Counselling

What is counselling?

Counselling provides a safe and confidential space for you to talk about your concerns. A counsellor will not give you their opinions or advice, and they can’t prescribe medication. However, they will help you to explore your thoughts, feelings and behaviours and to find your own solutions to help you cope with your problems. Counselling at Essex is short-term, and can help you engage in your studies and in university life.

Our student counselling service is provided by Health Assured, our external partner organisation. The University works closely with Health Assured to ensure that the service is delivered to a high standard and is meeting the needs of our students. All counsellors work to recognised standards within the profession and are registered or accredited with professional bodies.

Who can access counselling

Counselling is open to registered students, including those who are intermitting from their studies on medical grounds. If you are an incoming student who has not yet registered, please wait until you have completed registration to request counselling.

How to access counselling

If you feel that counselling might be beneficial for you, you can complete a counselling form via My Essex. If you'd like to talk about counselling or have any questions before deciding whether you'd like to complete a form, you can book a wellbeing appointment on Colchester campus or visit the Wellbeing Drop-In at Southend or Loughton.

What happens next?

Once you have submitted your counselling form, it will be reviewed by the Counselling Manager and a decision made as to whether counselling is deemed to be the best service for you at the time or whether you would benefit from a different service. Sometimes, the Counselling Manager will ask to meet with students to understand more about what they have written on their counselling form. This is to ensure that you receive the right level of support.

If it is believed that counselling is the appropriate service for you, your form will be sent securely to Health Assured and we will update you by email.

Health Assured will use the contact details and availability you have provided on your counselling form to get in touch with you as soon as possible. A counsellor will speak with you, generally over the phone, to understand more about what you would like to get from counselling. Sometimes, based on this conversation, they might suggest that you see your GP or receive other support prior to accessing counselling.

If you go on to receive counselling with Health Assured, you will be offered a date for your first session that falls within 15 working days of your initial conversation. You can choose as to whether your sessions will be held on campus, online, or by telephone. 

We offer a service that is tailored to individual student need. At your initial conversation, you and your counsellor will discuss how many sessions are right for you. Remember that counselling at the University is short-term. If you need longer-term support, you can take a look at the local counselling options listed below under long-term counselling.

In-person sessions will be held on your campus at the following locations:

• Greenwood House, Colchester
• Gateway Building, Southend
• Hatfields, Loughton

For audio and video sessions, you will need to make sure that you are in a private space and are unlikely to be interrupted. Whether your sessions are in-person on campus, or via audio or video, please note that you will need to be alone for your sessions. If you have babies or young children, please arrange childcare, or schedule your sessions for times when you do not have caring responsibilities.

While you're in counselling

While you're in counselling, you can still access other support. Here is a list of services open to students:

• Wellbeing Appointments: A general service for students seeking advice and support for personal, welfare, emotional or mental health issues. The appointments are 30 minutes long and can be either in-person, by telephone or by Zoom. Appointments are available Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm. At Southend and Loughton, you can visit the Wellbeing Drop-In.
• SilverCloud: An online cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) resource offering a range of programmes on mental health, wellbeing, and long-term conditions. To learn more about SilverCloud, watch this video.
• Togetherall is a safe, online peer-to-peer mental health community that empowers individuals to anonymously seek and provide support 24/7. To sign up, go to togetherall.com and use your student email address to register as a member of a university or college.
• Student Wellbeing Support Line: Open 24 hours a day, including over weekends and bank holidays. The number is 0800 028 3766.

To get the most from counselling, it is important that you commit to attending your sessions regularly and provide your counsellor with at least one working day's notice if you are unable to attend. If you have an in-person session booked, and you are unable to attend, your counsellor may be able to transfer this to an online session at the same time. Students who cancel without adequate notice more than once or do not attend without contacting their counsellor or Health Assured first, may have their sessions terminated for a period of time. This is to ensure that other students can access the service in a timely manner.

After you complete counselling

You might find that once you complete your sessions, you continue to reflect on what you have learnt and introduce changes to your life. After some time has passed, if you feel that you would like further sessions, feel free to complete another form. The counselling service opens to second requests in the Spring term each year.

Providing feedback

We would like our students to have a positive and meaningful experience so it is important for us to hear from you. If you feel that counselling has been beneficial, or if you have suggestions to strengthen the service, please complete our SWIS Student Survey. You will also have the chance to win a £5 SU Voucher. If you'd like to email us directly to provide feedback or raise any concerns, you can contact the Counselling Manager on studentcounselling@essex.ac.uk