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Counselling and mental health support
Professional and confidential psychological and mental health services are free and available through our Counselling and Psychological Services (CAPS).
- Overview
- Types of support available
Overview
As a student, you can access specialist input on a wide range of personal, academic, social and psychological issues that may impact your life, through our Counselling and Psychological Services (CAPS). Individual therapy/counselling with a clinical psychologist (counsellor) gives you the opportunity to talk confidently about any concerns that may be impacting on your academic performance or mental health and wellbeing. You can also access self-help resources and workshops.
Crisis and after hours contacts
If you have immediate safety concerns for yourself or others, call triple zero (000) for emergency services (fire/ambulance/police).
If you need help outside of Counselling and Psychological Services hours, the following community resources are available:
Mental Health Access Line: 1800 011 511
Lifeline (24 hours): 13 11 14
Getting started
If you would like to speak to one of our clinical psychologists (counsellors), the first step is to visit us in person or call to arrange an appointment. You can choose either a face-to-face counselling session at our Camperdown/Darlington campus, or a web session if you’re located at one of our other campuses where Jabber web counselling is available.
Before your appointment
Before your first appointment you'll be asked to complete a confidential assessment form that will provide your clinical psychologist with a starting point. We recommend you arrive 10-15 minutes early for your session to allow time to fill this in.
Initial assessment
In your first session, you will talk to your clinical psychologist about your concerns, they will assess your mental health needs and collaborate with you on the best way of moving forward. They may make recommendations or suggest you book further sessions.
Confidentiality and Information Storage
Our clinical psychologists (counsellors) are registered health practitioners and follow the codes of conduct of the Australian Health Practitioner’s Regulation Agency (AHPRA).
Our counsellors will not discuss your personal information or attendance details with anyone outside of Counselling and Psychological Services (CAPS), unless you have given us your written permission. The only exceptions are when:
- your counsellor judges that not to disclose information would result in clear danger to yourself or to others
- reporting of information is required by the law
- your file is subpoenaed by a court of law.
Counsellors are required to keep records of each counselling session for the purposes of monitoring treatment progression. Your counselling file is kept on a secure health case management system at CAPS, and is not connected to your University student file or to Medicare records. Only Psychiatric consultations have a Medicare item record. Only CAPS staff can access your file. We are required under the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (HRIPA) to keep this file for seven years after the last date of contact. Or, if you were under 18 at the last date of contact, the file must be kept until you are 25 years of age.
Last updated: 19 March 2018