To help you get the most from your time here, the Student Counselling Centre offers the following services:
These services are free for students who are registered with the University of Leeds. The Centre is open all year round except weekends, bank holidays and Christmas to New Year.
Our Self Help Resource room offers a very wide range of links, downloadable MP3s and PDFs which have been alphabetically ordered by subject. So, whether you are seeking information about mental health and illness, a PDF to help you better manage anger, a booklist of self-help titles, information on different therapeutic modalities, drugs, alcohol, anxiety or depression - or maybe some links or MP3s to help you relax or meditate - you'll find it all here. The quality of all of these resources has been checked and the contents of the room are reguarly updated. To access the resources, just click on the Self Help Resources menu button to your left.
A therapeutic consultation will be offered to you when we receive your on-line Self Referral form. This is an opportunity to meet with an experienced counsellor for about 60 minutes to discuss in more detail the issues you outlined on your Self Referral form and then decide the best way of helping you resolve your difficulties. The counsellor may be able to tell you about self help resources or workshops that could be useful for you, or give you information about a specialist service you could access. If you both feel counselling is the best way forward, the counsellor will refer you for a series of counselling sessions at the Student Counselling Centre. For some people, a therapeutic consultation might be all they need to help them get back on track, although the counsellor will usually suggest a follow up session to review how things are going.
Once you have been offered a TC you need to confirm that you are attending at least 48 hours before the appointment time or the appointment may be offered to someone else. If you are offered an appointment less than 48 hours before the proposed meeting, you will normally be expected to confirm your intention to attend or not at the time you are offered the appointment.
We have a very high demand for Therapeutic Consultations so if you do not attend the a TC appointment you will have to re-apply online.
How can it help?
Counselling gives you time and space to explore issues that are of concern to you. These might include:
Counsellors will not be able to provide instant solutions but will listen and aid an increasing awareness of yourself and your choice of possibilities.
To come for counselling takes courage as it involves facing up to your difficulties and asking someone else for help. It is not a sign of weakness but a sign that you are taking steps to address any problems you are experiencing.
We usually offer contracts of up to four sessions per person. These sessions last fifty minutes and are usually held weekly. In most cases this number of sessions is sufficient and ensures that everyone who applies for counselling is seen in the shortest time possible. You can return to the Student Counselling Centre for further counselling throughout your time at the University of Leeds.
To register and interest in a group please read this Information about SCC Groupwork and then click here on Sign-up form for groups. You will then be sent a link to register for the group.
This group is for any UoL student who wants to manage their feelings and thoughts with more ease. In it, you will be shown a set of Mindfulness based techniques which, if practiced regularly, will help you to deepen your capacity to relax, to concentrate and to manage what goes on inside of you. These techniques help the majority of people who suffer insomnia, anxiety, stress and depression to be able to reduce their symptoms quite quickly. You also do not need to share the content of any of your difficulties for the techniques to work! The best results will be achieved by participants who work regularly on the techniques in between as well as in the sessions so free MP3 files are provided to support your practice. Mindfulness enables us to focus upon ourselves with more kindness and compassion, enabling us to make the best of ourselves.
Runs: See schedule below
Time: Fridays 2pm - 3pm
Venue: The Group Room, The Student Counselling Centre
Facilitator: James Taylor
Please note that there are a maximum of 8 particpants in each group and you need to sign up for each separate session not more than 7 days before. This is both to make sure that the group is not oversubscribed on any given day and in recognition of our need to be flexible in response to your timetables!
If you have signed up but are unable to make the group, please contact us to say so we can offer the place to others!
Session Titles and Dates
Session 1: How to Relax Deeply
Session 2: How to use breath and posture to achieve Calm & Stillness
Session 3: How to let go of tension in Body and Mind
Session 4: How to find a path to Clarity and Openness
Term 1 Begins 14/10/2011 and runs for the following 8 weeks finishing on 09/12/11
Term 2 Begins 20/01/12 and runs for the following 8 weeks finishing on 09/03/12
Term 3 Begins 27/04/12 and runs for the following 8 weeks finishing on 15/06/12 * there will be no group on 04/04/12 and 25/05/12 as James Taylor is not available on these two days.
How do I join?
Complete the Self-Referral form on the front page of the Student Counselling Centre Web Site and from there you can be referred into the group by the counsellor you met for your Therapeutic Consultation.
Please state the name of the counsellor you saw for your Therapeutic Consultation when you apply for this group.
For more information please download: Feel better faster 2011-12
Runs: for 8 consecutive Wednesdays at the SCC.
Time: 2.30 - 4pm
Dates: 25 January 2012 until 17 March
Venue: The Student Counselling Centre
Facilitator: Liz Oxley
How do I join? Complete the Group Sign up form.
For further information please contact e.oxley@leeds.ac.uk or download:
From Monday to Friday, there is a daily 'drop-in' service at 3.00 pm prompt. No appointment is necessary.
Students are seen briefly by the counsellor on duty on a first come, first served basis. The service is for people seeking information but it is not an emergency service.
If you already know you want a therapeutic consultation or counselling, please complete the Self-Referral form on the front page of our website as Drop-in sessions are not counselling or assessments for counselling. However, if you are having difficulty completing the Self-Referral form, seeking advice at Drop-in is appropriate.
Meditation is an effective way to relax and bring inner peace. It can help you to combat stress and improve your concentration and general health. The effects of meditation are cumulative and you are encouraged to attend as often as possible to get the most benefit. Over the course of a year you will have the chance to practice a diverse variety of meditations and warm up exercises. Sign-up for the group is weekly, on a first-come, first served basis, so you can come as and when you choose. The maximum amount of people able to attend the group is 11 per session. Not everyone can stay the full 90 minutes but it is ok for anyone who has a 1pm appointment to come for 60 minutes.
Runs: Weekly until 30th August 2012 starting again on 27th September 2012
Time: Thursdays 12 – 1.30
Venue: The Student Counselling Centre
Signing up: The Student Counselling Centre
Facilitator: James Taylor
Contact: j.r.e.taylor@leeds.ac.uk
For more information click SCC Meditation Group Info 2011-12
If you would like to register an interest in receiveing informatin about the group please click and complete this link: Sign-up form for groups
This exciting new programme of workshops is specifically designed to help you develop life skills that will improve your experience of being a student here at Leeds and beyond. Most take place at skills@library, 15 Blenheim Terrace at 2pm on wednesday afternoons. Workshops usually last 2 hours. All the workshops are facilitated by members of the SCC team, and some are co-facilitated by people from other student support services where appropriate.
For a current programme please click here: WoWs Semester 2
How to join a workshop
The Student Counselling Centre has a collection of Self Help Books which are housed in the Edward Boyle Library addressing a variety of common problems and issues. These books are managed and administered by the University Library. If you click on this link, http://lib5.leeds.ac.uk/rlists/counselling/ you can access these books in the same way you access academic books. You can access these books whether you have attended the Student Counselling Centre or not; sometimes a title may be suggested to you by your counsellor during a therapeutic consultation or a course of counselling sessions.
MP3 Downloads
8 Minutes to Calm (8 minutes)
Energy Gathering Relaxation (19 Minutes)
Relaxation (16 minutes)
Deep Relaxation (35 minutes)
Deep Relaxation - Inner Space (33 minutes)
Dissolving the body (22 minutes)
Energy Block Release 7 (39 minutes)
Abdominal Breath (7 minutes)
Deep Yogic Breath Lying (6 minutes)
Deep Yogic Breath Sitting (9minutes)
Alternative Nostril Breathing (3 minutes)
Trataka (6 minutes)
The Sitting Quietly Meditation (18 minutes)
Getting Grounded Meditation (29 minutes)
Disolving Stress Meditation (28 minutes)
The Blue Mist Meditation (33 Minutes)
Self Help Programmes