Having Counselling or Therapy?

University may not necessarily be the happiest days of one's life. Those who come to start their first year are often living away from home for the first time. This can be exciting and stimulating, but it can also be stressful, as familiar people and places are left behind. Even for those who had been at boarding schools, the new scene is so much vaster and places a much bigger burden of responsibility on each individual.

Later on, there is the pressure of working for examinations, on which so much depends, and the possibility of broken relationships, not to mention the prospect of going out into the world of work.

It's not surprising that many students feel the need, at some point, for professional support and guidance. Talking to friends can be beneficial, but if the personal difficulties are more serious, help may be needed from a person who has the necessary training and experience. The help that can be offered is usually described as 'counselling' or as 'psychotherapy' if it is longer and more intensive. Whatever the therapist's method, it will usually provide the opportunity for confidential discussion of problems which might be too personal to share with fellow students.

Student health services usually include psychotherapists (some of whom are doctors) as well as counsellors. Clinical psychologists are often part of the therapeutic team. It's important for a client to know what sort of professional person is being seen. But outside the organised services, many people offer psychological help which is broadly described as 'counselling'; the quality of this service may vary a great deal.

Potential clients may be grateful when they find someone who can listen to them confidentially. At the same time, before getting deeply involved in a 'therapeutic' relationship, there's a need to find out exactly what is on offer. Whilst psychotherapy or counselling can be enormously helpful, there's also the possibility of ill-effects - as with almost any treatment. Some people have had their lives very badly affected by therapy which was too intrusive or too much based on doubtful theories.

Some therapists adopt a "psychodynamic" approach, looking at the underlying causes of present problems, which they may believe to emanate from the client's childhood. Others focus on their client's present circumstances and attitudes and offer practical advice on re-evaluating personal difficulties. This is sometimes referred to as "cognitive behavioural" therapy. People should think carefully about what type of help they need and be wary of therapists or counsellors who take a very negative view of parents and families or seem determined to focus exclusively on past experiences. They should be especially suspicious of a therapist who suggests that the past experiences "causing" their present problems may have been forgotten.. There is no scientific evidence that forgotten or "repressed" memories are responsible for problems in later life.. Any attempt to impose techniques like 'age regression' or 'reawakening memories' should be a danger signal that this is not the right person to be offering help. People often become very suggestible during therapy and there is a serious risk that this kind of process can leave clients with false and damaging beliefs about themselves and other people. It can also lead to long term dependence on their therapist.

Those who seek help from a student health service are unlikely to find themselves involved in such a situation. But whenever psychological treatment is on offer, clients have to make sure all the time that their independence as a person is not being threatened and that they are not being heavily influenced by someone else's theories and dogmatic views.