University and College Counselling, September 2023
Gathering the evidence

What research tells us

Breaking point: Colleges in Scotland // SCORE consortium: Counselling and academic outcome // Service wellbeing: Research from University of Bristol // Duty of care: A legal perspective

In February 2002, Donald Rumsfeld, the then US Secretary of State for Defence, stated at a Defence Department briefing: ‘…we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don’t know we don’t know.’¹

In this issue we delve into a heap of knowns and unknowns to illustrate the power and value of research. Getting the evidence allows us to make informed decisions about the future.

Grateful thanks to Fabienne dos Santos Sousa, Annabella Feeny, and Pierre Musa Halime Wessel who present a fascinating insight into challenges and opportunities for counselling in Scottish colleges.

Afra Turner, BACP UC Research Special Interest Group (SIG) Chair, and Chair of the SCORE consortium, interviews BACP Research Fellow Robert Scruggs about the latest SCORE research published in Counselling & Psychotherapy Research journal which reviewed the impact of counselling on academic outcomes.²

David Sibley steps up to share some insightful considerations based on a wellbeing project he undertook at the University of Bristol Student Counselling Service.

There has been a recent debate in several forums about the extent or limit to which universities have a statutory duty of care to students. Alice Kendle from Farrer & Co presents a well-considered legal consideration.

I’m pleased to share a report from the new Staff Counselling SIG, Ayan Ali, as well as welcoming back Afra Turner (Chair of the BACP UC Research SIG) and Jane Harris (Chair of HUCS) for their updates.

Thanks to our brilliant regular columnists Michael Pearson and Sarah Hinds who write, respectively, about anxiety and artificial intelligence.

I’m pleased to feature Roxana Parra Sepulveda from the University of Roehampton as our Profile interviewee, who gives us an insight into her fascinating therapeutic journey

And finally, thanks to our talented illustrator Gareth Cowlin who presents a wonderful perspective of the impact of stammering.

Hopefully it’s a known known that you’ll enjoy this issue.

Open article

Features

Regulars

News and resources
A summary of current issues and opportunities in our sector

Divisional news

The spoken and the unspoken

'As students share their stories, we listen to how the narrative is shaped and expressed, and the degree of congruity and incongruity of affect, in our clients and ourselves'

Notes from the Chair of BACP UC and from Colleges, Jane Harris

Improving the field of student mental health

'Now more than ever, university and college counselling services and practitioners are expected to demonstrate a research-informed practice...'

Notes from research SIG, Dr Afra Turner

Increase demand for staff counselling

'There was a buzz around campus for graduations, including postponed ones. It was a joy to see students and their loved ones celebrating'

Notes from staff counselling, Ayan Ali

References

1. United States Department of Defense. News Transcript: DoD News Briefing – Secretary Rumsfeld and General Myers. defense.gov 2002; 12 February. [Online.] https://archive. ph/20180320091111/http://archive.defense.gov/Transcripts/Transcript.aspx?TranscriptID=2636 (accessed 20 July 2023).
2. Scruggs R, Broglia E, Barkham M, Duncan C. The impact of psychological distress and university counselling on academic outcomes: analysis of a routine practice-based dataset. Counselling & Psychotherapy Research 2023; 23(3): 781–789. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/capr.12640