In this issue
Features
Mental Health Week... getting the message out!
Bea Gavin describes how the university counselling service where she works is continually seeking innovative ways to raise its profile in the student and academic community
At ease with presentations
Anne-Marie Bradley outlines a workshop designed to help students accept their fears about making presentations and develop a more playful approach
Emotions and learning: in praise of a forum
Phil Topham shows how a forum on emotions and learning can promote inter-professional conversations about student support and development
Supervisor self-disclosure
Mike Owens considers the potential impact of what supervisors reveal to counsellor supervisees during supervision, and how to use supervisor self-disclosure well
The place where I touch base
Hania Porucznik describes a psychodynamic therapeutic group that she developed within her university counselling
service
Research
Visible silence: the actor’s body
Roanna Mitchell invites input to her research into how counselling services and teaching staff can work more effectively together on body image problems among student actors
Mentoring
HUCS consultation and mentoring scheme
Géraldine Dufour outlines a new consultation and mentoring service for senior managers
BACP Universities and Colleges updates
HUCS update
Regulars
Notes from the chair
Articles from this issue are not yet available online. Divisional members and subscribers can download the pdf from the University and College Counselling archive.
From the editor
'Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travellers don’t know where they’re going.' Paul Theroux
Which of these are we? Is there a third option? Mmm – hopefully a large number of you are, despite these hard times, in a position to plan your trip to Sheffield a month from now with a view to lifting your spirits, inspiring others and being inspired by them. In short, welcome to the pre-conference edition of the journal. The theme this year is ‘A world of difference – embrace and respond’. For those unable to attend or able to attend only part of it, we hope to bring you a flavour of the conference in the next issue.
But, staying in the present, this issue covers a broad range of topics, all or some of which will hopefully pique your interest. Bea Gavin describes how the university counselling service in Northern Ireland has found an innovative way to raise its profile in the wider student and academic community. Anne-Marie Bradley outlines a workshop designed to help students accept their fears about making presentations and, in doing so, develop a more playful approach. Phil Topham shows how a forum centered on emotions and learning can promote inter-professional conversations about student support and development (this complements Bea’s approach in some ways). Mike Owens considers how to use supervisor self-disclosure effectively and acknowledges its potential impact on supervisees. Hania Porucznik, a workshop presenter at last year’s conference, describes a psychodynamic therapeutic group that she developed at Oxford Brookes and its significance for students as ‘the place where I touch base’. And last but not least, Roanna Mitchell invites your input to her research into how counselling services and teaching staff can work more effectively together on body image problems among student actors.
We also have news from HUCS of their new mentoring scheme for those of you who may be newly in post as head of a counselling service, and a report on their activities over the past academic year.
As ever, we at the journal actively welcome and seek your input for ideas, contributions, reviews and opinions – please keep them coming in!
Dani Singer
Editor