Counselling and Psychological Services (CAPS)
The UNE CAPS team are professionally qualified and registered psychologists, who offer support no matter the stage of your student journey.
We know study does not happen in a bubble and things like personal concerns, money matters, mental health, managing relationships, stress or adjustment issues can impact your ability to be focused, motivated or organised. We have a number of appointments available for you to reach out and connect with a member of our team and we can support you with your current needs and move you closer to your study goals. You can become the student you want to be!
Wellness check
Students contacting the Counselling and Psychological Service for the first time are booked in for a "Wellness Check" appointment. This a 30-minute introductory appointment to discuss our services and assess how we can best support you.
Counselling appointments
Students can access hour long appointments with one of our psychologists after you have completed a Wellness Check. Generally, up to three (3) counselling appointments per trimester are available to students.
You may want a 'study gym' session. Let the counsellor be your 'personal trainer' to help boost your confidence, overcome exam or presentation anxiety, manage your time, avoid procrastination, and improve your concentration and memory for effective exam revision.
For enquiries and to make an appointment:
Call (02) 6773 2897 or Email studentcounselling@une.edu.au or via AskUNE
Face to face, phone and zoom sessions are currently available.
Need to talk to someone now?
URGENT Mental Health Support Line 1300 661 927
(or text 0488 884 169)
Available 24/7
All counsellors are professionally registered and qualified psychologists. Counsellors spend considerable time maintaining and updating their professionals skills in order to ensure a service of high professional standard is delivered. If you are unable to keep an appointment, please call us on 6773 2897 to reschedule. UNE’s counsellors are bound by a professional code of confidentiality. It is only under very extreme circumstances (e.g. to protect the personal safety of someone) that counsellors may be required to break confidentiality. This would be necessary in order to conform with certain legal/ethical requirements. As far as possible the counsellor would seek approval from you before doing this. If you need your counsellor to consult with someone outside the service about your situation, then your counsellor will ask you to sign a Release of Information form. Any letter written on your behalf will be emailed to you and you then take responsibility for who sees it. At times it may be necessary for your counsellor to discuss information about you with another UNE counsellor so that the best possible service can be provided. All staff of the service are bound by a Confidentiality Undertaking which also covers them when they leave their position. Our staff give the utmost respect to your privacy at all times. If you have a particular concern about this, please discuss it with your counsellor. If you seek a supporting letter, please tell your counsellor early in your session. Counsellors assess each request on merit. Yes, the counsellors make brief notes on each session which is kept in secure storage. Apart from helping to clearly remember your last session, the notes are a necessary reference if you ask your counsellor to write a letter on your behalf. These notes are only available to counselling staff and you may have access to notes kept about you. If the matter is life threatening, please call 000. UNE counsellors will endeavour to see clients in distress on the same day, but this is not always possible as the Service is not a crisis-service. That said, the Service will respond to UNE critical incidents. The UNE Urgent Mental Health Support line is available 24/7. You can call them on 1300 661 927 or text 0488 884 169 The counselling relationship is different from other relationships and counsellors follow certain ethical principles. Within the counselling session there may be a high level of friendliness and closeness. However, counsellors do not have a friendships with clients outside the sessions as this may interfere with the counselling process. Clients should not feel coerced by their counsellor into taking any particular action. Counsellors are non-judgemental and are prepared for you to discuss any issue, including concerns you may have about the counselling relationship. Counsellors are not permitted to have romantic or sexual relationships with their clients. Counselling should be a positive experience and collaborative in nature. We encourage you to discuss the process, your progress and any concerns you may have with your counsellor. For example, if you are not happy with your progress there could be several reasons for this. If you think there is a miss-match of counsellor and client, it is possible to change counsellors. The Service does not provide "assessments" for legal purposes, but can provide a record of your contact with this Service.
