Performance indicators for student services

New arrangements for funding higher education institutions promise to introduce sharper management styles. Such institutions can anticipate that much closer scrutiny will be given to the details of their activities, with value for money becoming a more prominent factor. The development of performance indicators offers management a way of evaluating effectiveness and efficiency. It may be difficult to develop valid performance indicators for many aspects of higher education, but perhaps those difficulties will be greatest in relation to services whose activities are essentially private and as such hidden. An approach to the development of performance indicators is presented which could be effective in relation to counselling services in higher education institutions.     

The student counsellor as a team member

Describing the future roles and services of British counsellors in higher and further education must not be done in professional isolation. We need to consider how the future roles of professional counsellors will positively affect the counselling done by academic staff Furthermore, rather than making generalisations about counselling needs, it may be better for working parties or task forces to develop counselling models which are appropriate to particular institutions. Such task forces should address some of the pressing issues confronting academic institutions: for example, (1) the revitalisation of the curriculum; (2) the improvement of the out-of-classroom relationships between academic staff and students; and (3) the development and maintenance of effective systems of academic government. If counsellors are to develop services which will help to resolve some of the problems associated with these issues, they will have to be increasingly clear about their own values.     

University Counselling Services in Australia and New Zealand: Activities,Changes, and Challenges

The high prevalence of stress and psychological distress in university students highlights the need for adequate support services to enable students to achieve their goals. This study aimed to describe counselling services available to university students in Australia and New Zealand and to benchmark them against international services. Participants were five Australian and three New Zealand Counselling Services. Results showed that counselling services are using a variety of formats and e‐technologies to deliver services to students, but are hampered by limited resources compared with their international counterparts. These include very high counsellor student ratios, lower average number of consultations per student, and lower mental health qualifications of counsellors. This has even greater implications in the context of higher education reform in Australia that may further widen the gap between needs of students and available counselling services. Inadequate counselling support can negatively impact on students, universities, and the community through lost potential.     

Setting the standards: Implications for higher education of the introduction of occupational standards for advice, guidance and counselling

Current developments in the delivery of advice, guidance and counselling to students in higher education are outlined. A range of possible consequences for higher education of the introduction of occupational standards in the advice, guidance and counselling field is identified. Issues that higher education institutions and awarding bodies will need to address are explored.     

Factors affecting self-referral to counselling services in the workplace: a qualitative study

The benefits of psychological support in the workplace (also known as workplace counselling) are well documented. Most large organisations in the UK have staff counselling schemes. However, it is unclear what, if any, factors affect employee decisions to use such schemes. This study has used a qualitative methodology to explore the reasons that make employees use workplace counselling. Eleven employees of a university in the north of England who had used the staff counselling service of their employer took part in the study. The employer had two schemes available: an internal staff counselling service and an external Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). A semi-structured interview was used with each participant and grounded theory techniques were used to analyse the interviews. The analysis resulted in the construction of a model of psychological help-seeking in the workplace. The main findings indicate that most participants were motivated to use their employer's counselling service by their prior positive experiences of similar or other type of mental health services. Other encouraging factors were: recommendation of service by others, a supportive environment and trust in the confidential ethos of the service. Conversely, negative preconceptions of psychological help-seeking and a perception of the employing environment as unsafe were shown to have been discouraging factors. The study concludes with suggestions for practice and for further research.     

Counselling in primary care: past, present and future

The rapid growth of counselling in primary care has happened unofficially and almost by stealth over recent years until it has established a niche within many primary health care teams. If it is to survive following the latest reform of the NHS, it has some serious challenges to face. These challenges are to the very nature of counselling and involve the need to establish the professional identity of the counsellor in primary care. The current bias towards the regulation of health professionals also impinges upon counsellors in this domain, along with the need for their effective management and harmonisation of services within the health service. Evidence for the effectiveness of counselling is a pressing concern in a realm where the random control trial has reigned supreme. Whether or not counselling in primary care is subsumed into other health care professionals' roles is a matter for much speculation. Perhaps counselling will become 'medicalised' or perhaps it will develop further and continue to offer a different perspective on health and healing and remain in place to further enrich the services offered in primary care.     

Guidance and Counselling in Further and Higher Education

The publication in 1973 of Student Counselling in Practice signalled a new phase in the development of both careers and counselling services in the tertiary sector. The emergence of the professional careers adviser in higher education is described alongside the key role of the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services. The gradual professionalisation of student counselling is shown to have taken a different form, as a result of the policies of the Association for Student Counselling with its insistence on role definition and the accreditation of practitioners. Developments in further education are briefly reviewed, and a final section considers the present situation and possible future trends.     

Challenges to addressing student mental health in embedded counselling services: a survey of UK higher and further education institutions

With reports continually demonstrating increased demand and severity of student mental health needs, it is important to gain a fuller understanding of the impact on embedded student counselling services. The aims of this research were to identify (a) service similarities, (b) factors which impact on services, (c) characteristics of service users, and (d) the use of therapeutic technology (e.g. online self-help). An online survey was completed by 113 heads of UK student counselling services across Higher Education (HE), Further Education (FE), and Sixth Form Colleges (SFCs), to capture service data from the academic year 2013/14. Students predominantly received high-intensity support (e.g. counselling) and referrals increased over 3 years. Challenges to embedded counselling services and their implications for development are discussed.     

Counselling students, training counsellors: Quality within quantity

The clash between the opposing needs of financial constraints and an increasingly distressed student population is being widely debated in higher education. A successful attempt to circumvent this dilemma is described. This involved setting up an expanded counselling network with an emphasis on professional service provision, and combining this with the training and professional development of a network of part-time counsellors. Ethical and practical issues are explored in detail, and encouragement is given to other institutions to use a similar model.     

Strategic planning and performance measurement: Implications for careers services in higher education

Increasing pressures are being exerted on careers services in higher education to demonstrate their effectiveness. To avoid the imposition of crude and inappropriate measures, the issue of performance measurement needs to be subsumed within a broader approach to strategic planning. Two models are presented: a strategic-planning process used in the business sector, and a model developed for establishing accountability in careers services. Issues are identified in relation both to the process of the models and to the content of the careers-service matters to which they might be applied (many of these issues are relevant to other guidance and counselling services in higher education and elsewhere). Finally, some brief examples are presented of strategic planning in action.     

Private work in public places: Confidentiality and role tensions in a university counselling service

This paper aims to explore issues of confidentiality relating to working with undergraduate and postgraduate students in a university counselling service. The context of a counselling service within our institute of higher education has to be understood in its relationship to academic, administrative and managerial staff, to medical and psychiatric services personnel and to the wide range of other student support and welfare services in the organization whether run by university staff or the students' union. Some reflection will be given to the need for clarity in the range of roles counsellors have to play within the different functions of the university. The client-counselling relationship cannot be seen as a dyad but as a triad or an even more complex constellation of relationships when regarded in an institutional context. The central premise is based on understanding the conscious and unconscious dynamics in the institution and how these impinge on the relationship between client and counsellor in challenging or assuming the confidentiality held by the service. Such boundary issues are identified in consultation and referral, breaking confidentiality, referral of disruptive students, calls for help and holding confidentiality. The case material drawn on to illustrate these five areas is also described in terms of anxieties raised and how these are projected, introjected and contained.

Within the service client and counsellor contract to work together. It is made clear that counselling is a professional relationship with agreed boundaries and a commitment to confidentiality. This is crucial to the working relationship and is a means of providing the client with both safety and privacy. Any limitation on the degree of confidentiality offered may reduce the usefulness of counselling. Bound by his or her professional code of ethics the counsellor will reach an agreement with the client at the outset about the extent of confidentiality they are offering, take care not to disclose information given in confidence and, when possible, be able to negotiate any change in agreement with the client.

Exceptional circumstances which may occur and give rise to the counsellor's decision to break the confidentiality formerly agreed between him or herself and the client are those which give grounds for believing the client will cause serious harm to others or themselves or have harm caused to them. Reference will be made to the role of consultant supervision in such situations and how any breaking of confidentiality can best be minimized. Attention will be given to the relevant ethical codes to which counsellors adhere and the issues of confidentiality within the legal process as well as whether the requirements of providing counselling services for students in higher education impel us, logically and practically, towards certain policies in regard to boundaries.     

Dropping-in: the unexamined encounter

The paper seeks to initiate some discussion and debate on the widespread practice within Further Education and Higher Education counselling services of offering brief initial meetings to students during a 'walk in' hour. As counselling services with limited resources struggle to meet the challenge of increasing numbers and increasing severity of disturbance among the student population, this paper puts forward the view that nevertheless, cutting down on a full assessment session may not be the best response. While the author is aware of the considerable thought and ingenuity applied to this area by HE and FE colleagues, and the wide variety of practice which is emerging, the purpose of this paper is to focus specifically on the practice of the 'drop-in'. This term refers to an initial meeting which runs from anything between 5 minutes and half an hour, does not require a prior appointment and is differentiated in this paper from other responses such as emergency slots, duty hours or full initial assessment interviews. A further paper, in collaboration with colleagues from a number of different institutions, will aim to research the impact of a range of pre-assessment interventions on clients, counsellors, the counselling service and the institution. In the light of the generally brief counselling offered within the HE and FE setting, the generally late adolescent client group and the growing concern about student mental health, some clinical and service issues are explored. The paper then discusses the impact of the drop-in at the level of the institution, arguing that it has a powerful symbolic function, albeit in fantasy, of offering staff a quick solution to difficult-to-manage anxiety and distress. Going further, the suggestion is made that the arrival of the drop-in can be seen as part of a much wider unconscious attack on thinking that is taking place within educational institutions generally, where a place for the kind of thought and reflection offered by psychological therapies is being relentlessly squeezed out. A much fuller debate on the largely unexamined practice of the drop-in is called for.     

Counselling in colleges of education

Information on the form and functioning of student welfare services in colleges of education is reported from evidence supplied by college principals, by counsellors, and by student bodies reporting through their union presidents. The personal tutor system is ubiquitous, but is supplemented in two-fifths of the colleges by full-time and/or part-time 'trained' counsellors.¹ Where the personal tutor system operates alone, a modest degree of effectiveness can be claimed in dealing with academic and vocational problems, but little success in identifying and resolving the more personal problems of students. Various inferences are drawn for the further development of counselling services in colleges of education.     

Beyond resolution of presenting issues: Clients' experiences of an in‐house police counselling service

The availability of counselling services for employees has expanded significantly in recent years. However, despite an increase in appreciation of the value of counselling within the police service, there has been little research into the effectiveness of counselling with police personnel. The present study assesses an in‐house counselling service provided by the welfare and counselling department of a Scottish police force. Thirteen former clients (including both police officers and civilian support staff) were interviewed about their views on four areas of the counselling provision: how they entered counselling, the issues they brought, their experiences during counselling, and their assessment of the impact of counselling on their lives. Interviews were analysed using a grounded theory approach, which identified four main categories: initial engagement, learning by participating, experiencing moments of deep self‐examination, and moving beyond resolution of presenting problems. All of those who were interviewed appreciated the provision of a counselling service within their employment, and the majority reported that they had not only been helped to resolve their presenting problems, but had also made important gains in self‐awareness and work effectiveness. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for service delivery and future research.     

Closing the distance: Counselling at open university residential schools

Counselling at Open University Summer Schools is identified as a very distinctive counselling context, differentiated both from that of distance learning systems and from the campus-based services available to further and higher education students. A rationale for its inclusion is advanced in terms of giving learners continuity of support, ready access to information and advice, and help in integrating the affective and cognitive aspects of learning. Variables affecting the organisation of counselling services are elicited and options outlined, with an illustrative case-study of a counselling week. Difficulties in relating this practice to a relevant body of theory, definitions and models are indicated. Finally, three key elements for a counselling model are suggested: a plural and eclectic understanding of counselling; a conception of learning as concerning both affective and cognitive domains; and the framework of a time-limited helping context.     

Benchmarking key service quality indicators in UK Employee Assistance Programme Counselling: A CORE System data profile

Background: Levels of psychological distress appear to be increasing in the workplace, in parallel with the growth of employee assistance programme (EAP) provision offering a range of talking treatments. However, such growth takes place in the absence of a substantive body of supporting research evidence despite a quarter of a decade of research activity. Aims: To analyse a national sample of EAP data and profile relative service quality on a set of key service indicators. Method: CORE System data profiles of over 28,000 clients were voluntarily donated by six EAP service providers. An established benchmarking methodology was used to assess the relative quality of EAP service provision compared with published CORE System benchmarks for NHS primary care and UK higher education student counselling services. Results: High quality data profiled an EAP service clientele who were quantifiably distressed, accessed treatment quickly, with the majority completing treatment and demonstrating high rates of recovery and/or improvement relative to published benchmarks from the NHS and HE comparative sectors. Limitations of the study and implications for practice and further investigation are considered.     

Assessment of HIV counselling and social care services in a London hospital

The use of, and satisfaction with, counselling and social care services was investigated among HIV-infected clients attending HIV specialist climes at Guy's Hospital and Southwark Social Services, London. A survey of 71 clients with HIV infection was carried out using a self-administered questionnaire. The greatest demand was for advice about income support, housing, counselling for the HIV test, counselling for depression or anxiety, psychological support for coping with HIV, help with sleeping problems, mobility allowance, and help with furniture/household appliances. Overall, 57% thought the service was good or excellent; 66% of respondents thought they would use the services in the future. Over nine in ten clients had used the psychosocial support services at some stage since their HIV diagnosis, although only two-thirds anticipated that they would have need of these services in the future. The psychosocial support service will need to remain responsive to the shift in demand for this service, as well as the changing needs of clients who use it.     

The participation of children and adolescents in family counselling: The German experience

This paper reflects the experiences of young people in child guidance and family counselling. For this purpose, first the institutional background of these counselling services in Germany is outlined. The fact that the adolescents concerned feel partly excluded and insufficiently integrated into the counselling process is illustrated through qualitative analysis of the experiences 17 young people had during their counselling process. These empirical findings are critically discussed in terms of the institutional conditions and methodical approaches which counteract the involvement of the actual addressees of the counselling service. The paper concludes that professionals need to attend more to facilitating the participation of young people.     

Exploration of counsellors' perceptions of the redesigned service pathways: a qualitative study of a UK university student counselling service

To address the mental health needs of students, UK universities offer bespoke student counselling services. Economic pressures have led services to find innovative ways of redesigning their service pathway. Few studies have investigated staff perceptions of these changes. The aim of this study was to investigate perceptions of staff employed as counsellors at a student counselling service at a UK university that underwent service delivery changes. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with counsellors (n = 5). Framework analysis was used to identify themes and meta-themes. Five meta-themes were identified: the overarching service ethos and service working style; change in the university context; impact of change on working practice; recording and perceived impact on confidentiality; acceptability and effectiveness. Changes to the service resulted in a more efficient service that is perceived to be more acceptable to students. Staff perceptions differed regarding how changes have affected their counselling practice. Despite these differences, the increase in workload was consistently expressed. Tensions remain as staff strive to maintain high standards of service in this changing context. Future research should investigate the process of developing and implementing change as student counselling services strive to evolve sustainable ways of working.     

A counselling service for nurses in training

An account is given of the inception and development of a counselling service for nurses in training at a large London teaching hospital. The aims of the service are described, as are the evolving role of the counsellor and the use made of the service both by student nurses and other members of the hospital organisation. Some recommendations are made concerning the future development of counselling services within National Health Service hospitals.