President visits University Counselling Service

23 Jan 2018

Nancy hears about the vital work of the University’s counselling team

President and Vice Chancellor Nancy Rothwell heard about the vital work of the University’s counselling team – including 1:1 sessions for 3,500 individuals each year, groups and workshops as well as many useful online resources for staff and students across campus – on a recent visit.

The remit of our Counselling Service, part of the Directorate for the Student Experience, ranges from responding to mental health difficulties to using brief interventions to help people get back on track.

Nancy met with Sally Bray, Interim Director of Campus Life, and Sarah Littlejohn, Head of the Counselling Service.

As well as discussing the work of the Counselling Service, the team highlighted some of the key challenges and opportunities facing the service including increased disclosure of mental health problems and the changing support available from the NHS.

Nancy also had the opportunity to meet and talk with the wider team, including Omar Sattaur, a counsellor who leads on web and online resources; Claire Francis, Mental Health Nurse; Sean Hayes, Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner; Helen Bradshaw, a CBT Therapist who leads on group and workshop programmes; and Hayley Saunders, a new member of the Counselling team.

The President asked the team about some of the day-to-day issues that students face which included anxiety issues, interpersonal difficulties, exam pressure and recurring bouts of depression. For students facing issues like this, the Service might offer individual sessions, or a structured group, and potentially an ongoing peer support group.  

Nancy also discovered more about how the service strives to innovate and adapt to the changing needs of the organisation and has done so with initiatives such as Wellbeing Week, Wellbeing Champions and leading on a wide range of workshops and offering training session to student facing colleagues.   

She said: “I was impressed by how many of our people, both individually and in groups, this team helps while also providing a range of other support and facing up to the challenges of this area.

“It is not easy work but they provide a vital service for our students and staff across the University.”