Health and Counselling

About the Counselling Service

Counselling services are available to all students at the University.  A Counselling Service is located at the South Street Campus and at the Rockingham Campus.  For students attending the Peel Campus, a locum Counselling Service is available. 

What does the counselling service provide?

What sort of problems do students see counsellors about?

Community Resources Information

Making an Appointment

Confidentiality

Students in Crisis

Dealing with a Traumatic Event

What does the Counselling Service Provide?

The Counselling Service provides free and confidential support to assist students address academic and personal difficulties impacting upon their ability to study.   

Qualified and experienced counsellors provide a confidential, non-judgemental and safe forum in which people can

get the support they need to address difficulties and make decisions

deal with negative emotions and mobile coping resouces

develop new skills

The counsellors are registered Clinical or Counselling Psychologists or have qualifications in Social Work.

What sort of problems do students see counsellors about?

Students see counsellors about a wide range of issues, including relationships, loss and grief, sexuality, stress, depression or anxiety, traumatic events, academic difficulties, cultural concerns.

Community Resources Information

The Counselling Service can provide information on community resources, psychological services and social agencies in Perth including information on such things as free legal advice, family assistance programs and emergency finance. 

Making an Appointment

Counselling appointments at South Street and Rockingham campuses can be made by telephoning 9360 2293 or by coming to the Counselling and Health Service located near the Library in Bush Court.  Peel Campus students are invited to contact Dr. Rosemary German-Belmont on 9586 8033; these services are all provided free of charge to Murdoch University students.  

Confidentiality

This service adheres to the normal tenets of professional confidentiality as set out.

Record Keeping

The service maintains records on all clients in keeping with normal standards of professional accountability.

These records are not accessible to any person outside the service.

Information provided by clients is not transferred in part or whole to any other staff or student record within the University.

Release of Information

Information about a client may be released to parties outside the University Counselling Service only with the explicit consent of the client.

Release of information will normally require a written consent to disclosure signed by the client.  Verbal agreement may be accepted only when both client and counsellor agree that the circumstances do not require the formality of a written agreement.

Limits of Confidentiality

Information may be disclosed without the consent of the client when -

There exists a clear danger to the client or to others, or

There exists a legal obligation to do so.

Legal obligation includes such circumstances as a court subpoena, a valid search warrant or such other legalised requirements as may be in force at any given time.

Students in Crisis

A crisis intervention service is available, with appointments available on a daily basis. Telephone 9360 2293 or call in to the service and ask for one of our urgent appointments.

Document Author: Office of Central Student Administration Document Contact: Webmaster Authorised by: Darren Munday, Director <d.munday@murdoch.edu.au> Disclaimer & Copyright Notice © 2007 Murdoch University	Document creation: 26/6/2006 Expiry date: N/A Last Modified: 24 November 2008
URL: http://health.murdoch.edu.au /cs.html