• Site Map
• Campus Map
• A-Z Index
• Staff Intranet
• Contacts

Counselling Services

Overview

At the University Counselling Service a free and confidential service is provided 5 days per week from 9.00am until 6.00 pm to assist post-graduate and under-graduate students with personal, work or study related difficulties. Through the Employee Assistance Program the same service is also provided for both general and academic staff. If you are experiencing a problem you are welcome to come and have a chat about it with one of our Counsellors. The number of consultations needed depends on the problem but many difficulties require only one or a few sessions. Consultations typically last 50 minutes and are by appointment. Although appointments are usually made a week or more ahead, some emergency time-slots are available every day for crisis situations where someone needs to be seen immediately. To make an appointment call our receptionist on 4221 3445 or drop into the Counselling Service on Level 3, Building 11. Feel free to ask for a male or female counsellor if you have a preference.

If the student is currently seeing a Counsellor and adverse circumstances have impacted negatively on their studies they can ask the Counsellor to provide Assessments for Special Consideration.  If the student has not previously attended a counselling session, the fastest way to obtain Special Consideration documentation is to download and complete the Statutory Declaration available at the  UOW website.  To be valid, the Statutory Declaration must be witnessed by an appropriate person (eg. Justice or the Peace, Public Notary, Legal Practitioner etc.) and submitted with your Special Consideration to Student Central, Building 17, ground floor.  Justices of the Peace (JP’s) are available at Student Central between 9:00am and 10:00am daily.

The University Counsellors are experienced registered psychologists who practice in accord with the professional and ethical requirements of the N.S.W. Psychologists Registration Board. They are full members of the Australian Psychological Society, the premier professional association for psychologists in Australia. They regularly engage in peer supervision and undertake professional development activities to update their skills and knowledge base.

Some examples of the problems and issues that people bring to the Counselling Service are:

• couple and family issues
• communication problems
• relationship break-up
• coping with and adjusting to medical conditions and health problems
• sexual preference and sexual identity issues
• sexual problems
• pregnancy, abortion
• loneliness
• low self-esteem and lack of confidence
• stress
• anxiety and depression
• bereavement and grief
• eating problems and body image issues
• drugs and alcohol
• coping with physical or mental illness
• adjustment to life changes
• adjustment to study
• adjusting when you are the first family member to attend uni
• adjusting when you have come from another culture
• difficulty concentrating
• time management and juggling priorities
• conflict with fellow students or staff
• coping with failure
• life-planning and values

The counsellors encourage you to access their 'resource page', which offers a diverse collection of information on mental health, life skills, and tips on 'how to do it', including a link to the 6 ACT Conversations website. The program is very helpful for all who want to do life better, regardless of whether or not you are coping with daily hassles or bigger problems.