University Counselling Service Guide

The University counselling service is a free, high-quality service staffed by trained and experienced clinicians. Our counsellors can help support you to build a deeper understanding of yourself and things that are getting in the way of the life you want to live. They can support you to implement strategies to make the changes that are important to you.  

What is counselling?

Personal counselling involves talking through your situation or problem with a trained clinician to assist you to gain a better understanding of your problem, understand your strengths and build your resources to find and implement effective solutions.

The kind of things that bring people to personal counselling include stress, life changes and transitions, anxiety, depression, relationship problems, life crises and traumas, as well as study and academic issues.

On average people access 2-3 appointments with our service. If you require longer-term or specialist treatment and support we can help refer you to an external agency. Find out more about external supports here.

You can book with any of our counsellors and then choose how you would like to connect with us.

You can access counselling appointments in a range of formats. Every appointment is available as a zoom or phone session. We also offer in-person appointments at Sandy Bay, Newnham, West Park and Rozelle.

What next?

For in-person appointments, please see the instructions in the appointment confirmation email for where to find the counselling waiting room at the relevant campus. You might need to download images in order to see the map included in this email.

Allow time ahead of your appointment to attend a health screening point. We strongly encourage mask wearing for all in-person counselling appointments and in some locations this is still a requirement. For current and up to date information on COVID requirements on-campus visit the University's coronavirus updates page.

Please help to keep us well and do not attend appointments in person if you have any viral symptoms such as a cough, fever, sore throat, or a running nose. You can switch to a distance appointment or reschedule through AppointmentHub.

For phone appointments, the counsellor will call you at the appointment time. Please ensure you are in a quiet and private space for the call.

For online (Zoom) appointments, you will receive an email to your student email account at the time of your appointment with a link. Clicking on the link will connect you with your counsellor. 

To update your phone number visit your student portal.

Finding a good connection with your counsellor is important. To help you get the most from our service we've got some tips to help you connect.

• Think about who you might best connect with. Finding someone you trust and can talk through things with openly is an important part of the therapeutic alliance. To help with this you can see counsellor profiles by clicking here.
• Pick a 'good' time. Ideally you want to have an appointment when you can give them your full attention. You might decide the morning is better because this is when you feel your lowest or the house is quietest, or the afternoon might be more ideal because you feel you can have better attention at this time. Think about your own preferences and book an appointment to match. Also consider what you have to do after your appointment.
• Reflect on your expectations, needs and wants. Thinking about what you are wanting ahead of your appointment means you can discuss this with your counsellor and make a plan early to start working towards your goals. Some questions you might ask yourself include: What are my hopes and fears about counselling? What worked well and what didn't if I have accessed counselling before? Do I want to take the lead in session or would I prefer my counsellor to do this? Am I feeling overwhelmed or stuck and looking to better understand the options in front of me?
• Before your appointment it can be helpful to think about the key points you want your counsellor to know. Give yourself at least 5 minutes before your appointment for reflection on this.
• Write things down. Note down thoughts before your appointment to help you to focus on key points. If there are things during or between your appointment that are important, writing these down will help you recall them in your next session.
• Be prepared to work on yourself or make a small change. Counselling is about supporting and empowering you to take charge of and manage your own life. There are often no quick, simple or easy solutions to complex real-life situations.
• Be patient. Building trust and feeling safe enough to open up can take time. It can also take time to work through your unique situation and develop skills to help you feel more in control of the things going on in your life.
• There is no right or wrong thing to say. Some people feel they need to censor their thoughts or feelings for fear being impolite or being judged. Counselling is a non-judgmental space where you can be free to talk about things you don't feel able to with others in your life. Being open and honest about what is going on for you helps your therapist get a better understanding of you and the situation you are struggling with. Even small things that might not seem important can add depth to your connection. For example, by letting your counsellor know that it was tough getting up the energy or courage to come to counselling you might explore this with your counsellor in a way that makes it feel less difficult next time.

A note on disconnection:

Counselling can bring up heavy emotions or memories. To help in switching off from counselling keep the following in mind:

• Write things down. Note down any thoughts or insights from your session to reflect on, remember or come back to.
• Move into a different space following your appointment. This might help you shift gears and step away from the counselling session figuratively and literally.
• Make sure you have some time to yourself to take a break after your appointment. It is normal to feel a mix of emotions after a counselling appointment so give yourself time to sit with these, reflect on any strategies you have talked about in session, go for a walk or practice some self-care.
• Be mindful of who you share your therapy insights and thoughts with. The content of counselling can be very personal. Be especially careful sharing with people prone to gossip, giving advice, expressing strong opinions or wanting to be updated all of the time. Unwanted attention and opinion can lead you to feel confused, pressured to share information or doubt yourself and the process you are engaging with.
• If something didn't feel right for you in session, or on reflection after your session take note of this so that you can raise it next time. By helping your counsellor understand what is and isn't working well they can support you better. Your feedback is valued and helps us improve what we do as counsellors.

We understand the University Counselling Service isn't going to meet everyone's needs. We have compiled information on alternative free and low cost support available to you.

Flexibility: There is no need to get to a physical location (as long as you have a device and can connect to the internet or mobile network) and you can choose how to connect. We offer video or instant chat sessions, as well as phone calls.

Accessibility: You can access counselling from anywhere and don't have to factor in travel time or parking to get to a physical location.

Choice: You have a greater choice of counsellors and appointment times as you are able to access the whole counselling team.

Sense of anonymity: Whilst our service is not anonymous, some people may feel safer and less confronted using online or phone counselling. For some people, this can lead to them being more open than they would be in a face to face environment.

Reception: Your internet quality can have a big impact on your session. If video isn’t working you have the option or dropping back to audio only or text.

Miscommunication: Typed conversation can be easily misinterpreted. You might no be able to express or explain how you are feeling, or describe your situation fully. If you are feeling this is the case, seek clarification from your counsellor.

Timing: If typing, the messages can get out of sync. If you feel that you are out of sync with your counsellor let them know, ask them to summarise where you are up to and slow down to take turns with messaging.

Distraction: When it comes to distance appointments it is easy to get distracted, especially when you aren't closing the door to the outside world by walking into a counsellor's office. Below are some practical tips for different distance appointments:

Crisis: Online counselling, especially instant chat, is not suitable in a crisis situation. In a crisis, we recommend seeking immediate support, contacting emergency services on ‘000’, Lifeline on ’13 11 14’, Tasmanian Mental Health Helpline on ‘1800 332 388’ or the Suicide call-back service on ‘1300 659 467’.

What is the wait time for a counselling appointment for students?

The University Counselling Service currently have appointments within a week and often within a few days logging in to book an appointment.

Wait times can be a little longer if wanting a specific counsellor or an in-person appointment.

A portion of appointments are "SAME DAY". These appointments are only viewable and bookable from 5pm the day before.

Can't make it to an appointment?

You can cancel your appointment online up to an hour before your appointment through Appointment Hub or by phoning 1800 817 675 up until your appointment time. We ask you to do this so that we can make the appointment available to others in need.

I don't know if I got what I needed from my counselling appointment. What are my options?

Check out our tips for connecting in this article for ways to achieve a better connection.

Communication is an art and one that we strive to work at with you. If you don't think you have connected well in your appointment we invite you to talk to us about it. Although it can feel daunting, we recommend that you book another appointment and talk to your counsellor about how you are feeling. It might be helpful to think about what you were hoping to get from session and what you would like to get out of future appointments so you can use this to structure your conversation.

If having a conversation about your experience or seeing the same counsellor again doesn't feel like an option that works for you, that is okay. We have a team of counsellors so you can always book an appointment with a different counsellor. Be prepared for them to check in with you about why you have booked to see someone else on the team. We do this to make sure you are getting the support you need. You can also give us anonymous feedback.

How can I give feedback about the service?

We are a service that aims to reflect on what we do and how we can continue to improve the support we offer. Your feedback helps us! If you have 5 minutes to complete our feedback survey we would love to hear from you.

Supporting Documentation

If you need an extension or other assessment accommodations, you should first discuss this with your lecturer. Your teaching staff can often support you if they know what is going on.

If you require supporting documentation your medical doctor is best placed to provide this. Under exceptional circumstances the counselling service can provide supporting documentation only if either of the following circumstances apply:

• You have already been attending counselling and we are familiar with the presenting issues; or

• You are unable to discuss the matter with staff due to the nature of the issue and you have no other treating professional who could provide information.

If your situation matches one of these two circumstances you will need to book in an appointment with a counsellor and discuss your situation with them. Supporting documentation is written in session during your appointment. Depending on your circumstances the counselling service may not be able to provide you with supporting documentation, however, we assess each case separately.

Your rights

• You do not have to see a counsellor if you do not wish to.

• You can request to see a different counsellor, or ask for a referral to another agency if counselling is not working out for you with your counsellor. We understand that this happens and encourage you to let us know.

• If you believe we hold incorrect information about you, you have the right to correct this.

Privacy & Confidentiality

Like all counselling services, we are required to keep case notes of interactions with our clients. The information you provide to your counsellor is considered a health record and will be recorded and used for the primary purpose for which it is collected. This information will not be disclosed to any third party without your consent, unless this is required or permitted by law or professional duty of care.

Your privacy is important to us. We acknowledge that privacy of communication via distance, especially over the internet is limited by the security of the technology used. The University Counselling Service uses Zoom but we want to assure you that the IT team are constantly working behind the scenes to ensure the highest level of security and encryption is in place. All information is retained within Australia and we have end to end encryption in place.

Most people feel a little nervous about their first video appointment because it can be a different way to connect with counselling . Most people soon feel very comfortable with this mode of contact as the appointment proceeds, however, you can choose to end a session early or switch to phone if video counselling doesn't feel right. In addition to this, your online counselling sessions are never recorded.

For more information about university's privacy policy visit www.utas.edu.au/privacy