List of Counselling Service policies

Our policies and guidelines help us provide an effective, efficient and professional Counselling Service.

In the interests of accessibility and openness, we publish relevant policies and guidelines on the web. If you have questions about our policies and guidelines, please contact us.

Statement of Purpose

[web page] [word document]
The statement summarises the purpose of the Counselling Service. It includes how the counsellors see the relevance of counselling to university life, and a summary of what the Service offers.

Client profile

[web page ] [word document]
A document to help you understand when counselling is suitable, and when it would be better to seek a different type of help.

Confidentiality

[web page] [word document]
Our full policy on confidentiality. Includes the scope and limits of confidentiality, and how we make decisions concerning confidentiality.
We have a short summary of this policy [web page] [word document].

Intermitting students, recent graduates, alumni, etc

[web page] [word document]
The Counselling Service is primarily for current students of Oxford Brookes University. This policy covers students who have temporarily withdrawn from the University, recent graduates, past students of the University, prospective students of the University, and students enrolled at other institutions.

Medical certificate equivalent letters

[web page] [word document]
The University will accept a letter from a counsellor as the equivalent of a medical certificate from a doctor. This policy describes when we will write such letters and the procedures involved.
We have a short summary of this policy [web page] [word document].

Record keeping and the production, storage, and disposal of counselling notes

We keep records of counselling sessions.
We have a short summary of this policy [web page] [word document].

Procedure for taking referrals

[web page] [word document]
We prefer students to book their own appointments with the Counselling Service. But we do accept referrals from others (eg University staff or medical personnel). This document explains what we do if we are contacted by someone else on a student's behalf.

Response to external agencies who request confidential information

[web page] [word document]
On rare occasions, outside agencies ask counsellors to provide information about a student. Our Confidentiality policy means that it is very rare for us to give out information. This document describes how we handle such situations. It refers particularly to requests for information by solicitors, police, courts and the LEA.
We have a short summary of our policy on writing letters for legal matters [web page] [ word document].

Returning clients

[web page] [word document]
We prefer students to return to the same counsellor if they return to the Counselling Service. Here you will find our reasons for this, and how we operate this policy, including what happens if a student has to see a different counsellor.

Staff

[web page] [word document]
The Counselling Service is primarily for current students of Oxford Brookes University. This document describes what we do if a staff member asks for counselling for themselves. We do not provide counselling for staff, but will offer guidance on where to find help.