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Student Counselling Centre

Student Counselling Centre. Dr Who? A Support Group For Post Graduate Researchers Introduced by Barbara Lawton. Historical Context. Early 2000’s. Significant numbers of post graduate researchers approaching the Counselling Centre. Similar presenting issues.

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Student Counselling Centre

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  1. Student Counselling Centre Dr Who? A Support Group For Post Graduate Researchers Introduced by Barbara Lawton

  2. Historical Context • Early 2000’s. • Significant numbers of post graduate researchers approaching the Counselling Centre. • Similar presenting issues. • May benefit from a group experience. • Effective use of counselling staff time. • Publication of the Roberts Review in 2002.

  3. Aims of Dr Who? group • Contact and support. • Psycho-education. • Personal development. • Communication skills • Potential for ongoing friendship.

  4. Nature of the Dr Who? group • Recruited through Student Counselling Centre & Graduate School Offices. • 5 weekly meetings of 1.5 hours duration. • Usually 3 groups per academic year. • Day of the week and time of day varies. • An average of 15 participants in each group. • Venue = skills@library

  5. Session 1 • People Hunt – icebreaker. • Introductions – name game. • Considering 2 statements individually, then with peers. • Drawing up an agenda for the subsequent 4 sessions.

  6. Subsequent sessions • Topics indentified by the participants - often includes: • Getting and/or staying motivated. • Managing stress. • Maintaining a healthy work/life balance. • Addressing procrastination. • Dealing with difficult relationships.

  7. Carry on Doctor….. • Initially, a popular follow up to the Dr Who? group. • Technology has changed the format. • Now an informal, self organising group.

  8. Feedback • ‘It helped me to learn when & how to speak up.’ • ‘It’s a great opportunity to accept new experiences & hear other opinions.’ • ‘It’s interesting and reassuring to find that students from all demographics of study experience similar problems, regardless of their specialist field.’ • ‘Many of the exercises were really helpful in getting me to think through my method of working and my approach to tasks.

  9. Feedback • ‘After this training, I have strong confidence to do my research and am eager to discuss problems with my supervisor.’ • ‘Thank you for an enjoyable 5 weeks. I will take some nice friends away from this.’ • ‘I liked the creative activities such as mind mapping.’ • Talking to students who have similar problems and finding practical solutions was really useful’ • ‘I learned a lot about myself and I liked that.’

  10. Feedback • ‘I found it slightly daunting that we had to organise ourselves into small groups.’ • ‘More information on other resources available for struggling students could be provided, e.g. lists of forthcoming skills@library workshops.’ • ‘Friday lunchtime would have been ideal.’ • ‘Earlier in the day, say 9am, would have been better.’ • ‘The thing I found most distracting was participants leaving part way through.’

  11. The National Picture • ‘Surviving Your PhD’ – I off workshop, then meets monthly on a Tuesday morning as a support group all year round. • ‘Writing Up Group’ - 6 sessions, structured. • ‘Knowing Me, Knowing You’ – 3 sessions focusing on personal development & communication skills, then an opportunity to join an ongoing support group. • Several universities have adopted the Dr Who? title and format pioneered at Leeds.

  12. Next steps • Another Dr Who? group planned for semester 2. • Dates will be circulated via Graduate School Offices. • SCC reviewing this provision for 2011-12.

  13. Student Counselling Centre • B.A.Lawton@leeds.ac.uk

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