General information about the Counselling Service

Counselling is a process which offers you the opportunity to explore any issues which are causing you concern or distress. These matters can be emotional or social or they might be connected to your work or studies.

Sometimes the concern can be about an issue which has bothered you for some time; sometimes it can be the result of a recent event or crisis.

Counselling can create time and space to explore these issues in a confidential setting with a trained Counsellor who is not directly involved. This may give you a chance to find a new perspective on your problem and often to become more accepting of yourself in the process.

You can contact the University Counselling Service for an appointment, either by phone: 01224 272139, by e-mail: counselling@abdn.ac.uk or in person by dropping into the service at: 5 Dunbar Street, Old Aberdeen. We are open from Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm.

When you get in touch to arrange an appointment you will be offered an initial Exploratory session of half an hour with a Counsellor. The aim of this session is:

To decide whether this is the best service for you and if it is not, to give you information about other resources which may be more appropriate.

To tell you more about counselling and this service and to explore what you need and what we can offer. Some people find that they need just a few sessions; others find that they need longer. Sometimes people uncover issues in the process of counselling which take longer to deal with. Clients who use this service usually have a 50 minute appointment on a regular basis. We will work with you to reach an agreement about what would be best for you, within the bounds of our resources.

If you decide after the Exploratory session that you would like to try ongoing Counselling, the Counsellor will add your name to the waiting list and our Secretary will contact you once a counselling slot becomes available. If you wish to see the same Counsellor who you saw for the Exploratory session you can specify this at the time. Sometimes this may mean that you have to wait longer for counselling if the Counsellor does not currently have any spaces.

We also have Diploma in Counselling students from other institutions and Associate Counsellors who have recently qualified on placement at our Service offering counselling.

We prioritise our waiting list in terms of urgency which means that some people who feel that their situation is important but manageable may have to wait longer for ongoing counselling. Although we make every effort to offer appointments to all those requesting one as soon as we can, at times we have a considerable waiting list. If your situation changes and becomes more urgent while you are waiting, please get in touch again and we can offer you a one-off Emergency appointment.

Emergencies: If you consider your circumstances to be urgent in that your situation would deteriorate if you did not have the opportunity to speak to someone immediately or that you would no longer be able to cope, please let us know. We have several one-off emergency appointments every week for those in crisis.

Light Box

The Counselling Service has a 'Light Box' available for use. A Light Box is a portable box that emits a powerful diffuse light. It has been found that people suffering from seasonal affective disorder (SAD) experience mood changes during the winter months. When there are reduced daylight hours, they can benefit from regular exposure to the Light Box during this period. The Light Box is available to students and staff of the University who feel that exposure to additional light during the winter months could improve their well being. If you would like to use the Light Box and are not a client, we can arrange for you to meet with a Counsellor initially to discuss issues relevant to its use. It is possible to book sessions for the Light Box by contacting us at counselling@abdn.ac.uk or by telephoning (01224) 272139.

Library (self-help books)

The Counselling Service has an extensive collection of self-help books which can be borrowed by clients only .

We ask for a deposit of £5 per book, returnable when the book is brought back. Books can be borrowed for up to one month.

Please note - The library books listed and on our shelves do not always reflect the beliefs and values of UCS staff however they may still be of interest and help.

Relaxation CDs & Stress Pack

We have CDs available at the Counselling Service. The CD is £1.25. These are useful for relaxing before exams and coping with stress. The CD is available for downloading in MP3 format and a Stress Pack is also available at no charge to download here Self Help

We have a large range of self-help and information leaflets about various issues available in our porch and waiting room. Some of these are downloadable from Mind and our in house leaflets can be downloaded from leaflets A