Who We Are
TU Dublin Student Counselling Services aims to provide clinical and campus-based services to help students maintain and develop their emotional and mental well-being and achieve their academic and personal successes.
TU Dublin Student Counselling Services offers brief therapy. This approach focuses on helping students to effectively meet a desired goal within a short number of sessions.
Concerns that may be well addressed within the brief therapy include, but are not limited to:
- Anxiety (stress, worry, guilt)
- Depression symptoms (sadness, irritability, anger)
- Adjustment and phase of life (adjustment to college, graduation, life transition)
- Identity development (e.g., personal, racial/cultural, sexual, gender)
- Interpersonal concerns (family, friends, romantic partners, roommates)
- Grief or loss
- Academic concerns: performance anxiety, perfectionism, motivation or mental health issues that affect academic difficulties
- Effects of trauma or interpersonal violence
- Mild to moderate substance use concerns
- Some body image and eating concerns
All registered students are eligible for the service and may receive an initial assessment to determine their specific needs and how best to meet those. You can book your online assessment here: https://titaniumwc.tudublin.ie/TitaniumWeb/
The SCS does not provide counselling services to staff. Information on staff counselling is available here: Employee Assistance Service | TU Dublin
What We Do
Our Services
Assessment
The TU Dublin Student Counselling Service is open to all fully registered students to make an initial assessment appointment with one of our counsellors to discuss their concerns.
This conversation between the counsellor and the student generally involves a discussion of the student's current difficulties, a review of a therapeutic care plan, and recommendations to assist the student in obtaining the appropriate services in and/or outside of TU Dublin.
Recommendations may include receiving services at the TU Dublin Student Counselling Service (individual, group therapy, online programmes etc.), connecting to other campus resources and/or providing referrals to off-campus providers.
Individual Counselling
In order to meet the significant student demand on the service, we use a brief therapy approach. Brief therapy is short-term and focused on helping students to resolve or effectively manage specific problems, challenges, and goals or to make a particular desired change.
Group Programmes
In addition to individual counselling, group counselling can provide unique benefits including learning with and from peers, receiving feedback and support from peers in a counsellor-facilitated setting, and learning specific skills in a group environment. We have many group programmes which are popular and effective. Some examples include:
- Body Acceptance
- Procrastination
- Managing ADHD
- Anxiety
- Managing Emotions
We also run a number of Community Groups for such students as:
- Postgraduate
- International
See ‘Groups and Workshops’ section of the website for further information:
Online Mental Health Programme:
The Student Counselling service also offers online support through a number of online mental health programmes on the SilverCloud platform.
These programmes allow students to work on their personal difficulties in their own time, at their own pace. The Online programmes we offer can be engaged with as a self-help approach or students can be supported on the programme by members of the counselling team.
See ‘SilverCloud CBT Programme’ section of the website for further information:
Emergency Support
Support for students experiencing an emergency/urgent crisis is available each day from 9am- 1pm and from 2pm to 5pm. See ‘Emergency Support’ section of the website for further details.
For students with repeated use of emergency support, there may be discussion about referral to alternate or additional resources.
Confidentiality within TU Dublin Counselling Service:
All counsellors within the TU Dublin Student Counselling Service adhere to professional ethics codes and respect the privacy, integrity and welfare of those with whom they work.
To fulfil legal and ethical requirements, counsellors are obliged to breach confidentiality in the following circumstances:
- There is significant and/ or imminent risk of suicide and/or physical injury/harm to a student or others.
- There are reasonable concerns that a child or vulnerable adult is at risk of or has experienced abuse or neglect: This includes incidents of abuse which have happened in the past, happened to others, or have already been reported to the Gardai or other authorities.
In the latter case, the counsellor has a mandatory responsibility to refer that concern on to the appropriate Child and Family agency.
What We Don’t Do
Our counselling and other supports are time-limited; Students whose needs require long-term and/or intensive support will generally be referred to other services (such as the HSE) for ongoing treatment.
Similarly, students whose needs require a particular type of expertise that is not available in the TU Dublin Student Counselling Service are also referred to other services.
During periods of high demand, students will still be assessed and if individual counselling is indicated, they may be placed on a waitlist or be offered other interventions. To avoid a delay in care, we may also help students to connect with other services rather than place them on a waitlist.
In cases where a student's ongoing needs warrant a referral to other services, the Counselling Service may provide some limited interim support to the students whilst they are connecting to the appropriate other service.
Possible indicators for longer term or more intensive therapy may include: recent or multiple psychiatric hospitalisations, chronic thoughts of suicide, or history of repeated suicide attempts. Other indicators of a need for specialised services not available through the Counselling Service, include:
- Significant drug or alcohol problems such as substance dependence
- Severe or long-standing eating disorder symptoms
- A request for formal psychological assessment (e.g., ADHD testing)
- Services to fulfill students' court-mandated reports or treatment requirements
The general guidelines listed above are only intended to serve as a guide to assist therapeutic care planning. The nature and complexity of presenting concerns and the broader context are considered in making the appropriate recommendations. Students are evaluated individually and the professional judgment of members of the Counselling team will determine the recommendation in each particular case.