Counselling Service
About
Mary Immaculate College provides a professional Counselling Service available to all students, free of charge during the academic year. We are currently offering a blended service of online and on-campus in-person therapy sessions. Whilst many students only need one or two session to address their issues, we are able to offer students up to six counselling sessions a semester, generally weekly with each session lasting up to 50 mins.
We also run a range of support groups, workshops, talks and well-being courses for students.
General Information
One-to-One Counselling support for MIC Undergraduate and Post-Graduate Students
The service here at MIC offers all students a safe, confidential, reflective space to talk about your difficulties and explore the potential for change, build on your self-care and develop strategies to address your problems or mental health condition. We provide up to six sessions of Counselling with follow-ups if necessary. Further referrals are made as necessary to specialised or specific services inside and outside of MIC.
Support is provided for many issues, such as: Stress, panic/anxiety attacks, crisis pregnancy, loneliness, eating disorders, bereavement, exam stress, post-abortion, depression, relationships, sexual/emotional/physical abuse, gender issues, bullying, confidence/self-esteem issues, feeling suicidal, family issues, addictive behaviours, and others.
Postgraduate Research Students
We recognise that, while postgraduate researchers are not immune from the many issues that can affect all students, Postgraduate are unique in their experience of College and life more generally. Completing a research degree is different to other kinds of study or employment you will have previously undertaken, and therefore it brings unique challenges as well as opportunities.
Our Counsellors understand these distinct experiences and so the support we offer takes these into account. We also recognize that you may be an international student with particular pressures that come from working away from your home and family. We also offer workshops, talks and groups throughout the academic year. Also check out the Postgraduate sections on Togetherall and the Groups, Webinars and Workshops link.
We Welcome Diversity
All our Counsellors understand that being a student from a minority group - whether that is due for example to your sexuality, gender, ethnicity, disability, being neurodivergent, can impact in different ways on your mental health and wellbeing. We are committed to ensuring that Counselling is as accessible as possible, so you are very welcome to meet with us to discuss how we can meet your individual needs.
How to Arrange to Meet a Counsellor before 9th September 2024
A MIC counsellor will be available to meet any Limerick or Thurles MIC Student, by appointment, in person on the Limerick campus ( Room T312) or via TEAMS. You can arrange an appointment by sending an email to: counselling@mic.ul.ie.
Please note that MIC Student Counselling Service will resume drop-in sessions 11am-12.45pm on Monday 9th September 2024.
Students in Crisis: If you are feeling unsafe or in a Suicidal Crisis/Emergency it is very important that you keep yourself safe by reaching out to gain support and contact immediately:
- Your GP
- Free Text: MIC to 50808 (Text 50808 is a 24/7 Crisis Text Line where you can engage via text with a trained volunteer)
- Pieta House: Freephone 1800 247 247 or Text HELP to 5144
- If your life is in imminent danger, please call 999.
Other supports include:
- Shannondoc: 0818 123 500
- A&E dept.for mental health crisis: 061 301 111
- The Samaritans: (Free-call) 116 123
- AWARE: 1800 804 848
- Rape Crisis: 1800 311 511
MIC Thurles
To arrange a counselling appointment before 16th September 2024 please send an email to: counselling@mic.ul.ie indicating that you are a Thurles student. Appointments are via Teams or in-person on the Limerick campus until 16th September when in-person sessions will resume with Fiona O' Dwyer at the Thurles Campus.
Are Counselling Sessions Confidential?
Many students are understandably concerned that what they talk about with their counsellor is confidential. You can be assured that all MIC counsellors abide by a strict code of professional ethics which means that other than exceptional circumstances* nothing a student talks about is disclosed to anyone outside of the service/supervision process without the student's expressed permission. Exceptions* are dictated by law and are circumstances regarding safety/at risk situations, the disclosure of ongoing child abuse, or if records are subpoenaed by law. Please note:
-Your attendance at counselling will not go on your academic records.
-We will not communicate that you attend counselling or provide any personal details to parents, guardians or your GP without your expressed permission.
-We do not provide any Medical-Legal Reports.
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Guidelines for Online and Telephone Counselling
Protecting your own privacy
- When a telephone/online-counselling session is offered, you will receive a call at your scheduled time or have received a link for the secure online session via Microsoft Teams. You need to be in a private location where you can speak openly without being overheard or interrupted by others to protect your own confidentiality. If you choose to be a in a place where there are people or others can hear you, your Counsellor cannot be responsible for protecting your confidentiality.
- If you feel you will not be able to access a private place to speak with a Counsellor please let us know.
- To help your privacy we suggest you wear a headset and reduce as much as possible the chance of interruptions for the duration of your scheduled appointment.
Connection Loss
- Distractions at home can interrupt the phone call or online appointment, this could also occur for the Counsellor if they too are working remotely.
- During Online Sessions: If we lose our connection during a Teams session, your Counsellor will call you to troubleshoot the reason for lost connection. If they cannot reach you, they will remain available to you during the entire course of your scheduled session, should you manage to reconnect.
- If the loss of connection is not resolved, you can opt to continue the session over the phone or reschedule your appointment.
Phone Sessions
- Please ensure your phone is charged and your connection is good in advance of the session.
- Phone connection might fail before or during the Counselling session, if this occurs your Counsellor will call you back twice before the assigned time ends for your session and follow up with a text if the session ends abruptly.
- Body language, or non-verbal reactions to what you are discussing are not always picked up over the phone. For example, if you become emotional or shivering you may need to ask for the session to pause whilst you fetch a tissue or a drink, turn on the heating or get a coat. You may also feel that you need to describe your feelings, thoughts, and/or actions in more detail than you would during a face-to-face/Teams session.
Recording of Sessions
Please note that recording, screenshots etc of any kind of any session is not be permitted.
Accessing Sessions from Abroad
We would like to make our online support available to all students even when you are accessing college online from your home which may not be in Ireland. We are aware however that in some countries, or in some local areas within a country, receiving online Counselling is not permitted or the Counsellor needs specific permission or licenses which as Irish based practitioners we do not have. It will be up to you to let the Counselling service know if you are aware of any legal restrictions to receiving online support.
Information for Concerned Parents/Guardians
Supporting your Child
We do not offer a crisis service so if there is immediate risk to the safety of the person you are concerned about please contact your GP or the Emergency Services.
For Non-Urgent Concerns
When a young person begins their studies at MIC it can be both an exciting and challenging time for parents and guardians. Some students settle into student life quickly and you can relax knowing they are enjoying new experiences. Others may not adjust so well and in such a situation you may become concerned that they are not enjoying student life, making friends or doing well in their studies. If the young person you care for is unhappy it can leave you feeling upset and powerless to help.
There are staff at MIC who are here to support students if they are struggling in some way. The first step is to urge the young person you are concerned for to seek the appropriate College support:
- Disability Support through the Access Office
- Academic learning support
- Chaplaincy
- Medical Service
- Student Union
Student Counselling
If your concerns are around your child’s mental and emotional well-being, then the first step is to encourage them to contact the service themselves. It is our policy to only initiate contact with a student who has already engaged with our service and NOT on the basis of a parent/guardian’s request.
If your child is unwilling to access support you can email the counselling team at counselling@mic.ul.ie to arrange to speak to a member of staff about your concerns. Please note that apart from very exceptional circumstances, if a student attends the MIC Counselling Service no-one outside the counselling team would know they have attended, what was discussed, and nothing will be entered on their academic or medical records. This confidentiality agreement with the student extends to parents and guardians so whilst we can listen to your concerns and offer general advice, unless agreed with the student in advance, we cannot share any information about your child, even if you only want to know if they have contacted us.
Mary Immaculate College respects students as independent adult learners and is obligated under data protection law to hold your child’s personal data confidentially. We do appreciate that this can be distressing and frustrating for parents and we aim to help within these limitations.
Online Mental Health Support
Remember that all MIC students can access free online anonymous mental health support through the Togetherall platform anytime, any day. Please encourage your child to register with their MIC email and to become familiar with the resources and peer-support available: Togetherall
Wellbeing Groups, Workshops and Webinars
Meet others on the journey towards wellbeing.
The Counselling Service offer a range of different groups, webinars and workshops, both in person and via Teams throughout the academic year. Look out for more information from MISU and check back here regularly for updates on events that you might like to join.
The Body Project is an exciting opportunity to join a group that benefits the individual students who take part, as well as contributing to a culture change in the wider campus community?
All genders are affected by the pressures to conform to appearance ideals and the project is relevant to all students whether male, female, trans*, non-binary.
Aims of the project:
- Define the appearance ideal and explore its origin
- Examine the costs of pursuing this ideal
- Explore ways to resist pressures to fit the appearance ideal
- Learn how to challenge our body-related concerns and cultural pressures for looking a particular way
- Learn new ways to talk more positively about our bodies
What’s involved?
To take part in the Project you will need to commit to 4 x 1 hour weekly workshops. The maximum size of each group will be 8 and is co-facilitated by other MIC students who have already been part of a group.
The sessions are safe, confidential, fun, thought provoking and effective in facilitating change. It is not therapy and no personal disclosure of struggles with food or body image is asked of participants.
- For any BEd or PME student who joins we offer an additional session to explore how you can take the ideas from the Body Project into your work in the classroom.
Where and when will the groups take place?
The first online and in-person ( Limerick campus) groups will start on Monday 7th October. If you are interested in learning more or signing up for one of the groups just email neil.collins@mic.ul.ie and put BODY PROJECT in the subject line.
A DBT Skills group
DBT is a practical, skills-focused approach that can help anyone learn how to better manage the tough emotions, thoughts, and behaviours that occur in today's world.
This fun skills based group will give you ideas for ways to increase joy in your life and reduce sensitivity to stressful events and difficult emotions. It will give you skills or coping tools to use to get through " emotional crises" without behaving in ways that make the situation worse or create bigger problems in the long run. The group will also include skills for improving your communication and relationships- knowing what you need, asserting your limits, navigating conflict, and increasing our pleasant experiences with others.
This group will be held on Campus starting Wednesday October 9th. For more information and to register your interest in joining email paula.seth@mic.ul.ie putting Building a Life Worth Living Group in the subject line.
Webinars and Workshops
These in-person workshops and Teams Webinars are held exclusively for Post Graduate Research students and focus on topics relevant to managing your wellbeing.
Check back here for details of future events and in the meantime past students have this resource very useful:
Throughout the academic year there will webinars via Teams exploring how looking after your wellbeing can have a positive impact on your academic performance such as: Tackling Procrastination; Managing Anxiety; Small changes for success; Perfect or Good enough?
Look out for information on the MISU website and check back here for planned events .
Togetherall: Mental Health Online Support for MIC Students
Community, Mental Health Courses & Resources
Togetherall is a safe, anonymous, online community for mental health support. It is a place to express yourself and support each other. You will have access to a range of different courses on topics of concern such as anxiety, procrastination, self-harm, problems sleeping etc. There are assessment tools and articles to help you understand how you are feeling and techniques to help you manage your mental health.
Togetherall is free to all MIC Students. Just register with your academic email.
Staff
- About
- Guidelines for Online and Telephone Counselling
- Information for Concerned Parents/Guardians
- Wellbeing Groups, Workshops and Webinars
- Togetherall: Mental Health Online Support for MIC Students
- Staff
