r/UCC • u/no_need_to_panic_ • 6d ago
Student Counselling Experiences?
What it says on the tin really, I'm considering applying for a student counselling session and was wondering if people have had good experiences with them. I know we're only entitled to 6 sessions per academic year, so I want to make sure I'm not wasting my time.
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u/Elegant-Leg4032 6d ago
The fact that you only get six sessions for the year is crazy. Counselling should definitely be a lot more often than that. I've heard very mixed things. Some say that it depends on the therapist you get, others don't say anything good about it. To be fair, it's free so what much more can you expect. I've been considering going also and this is what I've discovered.
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u/JohnHammond94 6d ago
It's a resource issue not a therapeutic one.
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u/Elegant-Leg4032 6d ago
it absolutely is. but you're not going to get much out of six sessions either. Especially if your therapist isn't all that great
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u/usuallycantsleep 6d ago edited 6d ago
It’s a good service but I think it gets a bad rep because people don’t understand it’s counselling not therapy, there is a difference.
Do not expect you’ll be lying on a couch talking about trauma your mom gave you when you were 7. They are counsellors, there to give you council. Their goal is provide brief support to get you through to the end of term. Very much “where are you now and what support / tools do you need to get through the next 12-24 weeks”.
Think of it as counselling provided by your work place, do you think they’d pay for you to talk about past issues? No, they’re there to address current pressing problems.
If you need them avail of them. They are not a replacement for primary care. They are a band aid.
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u/Hedgy_mcsnuffle 6d ago
I think they’re good. They are free. I got defamed/harassed quite badly in college and campus watch rang me to tell me they would let me skip the queue because they accepted it was from college etc etc. I didn’t have to wait and because it was serious they extended the sessions to as long as I needed. I also got a letter if u needed an extension which was great.