Student Counselling Services

Description: Key services required: 1. A 24-hour staffed telephone helpline for student self-referrals and/or direct referrals from Student Wellbeing staff. 2. Counselling via face to face, telephone and video sessions (per student preference). 3. Online self-help hub for students 4. Crisis intervention/Group counselling for students 1. Telephone helpline The University requires the provider to facilitate a 24-hour helpline staffed by appropriately qualified and trained professionals to provide advice, appropriate support, or referral to counselling (or referral back to Student Wellbeing) for all Ulster University students, including PhD Researchers. This helpline should also be the primary source of emotional, general wellbeing and crisis support for students outside of normal university working hours; to include evenings, weekends and all holiday periods throughout the year. 2. Face-to-Face Counselling The University requires the provider to provide students will access to counselling by appropriately professionally qualified and registered counsellors. Counselling should be available all year around and should be flexible to be facilitated at a time to meet student needs, which should also include evenings, weekends and during holiday periods. Counselling should be offered face-to-face (default), online (by video) or by telephone, depending on the student's preference. All counselling interventions should meet a service level response to timeframes as identified in the KPIs. The University requires the provider to measure the impact of these interventions using the relevant clinical outcomes measurements determined by the provider. 3. Online self-help resources and online guided self-help interventions The University requires the provider to provide an extensive range of evidence based digital resources designed to support university level students with mild to moderate wellbeing need, which should include access to clinical self-assessment tools, creative resources, interactive self-help programme, and other non-talking therapy tools appropriate to students. The University requires the provider to measure the impact of these interventions using the relevant clinical outcomes measurements (such as WEMWBS or other to be determined by the provider). Access to any interventions should meet a service level response to timeframes as identified in the KPIs 4. Crisis Intervention or Group Counselling The University requires the provider to be available to facilitate immediate (or at short notice) individual or group counselling/crisis response session in response to unforeseen crisis or critical incidents in the event of the University being unable to fully provide its own adequate response. This should include those incidents that may occur during evenings, weekends and holiday periods when the university is closed. 5. The provision of service marketing materials with up to date contact details for students to access counselling services and associated materials. 6. Service usage monitoring and reporting, including attended, DNA and cancelled appts, new referrals and engaged clients, risk monitoring as well as user