Psychodynamic counselling in a university setting: A space for thinking together over emotional problems

Abstract

The authors describe their experience as psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapists at the Counselling Service for University Students of the Office for Student Affairs, Naples. In this service they have provided, for the last fourteen years, to any student who applies to it, up to four individual sessions, with the possibility of follow-up sessions, should the client ask for them after a few months. Both the procedure and the aims of the interventions are similar to those described by psychotherapists working at the Tavistock Clinic (Copley 1976; Salzberger-Wittenberg 1977) and the Brent Consultation Centre (Hurry 1986; Novick 1987) of London. The technique is an adjustment of the psychoanalytic one and the therapist undertakes a careful listening to the student's verbal and non-verbal communications. The main objective of the intervention is to enter into an alliance with the adult parts of the client in order to examine together his/her personal difficulties. A case report is presented, in order to exemplify both an emotional conflict which can interfere with academic success and the technique of the intervention.