Counselling and Mental Health Service
Annual Report 2011-2012
Principal Developments during 2011/2012
It has been a very busy year for the Counselling and Mental Health team. There has again
been an increase in demand for one-to-one sessions for both services that make up the
team. We have also seen more presentations that would lend themselves to psychoeducational groups than in previous years. From October 2011, following the retirement of
the previous Senior Counsellor, the role was filled by a job-share comprised of Clare Nield
(previous acting senior) and Rod London. The changes in the senior role meant that a
vacancy became available for a full time counsellor. We were able to fill the position with
another job-share made up of Patti Wallace and Magda Powell. As these positions were
not fully employed until April 2012 this meant that at times we could not meet the demand.
We used the recruitment process as an opportunity to bring a variety of skills into the team
to further what we can offer as a service. All counsellors use an integrative approach but
have skills that now encompass gestalt therapy, person-centred counselling, CBT and EMDR.
We also used this recruitment opportunity to widen our skill base regarding experience and
training in delivering group work.
To resolve the staffing issues experience during the year we were able to partially fill the
gaps in provision with sessional staff. At times we had up to a six week waiting list for
appointments. This did mean that we had a much higher drop-out rate of students asking
for counselling and then not taking up appointment due to the extended waiting time. For
the second year running we successfully ran the ‘Listening Ear Service’ for students
experiencing transitional difficulties with adapting to life at University.
At the beginning of the academic year we also had an opening for a full time Mental Health
Advisor. We were fortunate enough to have this position filled as a job-share of two
experienced Mental Health nurses, Angie Harding and Carol Bottomley. Both new Mental
Health Advisors are able to undertake full mental health assessment and have good links
with local NHS secondary services. Carol was able to start in the role in October and Angie
in December. The interim period was covered by an experienced Mental Health Advisor,
Steve Wilding, until these appointments could be made.
Having a full quota of staff enabled both services to run successfully throughout the summer
and continue to support on-going clients. The quieter time of the summer also enabled the
services to use time for services development such as developing new evaluations using
Bristol online survey.
The Mental Health Service worked throughout the summer with the incoming cohort of
students who have declared mental health conditions. There has yet again been an increase
in demand for the mental health advisory services in particular in the first semester.
Services Users and Statistics
The Counselling Service
There was a high demand for the counselling service through most of the academic year.
There was much less of a demand from new students presenting in June, July and August
although sessions were still continuing with on-going clients. Sessions were limited by
staffing as we were in the process of recruiting, making waiting lists build up to six weeks at
peak times.
350 students approached the service for counselling, 294 students were seen for
counselling.
New students presenting at the service
for counselling
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Peak times for students to approach the service are November and February. As we were
not fully staffed these were the times when the waiting list was at its greatest.
Overall 1343 counselling sessions were booked. There was an 80% attendance with
approximately 10% cancellation rate and 10% did not attend. Of the cancellations most
would have been rebooked.
Profile of clients using the Counselling Service.
Year of study
120
100
80
60
Year of study
40
20
0
1st Year
2nd Year
3rd Year
Post Grad
The numbers of students using the counselling service has changed from the previous year
seeing a big increase in first years from 28% of clients seen to 37% of clients seen. In the
year 2010-2012 the largest group using the service were second years, this shows as third
years increasing as the students’ progress though the academic cycle. The number of
second years reduced by half, from 45% to 20% reflecting a similar number from when that
year group were in their first year of study. The number of post graduates using the service
has reduced by half.
250
200
150
100
50
0
Male
Female
Non-Mature
Mature
As with the last two years we are pleased to have had a small increase in males using the
service. This is only a small increase of 3% but it is building year on year. We have also seen
as increase in younger students using the service.
Presenting concerns
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Self Harm
Welfare &…
Transitions
Sexual issues
Self & Identity
Relationships
Eating Disorders
Physical Health
Other Mental…
Loss
Depression
Addictive…
Anxiety
Academic
Abuse
Presenting
concerns
We have seen a slight change in the presenting concerns that students bring when they first
approach the service. There has been an increase in students presenting with academic
concerns and transitional problems. We have also observed an increase of cases of abuse
presenting to the service. The presenting concern does not necessarily reflect the
underlying concern.
Mental Health Team 2011/2012
Most of the data presented here covers the period from November 2010 to August 2011. The lack of
detailed data for September-October is due to the service provision in the interim between the end
of the previous Advisor’s service and commencement by the current Mental Health Advisors. This
interim period was covered by a member of university staff on an emergency part-time basis and so
figures can only be partial. Unless otherwise stated, all data excludes figures for the service provided
on this emergency basis.
Additionally, comparative data for previous years is not available making observation of trends
impossible except in the profile of presenting issues.
The Mental Health Advisors worked with a total of 126 students with the following breakdown:
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Male
Female
Non Mature
Mature
When compared with data for the Counselling Service, this suggests that male students are more
likely to present to Mental Health services and/or that they leave seeking intervention until it
becomes a mental health issue – something borne out in national data for the general population.
The figures suggest that a disproportionately higher number of mature students present with mental
health issues than are represented in the university as a whole.
Year of Study
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1st Year
2nd Year
3rd Year
Post Grad
The high number of 1st Year students is due to the proactive efforts of the Mental Health Advisor to
contact those students who have declared pre-existing mental health diagnoses in their university
application.
Presenting Concerns for students using
the mental health service
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
The data shows a marked increase in the number of students presenting with depression and
anxiety – almost double the numbers on the previous year. Whilst most other presentations have
remained stable with only minor fluctuations, the data suggesting reductions in students with
bipolar diagnoses, psychosis and personality disorders and an increase in those with OCD. It is
important to remember with this kind of comparison that many students presenting to the Mental
Health Service will experience significant anxiety and depression in addition to any other specific
condition.
Number of appointments/sessions
The vast majority attended for 1-3 sessions and only 20% attending more than 7 appointments.
Use of appointments over the whole year
Booked 750
Attended 539
Cancelled 79
DNA 132
Spread of Mental Health appointments
This data shows the number of students attending Mental Health Services throughout the year. This
includes not only those attending pre-arranged appointments but also those who dropped-in and
were seen by an Advisor. The figures for September-November include those for the emergency
mental health provision which was part-time.
Number of appointments in the mental
health service
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
The continuous attendance to Mental Health Services throughout the year shows the ongoing needs
of these students regardless of the academic yearly cycle. However there are clear peak periods
which correspond with various aspects of the academic year: November is the point in the year
when most students have started their courses and are beginning to struggle without additional
support and it is also a time when assessments are starting to challenge their coping abilities.
Assessments and exams also accounts for the sustained peak from late January-early April. The data
for September and October, plus that for Year of Study above, lends support to the experience of
the Mental Health Advisors in the current academic year (2012-13) that the service comes under a
strain early on as they proactively contact and assess the needs of those students who have
disclosed pre-existing mental health conditions on their applications.
Their recognition of this strain on resources so early in, and throughout, the academic year by
students with certain presentations, led the Mental Health Advisors to set up the ‘Spectrum’ support
group for those on the autistic/aspergers spectrum. This peer-support group, attended by an
Advisor, meets monthly and provides valuable support to a group of students who would otherwise
require more intense intervention within the service. Although the profile of presenting issues
(above) shows stable numbers for this particular presentation, data-gathering for the current
academic year suggests significant increases in the numbers of students with autistic/aspergers
diagnoses are accessing the service.
Given this early and sustained use of the Mental Health Service, we believe there is a strong case for
increasing the staffing in this team by 0.5 fte for the 2013-14 academic year.