1. ‘I was just like wow!’: University Students’ perceptions of how counselling benefitted their academic ability
Anne Bentley
Plymouth University
Manager, Student Counselling & Personal Development Service

2. ‘Positionality’: the role of the researcher
Who am I in the research? My ‘insider status’ as manager of the service Holding a position of power – impact? What were my ‘vested’ interests

3. Aims To showcase a small, qualitative research project
To honour the students’ voices and meaning
To suggest ways in which counselling can potentially not only support students’ learning but also could be seen as a learning opportunity
To suggest that the research could offer an opportunity for discussion, outside of the therapy room, about the interface between learning and therapy

4. THE PLYMOUTH CONTEXT In 2014-15:
87% of Plymouth students completing post counselling questionnaires considered counselling to have helped them to stay at university
84% considered counselling to have helped them do better in their academic work.
(This exceeded Wallace’s (2012) wider sector findings of 79% and 81% respectively).
As part of the Post Graduate Certificate in Academic Practice, I conducted a small scale qualitative research project to inquire into the narrative beneath these figures and explore students’ perceptions of the impact of counselling upon their academic work.

5. The research context
2 areas of focus:
1. counselling and academic issues
(Eisenberg et al, 2009; Ansari and Stock, 2010; Choi et al’s, 2010; Wallace, 2012; McKenzie et al, 2015)
2. counselling and learning
(Rose et al, 2005; Rogers, 1951; Erikson, 1959; Schon,1988; Mezirow, 2000)

6. Why research this? Changes to funding of HE
Rising demand but not rising levels of counsellors – need a focus on core business of academic wellbeing and retention and time conscious working
If counselling enhances learning, could there be a fruitful interface between learning in therapy and learning in the seminar room? Could we talk to each other?

7. How?
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven students who had experienced counselling.
Students were identified through purposive sampling: in a post-counselling questionnaire, all cited counselling as ‘an important’ or ‘the most significant’ factor in helping them to do better in their academic work.
The interviews were analysed using constructivist grounded theory (Charmaz, 2014).

8. Grounded Theory
Aimed to derive meaning and understanding through deep engagement with the sample
Initial coding – line by line; constant comparative methods
Focused coding -‘to synthesise, analyse and conceptualise larger segments of data’ (Charmaz, 2014, p138). Gaining a ‘deeper analytic handle’ (Charmaz, 2014, p146)

9. Limitations Small sample size
Researching those who identified themselves as being helped academically via counselling (what about those who felt that counselling didn’t help?).
The research focused on the ‘students’ perceptions. Could it be useful to involve the students and their counsellors in future research (triangulation)?

10. Academic crisis
‘I just walked out and then it occurred to me that I can’t be a professional and walk out as soon as someone says abuse……………I might not be able to handle this.’
‘I was wanting to leave uni because of all the stress.’
‘a storm in my mind, I can’t concentrate, I can’t gather my thoughts together’

11. Students orientations to learning in counselling
Developmental - Group 1
‘Developmental learning focuses on human effectiveness in personal life and career.’ (Bennetts, 2003, p. 306).
Transformational- Group 2
Transformational learning theory inspires the making and remaking of meaning from experience through reflection and conversation (Mezirow, 2000)

12. Group 1 What the counsellor taught me
‘if it didn’t work, she would work on it again or try something different or she’d still have a couple of weeks to do something.’
‘after about the second or third session, she really clicked that she needed a different strategy’

13. Group 2 I started joining the dots
‘someone to help you unpick your ideas, that’s when I’d have these little kind of bursts of like, oh my gosh yeah, which I wouldn’t have had on my own.’
‘it was me unpicking things for me to kind of work out what I’ve got to do.’
‘it helped me to identify and own it’
‘my brain was on overdrive and I was thinking things through and trying things and doing things’
‘it opened my eyes to things ………. you’re kind of challenging some of the views you might have’

14. Scaffolding learning
Developing an institutionalised scaffold via counsellor-initiated referral to Disability Assist; Learning Development
Developing an ‘individualised’ scaffold – asking for support in personal relationships; proactively contacting tutors etc.

15. Perceived Academic Impacts
Group 1 – developmental learning
Increased emotional capacity to undertake academic tasks due to reduction in symptoms of anxiety, worry and depression
Increased focus
Better time management
More effective revision strategies
Using relaxation techniques in exams/stressful situations
‘I got firsts in most of my coursework……….I think that is down to counselling helping me.’

16. A reflective stance – transformational learning
I did some of my best bits of work…….the blogs I wrote were really thoughtful.’
‘when someone repeats it back to you ……………you’re challenging some of the views you might have…. You would be thinking about it afterwards …..rather than just a passive approach, it’s quite active in the way that you work.’
‘I was kind of thinking what am I doing? Why am I doing it? Trying to get myself out of behaviours that might not be so helpful.’

17. Group 2: putting the self into learning
‘before the counselling, I wasn’t actually participating, I was passive, just turning up, rather than turning up to learn’.
‘I was not letting myself perform to my full ability because I don’t want to be judged on my full ability….. I wasn’t giving my all because then it would have been a true criticism of myself and once I realized that, I stopped doing it, and I put in all the effort.’

18. Implications
Counselling has perceived benefits for academic learning and ability
These benefits could be usefully conveyed to academic staff to help embed counselling as a therapeutic learning resource – aligning counselling with academia
There are potential pedagogic gains to including both anxiety management techniques and reflective learning strategies into the curriculum?

19. Finally
Students perceived counselling as offering both ‘developmental’ and ‘transformative’ learning
Both orientations to learning in counselling were perceived as providing benefits that enhanced academic learning
Counselling is a learning ‘context’ and potentially offers a learning ‘process’