How the student counselling and wellbeing service support students
From time to time, you may need to advise students to seek support from other services in the University if they are finding it hard to cope, or to get specialist support for issues they may be going through.
When students experience problems, it can be helpful to talk over the situation with someone else who is not involved. This can be a friend or a close family member or it can be a practitioner who has the professional skills and expertise to assist people with emotional and psychological difficulties.
Signposting students to Student Counselling and Wellbeing
This information is for staff who have concerns about a student and may be considering directing the student to Student Counselling and Wellbeing. If you have any questions about the process, you may consult a practitioner in confidence, preferably without revealing the student's identity.
What we offer
Our service provides students with the time and space to explore their problems and develop a deeper understanding of themselves and their choices.
We provide students with an initial appointment, typically followed by up to four follow-up appointments. Our services also include same day drop-in appointments, workshops and webinars, meditation, self-help resources, and access to Togetherall.
Who to signpost
Those students who:
- can be helped more effectively by a professional practitioner
- do not respond readily to your own offers of help
- are unable to concentrate on their studies because of personal difficulties
- are anxious, depressed or feeling suicidal.
How to signpost
- Let the student know about the boundaries and limitations of your role.
- Explain the nature of the help that might be offered.
- Encourage students to register through the Student Counselling and Wellbeing Hub.
- Let the student know that registering with the service does not cut them off from your own care and concern.
The tutor's role after signposting
Staff can continue to monitor a student they are concerned about following signposting to Student Counselling and Wellbeing.
- Explain the boundaries of your tutorial relationship with the student, eg practitioner - therapeutic support; tutor - academic support.
- Ask the student directly what support they require from you.
- Set contracts, eg agree to meet every fortnight at a set time.
- Ask the student to monitor their own progress.
Critical incidents/emergencies
In a critical incident or emergency where a student is threatening suicide or displaying severe mental health problems, it may be more appropriate to contact either Security (32222), who will be able to contact the relevant emergency services, or the student's GP. Please feel free to contact us for advice or guidance if this situation arises.
Find out more about what to do in an emergency.
Helping students with mental health difficulties
Comprehensive guidelines for recognising and helping students with Mental Health difficulties are available for all staff. This includes an easy-to-follow model of what action to take, as well as a comprehensive list of internal and external support.
Mitigating circumstances
When appropriate, Student Counselling and Wellbeing can provide a standard email to support a plea of mitigating circumstances or an email confirming attendance. Eligibility for this is detailed in our policy on mitigating circumstances below.
- We do not provide psychological or medical assessments.
- We cannot provide an email for students that have not had any previous therapeutic contact with the Student Counselling and Wellbeing.
- No information is given about a student without their consent.
- If you have any questions about our policy on providing evidence on mitigating circumstances or letters of attendance, please feel free to contact the team or view our Mitigating Circumstances Policy.
Student Counselling and Wellbeing policy on providing emails
Mitigating Circumstances
Mitigating circumstances are significantly disruptive and/or unexpected events which are beyond your control (i.e. illness, bereavement) but which might affect your academic performance when submitting assessed work or sitting examinations.
If illness or personal difficulties have intervened during a candidature and prevented a student from progressing their research, the student may be granted a suspension of registration for a period necessary to overcome the difficulties. Where such circumstances have had a significant adverse effect on the progress of the research an extension of study may be granted.
Where appropriate, practitioners will provide emails in support of mitigating circumstances where those circumstances interfered with the students' ability to focus on academic work and where the students clearly tried to manage with our help.
The following points contain information and guidelines about when we will provide this kind of email:
- The practitioner needs to be confident that s/he is in a position to make a judgement that the issues that the client has presented in their sessions have seriously affected his or her ability to meet course requirements.
- In order to make this kind of a judgement, the practitioner needs to have a clear awareness and understanding of the client's difficulties.
- Generally, this means that the student has attended an initial appointment or contract of support.
- Providing evidence of this kind for a client needs to come as a result of the support and not be the purpose of it.
- Emails will only ever be provided at the student's request and with the student's permission.
- The practitioner will provide a standard email which does not go into any specific details. Any mitigating circumstances letter sent by Student Counselling and Wellbeing will, however, state the number of sessions attended and the time period.
- Even if a practitioner has seen a student for an initial appointment and several follow-up sessions, s/he may not feel that providing this kind of evidence is appropriate.
- For Postgraduate research students, we provide letters confirming mitigating circumstances to support requests for supervsision/extension of study.
Emails confirming attendance
In certain circumstances, we may provide emails confirming the attendance of a student here at Student Counselling and Wellbeing. However, the provision of an email confirming attendance is not in itself proof of a mitigating circumstance.
Emails confirming fitness to study
We do not provide emails/letter confirming fitness to study. These letters can only be provided by a doctor.
If you have any further questions, please contact the Head of Student Counselling and Wellbeing, Jane Harris, at j.harris1@leeds.ac.uk or call 0113 343 4107.
Further information and details of codes of ethical frameworks can be found on the BACP or UKCP websites.
Staff counselling
If you have a contract of employment, you may be eligible for staff counselling.