It is generally agreed by authorities, all Universities should have a Health Service, incorporating student counselling facilities. Just what is being done in this University as regards such facilities? Are you, John Student, aware that the incidence of mental illness amongst students is higher than that of the non-student population?

Important questions such as these need answering; they need solutions. To give some indication to students and others, where the problem lies, what the problem is, and what is being done about the matter; Salient is incorporating in this issue, a special "Counselling Supplement."

Below, we print the text of a recent discussion, in which some relevant questions were put to a panel. Those taking part were: Mrs Kalfas, Miss Keren Clark, Vice-President, V.U.W.S.A., Professor Beaglehole, Mr I. Boyd, Managing Secretary, Student Union, Mr W. Landreth, Physical Education Officer, and Mr John Murray, Chaplain to the V.U.W.S.A. The chairman was Murray White.

The term "counselling" is a much-abused, little-understood concept. Could the panel give an Indication or what it thinks the term denotes. Could counselling be related to academic and social, as well as personality problems?

Beaglehole:

I tend to think of counselling as a technical profession, concerning students suffering from personality disorders. I would restrict myself to the term "counselling" with reference to personality problems.

Kalfas:

I agree, though I perhaps should include accommodation and examination anxiety as being of direct importance.

Clark:

I should think a lot of the problems arise directly from anxiety over finance, accommodation and like. Therefore any counselling system should have a wide appreciation of these problems. I would like to link the psychological and the academic sides together.

Murray:

I think that this type of definition which Professor Beaglehole gives, is perhaps too restricted. In a lot of these problems, we do not know where they lead to: problems are never very simple. Counselling may be of various levels, dealing with say, accommodation on the one hand, personality disorders on the other.

Landreth:

The use of the term "counsel-ling" can become difficult, it we try to relate this definition to too many areas. In a professional sense, counselling is used to concern only the technical aspect—personality problems.

Boyd:

We can tackle this problem from the first causes and a lot of the things in terms of guidance. There is therefore no difficulty in deciding what counselling is. It is really a question of setting up an adequate service to cover everything.

We seem to be in agreement about what counselling is. I should next like to ask the panel: does it think counselling has any value; does it succeed in its aims at helping disturbed and troubled students?

Beaglehole:

As far as accommodation and finance worries are concerned, I wouldn't know.

Boyd:

In particular cases we can solve financial problems; I must disagree with Professor Beaglehole. Nevertheless, an advisory service would be of great value.

Beaglehole:

I think that no one has the right to tell anyone what to do. All we can do in the field of guidance is to say here is the information, but the ultimate decision is yours. In that respect a guidance service would be really a sort of Information bureau.

However, professional counselling comes in with a large proportion of Student in this University, who are suffering from personality disorders, from unhappiness which cannot be overcome by students themselves, nor by friends or guidance officers.

There are a number of these students and others in this University who are suffering from suicidal tendencies. It is most rare for a person who has suicidal tendencies to be able to have much help from non-professional advisers.

Boyd:

I would estimate 5% need professional help. But nevertheless, there are many others outside this percentage who come into the class of those needing professional assistance.

Murray:

We can't report really, in terms of numbers.

Beaglehole:

Our terms of reference of discussion so far have been the agreement that there is need for professional guidance. But this does not exclude guidance for social difficulties, financial difficulties.

Murray:

I think social difficulties interelate.

Beaglehole:

I agree.

Clark:

There is a need for co-operation between the two sorts of professional advisers.

Boyd:

Many people know there is a need for counselling. The difficulty is, however, to link up this professional counselling with other spheres in the University. Our problem is to see where this Counselling Service fits into the University and where the State Service takes over.

Some teachers whose jobs do not directly involve helping students with their personal problems, offer advice and counselling. I should like to ask: do you think counselling is a separate professional skill, or do you think it can be incorporated successfully with normal academic duties?

Boyd:

I myself have had people approach me for help. If we can have an idea of the exact number concerned (from other members of the staff) we shall have an idea of where we stand.

Beaglehole:

I do not think we can link up the two (academic duties with counselling). We need separate facilities. The real question which has been asked is: what is going to be done by lecturers. It is a mistake to join the two duties together, for often the duties of the teacher and those of the counsellor come into conflict. For example: a pass could be of therapeutic value. On the other hand, the teacher has a duty to keep up standards.

Clark:

I still think that in some cases, the teacher can do the work of both.

Boyd:

I agree with Professor Beagle hole. Going to a teacher as a member of the staff, could mean there is not so much of the confidential nature of the counsellor

Murray:

I too, agree with Beaglehole. The job of counselling and the job of teaching should be separate functions.

Kalfas:

There is a certain aspect that members of the staff can best handle. For example: examination anxiety. The teachers have a certain duty to explain to the first year students and to make them understand how they should handle their work. If however, there is a definite personality problem, the staff would definitely be incompetent to deal with it. There are slight cases which the teaching staff should handle.

Landreth:

I was thinking that this counselling should in no way conflict with the student-staff teaching relationship. I do not think that teachers should abdicate their responsibility, as pointed out by Mrs Kalfas. What has always worried me is: how are we going to bring the students who are in need of counselling to the Service?

Beaglehole:

I think that there is no real difficulty. The word would be passed around very rapidly.

Boyd:

Some of them are in need of this kind of counselling, but others would rather seek their friend's.

Beaglehole:

The situation here however, may be different from Mr Boyd's idea of the Halls of Residence.

Clark:

Many students are not aware that they have problems on their hands.

Beaglehole:

If I may say so, that is irrelevant. We are concerned only with students who know they have problems. Those who do not know will go on and on until they get quite miserable, so miserable, they do know they have a problem.

Boyd:

The preventive approach is better.

Beaglehole:

However, I think that if a person does not flunk he needs help, we cannot help him anyway. But the student population will gradually learn that there is this type of help available.

Boyd:

We can have the situation where we can get people who do not know that they need help to go and get help. That was what I meant, when I referred to the staff-counselling relationship.

Murray:

The idea would be a gradual one. People can get gradually more and more prepared to seek help.

Boyd:

The type of contact I have had with students, concerned those who quite prepared to seek help, and yet cannot be persuaded to get it.

Murray:

Having established contacts, I am slowly building up further contacts with people who need help; mind you, this is my first year at Victoria.

Kalfas:

I prefer the idea of prevention. My own feeling is that young women, and to a smaller extent, young men, have no idea of what to do with their time. I really think that some of these personality difficulties, stem from the troubles caused by folk setting up their own flats, in a proper Halls of residence, which is what I should like to establish here, we could give these students time to learn how to manage their own affairs.

Clark:

The people I have come across are those who are living away from home.

Landreth:

It would stop the migration of students to the South Island — in order that they could break away from their homes.

At Harvard University, which is fairly typical of the larger Western American Universities, the Health Service for students employs psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, as well as medical specialists. What form do you think a counsellor should assume — medical specialist, psychologist or What? This is as far as Victoria is concerned.

Beaglehole:

It is impractical to have something along the lines of Harvard. We do need a trained psychologist, and in appropriate cases, we can refer students to the medical profession.

Boyd:

I think that a Service set up should be connected closely with a medical service. We would have the medical service working hand in hand with the counsellor.

Beaglehole:

Hand in hand, yes. Only to the extent that we tell the person he needs a medical check-up first, to see if he has any organic or physical defects.

Finally, I should like to have the opinion of the panel about what is being done, in this University, to install a counselling service.

Beaglehole:

All we can tell the students is that a Committee is working hard at it.

Clark:

As far as the Student Executive interest in this matter is concerned, I'm afraid we have had our hands full, in shifting into the new building.

Beaglehole:

I see.

Boyd:

The Student Union has definitely kept everyone occupied at the expense of having neglected the mental health issue.

Landreth:

For the last ten years there have been three separate Committees, It has been a live issue. As long as I have been here (11 years), this question has remained with us. We can further say that members of the staff are aware that there is need for such facilities. The question of counselling has always been linked with that of other aspects of student welfare. Experience has been that the terms of reference (of the Committees) have always included student facilities, guidance and counselling. The history of the Student Health Service goes back many years, but it was never established. I suspect that somewhere along the line the counselling has become stuck.

Beaglehole:

We have, perhaps, been trying to move forward in too many fronts at once. Possibly there are too many diverse terms of reference. Unfortunately it is always hard to say where we should begin. We will only get something if we concentrate on a limited aspect of any particular issue, then we can branch off. Perhaps it is purely a question of strategy and tactics.

Boyd:

We are narrowing the field down in respect of what Professor Beaglehole mentioned. For instance, we now have an accommodation service.