Hello everyone. I’m the counselling administrator here at St. Ive’s College and I’ve been asked to come and talk to you about our counselling team and the services that we offer.
We have three professional counsellors here at St. Ives: Louise Bagshaw,
Tony Denby and Naomi Flynn. They each hold daily one-on-one sessions with students, but which counsellor you see will depend on a number of factors.

If you’ve never used a counsellor before, then you should make an appointment with Naomi Flynn Q11. Naomi specialises in seeing new students and offers a preliminary session where she will talk to you about what you can expect from counselling, followed by some simple questions about what you would like to discuss. This can be really helpful for students who are feeling a bit worried about the counselling process. Naomi is also the best option for students who can only see a counsellor outside office hours Q12. She is not in on Mondays, but starts early on Wednesday mornings and works late on Thursday evenings, so you can see her before your first class or after your last class on those days.

Louise staffs our drop-in centre throughout the day. If you need to see someone without a prior appointment Q13 then she is the one to visit. Please note that if you use this service then Louise will either see you herself, or place you with the next available counsellor. If you want to be sure to see the same counsellor on each visit, then we strongly recommend you make an appointment ahead of time. You can do this at reception during office hours or by using our online booking form.

Tony is our newest addition to the counselling team. He is our only male counsellor and he has an extensive background in stress management and elaxation techniques. We encourage anyone who is trying to deal with anxiety Q14  to see him. Tony will introduce you to a full range of techniques to help you cope with this problem such as body awareness, time management and positive reinforcement.

Before you hear the rest of the talk, you have some time to look at questions 15 to 20.
[20 seconds]
Now listen and answer questions 15 to 20.

Each semester the counselling team runs a number of small group workshops. These last for two hours and are free to all enrolled students.

Our first workshop is called Adjusting. We’ve found that tertiary education can come as a big shock for some people. After the structured learning environment of school, it is easy to feel lost. In this workshop, we will introduce you to what is necessary for academic success. As you might expect, we’re targeting first-year Q15 students with this offering.

Getting organised follows on from the first workshop. Here, we’re going to help you break the habit of putting things off, get the most out of your time and discover the right balance  Q16between academic and recreational activities. With Getting organised, we’re catering to a broader crowd, which includes all undergraduates and postgraduates.

Next up is a workshop called Communicating. The way people interact here may be quite different to what you’re used to, especially if you’ve come from abroad. We’ll cover an area that many foreign students struggle with – how to talk with teachers and other staff. We’ll cover all aspects of multicultural communication. International Q17students tend to get a lot out of this class, so we particularly encourage you to come along, but I must say that sometimes students from a local background find it helpful too. So, everyone is welcome!.

The Anxiety workshop is held later on in the year and deals with something you will all be familiar with – the nerves and anxiety that come when exams are approaching. Many students go through their entire academic careers suffering like this, but you don’t have to. Come to this workshop and we’ll teach you all about relaxation Q18 and how to breathe properly, as well as meditation and other strategies to remain calm. We’ve tailored this workshop to anyone who is going to sit exams.

Finally, we have the Motivation Q19 workshop. The big topic here is how to stay on target and motivated during long-term research projects. This workshop is strictly for research  Q20students, as less-advanced students already have several workshops catering to their needs.

Well, that’s it, thanks for your time. If you have any questions or want more information about our services, do come and see us at the Counselling Service.