Urdd y Myfyrwyr Prifysgol Aberystwyth University Guild of Students

Gwybodaeth i staff

There are no translations available.

The following information is for the guidance of staff involved in supporting students, and addresses some common concerns.

If you do not know whether contact with the Counselling Service is the right way of addressing a student's problem, please feel free to contact us by email or phone (1740). We will gladly explore options and make suggestions to help personal tutors with any pastoral care matter, until the student has made contact with us. However, once we have met a student, please be aware that everything that the student says in counselling is strictly confidential.

A student has come to me with a personal problem, and I’m not sure I can help.

A student seems over-reliant on me

I think I recognise a serious problem, but the student doesn’t want to look at it

I am not sure what is the best thing to do

When referral is strongly advised

Common Concerns:

A student has come to me with a personal problem, and I’m not sure I can help.

Your interest and support can often be all that is needed to enable them to manage the situation, or to decide that counselling is the more appropriate option.

Do recognise the value of your being there, listening without offering solutions or judging.
Do appreciate their ability to work things out for themselves.
Do remember it is natural for you to feel nervous, particularly when a student displays strong emotion or behaves in a ‘dramatic’ or extreme way.
Do find support for yourself.

A student seems over-reliant on me

Perhaps you have become more involved than you want to be. You may feel seriously ‘out of your depth’, or generally uneasy.

Do raise the possibility of their seeing a counsellor. This is unlikely to do any harm.
Do be clear with them, and yourself, about your boundaries and your reasons for suggesting referral.

Being referred to another person can itself bring up painful feelings, and it may be helpful for the student if you offer to meet them briefly and occasionally, to show your continued support.

I think I recognise a serious problem, but the student doesn’t want to look at it

The problem may have to get worse before they decide to find help.

Do raise the possibility of referral to the counselling service.
Do offer continuing support if appropriate.
Do resist attempts at coercion. ‘Sending’ a person for counselling, perhaps as an alternative to disciplinary action, may lead to resentment and a delayed decision to confront the problem.

I am not sure what is the best thing to do

If you are uncertain whether a referral to the counselling service is appropriate,

Do talk it over with a colleague or a counsellor.
You do not need to identify the student, and this will help you get things clear in your own mind before you decide on your next step.

Referral is strongly advised:

- When the student has a problem which brings up strong feelings within you.

- If you become persuaded that only you can help this student.

- If you see referral as an abandonment, betrayal, or rejection which you or the student ‘couldn’t bear’.

- If concern for their welfare has escalated into a need on your part to ‘fix’ the problem or rescue the student.