all work in exactly the same way, and not everyone "clicks" with the first counsellor they see. Counsellors welcome questions about how they work, and are open to discussing whether they are the right person to help. It is important that you feel comfortable with the counsellor you see, so don't settle for the first one if you're not entirely happy with them.
Psychodynamic - counselling which focuses on patterns of relationship, often helpful in understanding how early experiences might be affecting you in the present.
Person-centred - counselling which respects individual uniqueness and steers clear of any form of advice, preferring to support you in finding your own meanings and solutions.
Cognitive-behavioural (CBT) - counselling which is solution and action-focused, especially helpful in tackling unhelpful thinking habits.
Integrative - many counsellors integrate aspects of each of these approaches, rather than working in only one way.
The Student Counselling in UK Universities website lists contact details for all university counselling services (see link below). For higher education institutes or further education colleges, look on your own college website or phone the main college exchange and ask for the counselling service.