Counselling is an opportunity for students to discuss any concerns or issues they may have in a supportive and safe environment. The counsellor will work with students to help understand what is going on for them and find a positive way forward. All our counsellors are accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) and counselling can be offered in-person at Highfield Campus or online via Microsoft Teams.
How does a student access counselling?
In the first instance, we would encourage a student to speak with a Wellbeing Advisor for a Wellbeing Chat. Here, our Wellbeing Advisors can provide appropriate advice and support for a student's situation and discuss counselling options in more detail. If our wellbeing advisors feel that counselling is appropriate, the student would need to complete a counselling referral form which would be triaged by our specialist counsellors to ensure that counselling is suitable. Students will need to be registered with a UK doctors surgery to receive counselling, but do not need to provide any evidence from the GP. At the time of undergoing counselling sessions, students will be required to be residing in the UK.
What should a student expect from counselling?
Short term counselling is offered where appropriate, with one set of counselling sessions each academic year. The amount of sessions is to be agreed between the student and counsellor (this is ordinarily up to six sessions). All counselling sessions are confidential, in line with BACP and the University of Southampton confidentiality and data protection policies. Students should expect their counsellor to provide a supportive and safe environment to discuss any difficulties they have been facing as well as a plan moving forward to access longer-term support if needed.
Spectrum.Life are the university's external counselling provider, which enables us to provide greater flexibility in timing of appointments and offers a diverse range of services and counsellors to support students.
What can Spectrum.Life provide?
Spectrum.Life can provide more appointments available outside of normal office hours to meet student schedules more easily. It is provided online, by qualified counsellors (BACP and UK Council for Psychotherapy registered). Spectrum.Life are a global service who can provide counselling on weekends and holidays. Counselling can be provided in +35 languages including Chinese Mandarin and British Sign Language. In working with Spectrum.Life, we are able to provide online counselling with a much-reduced waiting time for students.
If you would like to find our more information about Spectrum.Life, please click here Spectrum.Life – Where Wellbeing Works
The service has not only really helped me while studying at University, but also provided me with information and skills that can help me during my future.
Students can also access external counselling through NHS Services Find an NHS talking therapies services - NHS (www.nhs.uk) or Private Counsellors Counselling Directory - Find a Counsellor Near You (counselling-directory.org.uk)
We would encourage students to discuss this further with a Wellbeing Advisor, so the team can recommend appropriate services based on a students situation.