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Our practitioners come from different training backgrounds, but all work in a similar way. Each session lasts 50 minutes during which time your counsellor will listen calmly and empathically, without judgement. You may wish to discuss a wide range of topics, from your relationships, your childhood, your emotions, your thoughts and behaviour, to situations that you find currently find difficult. Your counsellor will try and create a reflective space for you, so you are able to process what you bring to the session or find a direction moving forward that works best for you. Your counselling sessions will take place with the same counsellor each week, until the completion of the sessions. 

Please try to avoid cancelling sessions to ensure that you get the full benefit of counselling. If you are struggling to attend each week, please discuss these difficulties with your counsellor.  

To sign up for counselling support you will first need to complete a registration form. You can do this .  

Please note that in order to register you must be a current student at BNU (you will need your student ID number) and you must also be registered with/in the process or intending to register with a UK GP practice.   

Once we have received your online referral, we will put you on our Triage assessment waiting list and as soon as an appointment with one of our counsellors/clinicians becomes available, we will be in contact. Most people are offered a triage appointment within 2-3 weeks, but it may be longer depending on how busy the service is. 

We are currently offering appointments online (which includes both video and telephone) and face to face (both at our Uxbridge and High Wycombe campus). 

If you have any questions or any problems with the form, then please email us or you can visit us at the High Wycombe Campus in N1.12G and we will do our best to assist you. 

Due to confidentiality, it is not possible to book an appointment on someone's behalf – even if you are a family member or a close friend. Appointments must be booked for yourself only. The counselling service is a self-referral service only. 

A mental health advisor appointment will typically include some exploratory work around your current difficulties, perhaps discussing the past if necessary to look at patterns of behaviour. You will work with your Mental Health Advisor (MHA) to plan actions and practical solutions to help you manage the challenges you are facing. MHA sessions can be spread over a longer period of time allowing you to arrange your sessions for times when you may most need them across the academic year.    

If a member of staff is concerned about the mental health of a student (risk to self or others, an acute or chronic mental health condition) they can make the referral to the mental health provision. One of our Mental Health Advisors will then be in touch with the student to offer an assessment and needed support.  

For any queries please contact mentalhealthprovision@bucks.ac.uk.  

Yes, a member of staff can refer a student to the mental health provision, as the service is staff referral only. Students will have to refer in via Counselling and Mental Health Services referral form to be triaged for mental health provision. 

The waiting times depend on many factors. For example: time of year, your availability. The more flexibility you provide around times and formats (online, face to face & telephone), the sooner we will be able to offer an appointment to you. The wait times for appointments may vary throughout the year.  

Your triage assessment will be held within 2-3 weeks (can be longer during busier periods) and is booked when you register/self-refer.  

A triage appointment is an initial appointment with a member of the Counselling and Mental Health Team to ascertain what would be a good fit support for you.  

The sessions are usually 45- 50 minutes as this is a one-off session during which the possible support options are identified in collaboration with you. This could include short term counselling sessions, single session therapy, CBT support or referral for mental health support or safeguarding support where needed. The outcome of the appointment will be shared with you via email as well. 

Please note, the triage appointment is not a counselling appointment. 

Confidentiality is an important aspect of our service; we will not share what you talk about in your sessions without your consent. The exception to this is where we believe that you or someone else is at risk of serious harm, in line with the university’s policy on sharing information. In this situation we would always try to talk with you first to get your consent.  

The number of appointments will depend on the triage outcome.   

For counselling, the appointments can go up to 6 sessions at a time. CBT support sessions can also go up to 6 sessions at a time. For mental health advising sessions, the average number of appointments is usually between 4-6 sessions but can vary under specific circumstances.  

As a guide, counselling sessions are usually 50 minutes and mental health advising sessions can be between 30 minutes to 50 minutes depending on the nature of the session. 

But please check and confirm with your practitioner. 

It's quite common to feel relief at having managed to speak openly perhaps for the first time. You may also feel strong emotions and that a lot has been stirred up inside you. Working on ourselves can mean confronting feelings that we have previously avoided, this may feel uncomfortable. If you are struggling to attend your sessions for any reason, please talk to your practitioner and they can support you with this.  

We are a culturally diverse counselling team, which is made up of different genders, ethnicities, ages and other backgrounds. Our service strives to adhere to the BNU’s values around Equality, Diversity and Inclusion regarding the students we support. We also apply these values to ourselves as BNU staff members. See BNU Equality, Diversity and Inclusion for more information.  

If you do not want to work with a counsellor, please email the Counselling Team at counselling@bnu.ac.uk giving your reason and will we explore options with you moving forward.  

If you do not want to work with a mental health adviser, please email the Mental Health Provision at mentalhealthprovision@bnu.ac.uk giving your reason and we will explore options with you moving forward.  

• Be on time for your appointment. Your appointment will finish at the scheduled time, so being on time is important.
• Try not to miss your appointment as you will forfeit that session. After two consecutive missed appointments you will not be offered a third and will need to re-refer to the service.
• No use of mobile phones inside the Counselling and Wellbeing area or in your Video sessions.
• Abusive and violent behaviour will not be tolerated - you will be asked to leave, or the Video/Call appointment will be ended.
• Smoking including the use of electronic cigarettes (vaping) is discouraged during your sessions, video/calls or in person.
• If you are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, you will not be seen and will have to forfeit your session. 

If you are booked in to attend a telephone or Microsoft Teams appointment with one our Counsellors or Mental Health Advisors, having a safe and confidential space where you won’t be interrupted for the duration of the appointment is important. Examples of a private space could include a private room in your residence, a private office, a private room on placement etc. Having someone else present in the space with you, even if they are someone you trust, could limit what you are happy to disclose and therefore reduce the effectiveness of our time together.  If you have any questions or concerns around this, please do email us, we are happy to discuss further. If you have any questions or concerns around this, please do email us, we are happy to discuss further.

Our service strives to deliver a reliable and trustworthy service. There may be times a member of our team will need to contact you to reschedule an existing appointment, for example, due to illness or due to a requirement to attend an essential meeting or work-based training event. A member of our team will always aim to give as much notice as they can if they need to reschedule an appointment. If your Counsellor or Mental Health Advisor does ever need to reschedule appointment and you feel that you need support in the meantime, please see 24/7 support options below: 

•  - Use your BNU student email to register.
•  - Phone free on 116 123 or email: jo@samaritans.org
• Call 111 to access the NHS Mental Health Line
• Text SHOUT to 85258 for Mental Health Support
• Text HECTOR to 85258 for Suicidal Thoughts/Ideation Support
• Or call 999 if you are in immediate danger

Emergency Services 

• Remember, in an emergency call 999 – if you need to reach the emergency services for any other purpose, please use the numbers below
•  - Call: 0845 850 5505
•  - Call: 01494 526 161 

General Counselling, Therapy And Mental Health Support  

• Counselling Directory: Through the , you can find private counsellors and psychotherapists near you, as well as information and articles on the different types of counselling available, and articles around specific topics including depression, anxiety, abuse and relationship issues.
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General Advice and Support 

• - Visit the website or call 01494 449 805.
• Information, advice, counselling and support for young people including advice about rights, accommodation, money problems, relationships and pregnancy. There is a sexual health service here and you can access the accommodation register and rent deposit guarantee scheme (for people aged 18+). Call 01494 437373. 

Sexual Health and Abuse Support 

•  (Counselling and support for female survivors of rape, sexual assault and sexual abuse) Call 01494 513 823 or access the 24-hour helpline at 01494 462 222
•  (Sexual health information and support) - Call 0800 0185 023
•  - Call 0845 730 4030
•  (Pregnancy and abortion counselling) - call 01494 448 544
•  - Call 01494 526 161
•  E³¾²¹¾±±ô info@noisno.org.uk 

Addictions 

•  (Thames and Chiltern) - Call 01628 530 055 or access the 24-hour helpline at 07000 121 200
•  - Call 020 7384 3040
•  - Call 0800 776 600

Bereavement

•  - Call 01494 722 515 (High Wycombe) or call 01494 511 117 (Chilterns)

LGBT Support and Advice 

•  - The lesbian, gay and bisexual charity with advice on coming out, discrimination, rights, and support networks. Call the information line on 08000 50 20 20 (Mon-Fri 9.30am to 5.30pm) 

Other Support Services 

• - Eating Disorder Organisation 
• - Support and Advice for any victim of a crime, call 0845 30 30 900