Counselling
The Student Counselling Service is a professional, confidential counselling service provided to all registered students at DkIT.
The Student Counselling Service is a professional, confidential counselling service provided to all registered students at DkIT.
Going to college can be a great experience with opportunities to grow and change, academically, socially and personally. However, sometimes our ability to study and progress can be interrupted by the challenges we meet in everyday life.
Some students find the transition from school to college difficult, some feel homesick and isolated, or have anxiety about the changes they are having to manage. A sudden unplanned crisis like bereavement or illness may leave you feeling like you need support. You may find that you have too many stressful things to deal with all at once, or one after the other, leaving you feeling overwhelmed and struggling to cope. Other kinds of issues that students look for help with include relationship difficulties, study problems, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and sexuality/sexual identity.
The student counselling service is here to help you through these times. Counselling can help you get a new perspective on an issue you feel stuck with, cope with an unexpected crisis or develop new strategies to manage ongoing difficulties.
Email: Counsellor@dkit.ie
Tel: 042 93 70 247
The Student Counselling Service is a confidential service provided free of charge to all registered students at DkIT.
Our service has a team of professionally trained and widely experienced male and female psychotherapists, Counselling and Clinical Psychologists, who are used to helping people from many different backgrounds and cultures and with a wide range of personal issues.
The service is discretely located in close proximity to the Health Unit on the first floor of the Faulkner Building. At AIB bank, take the stairs to the first floor and go through the glass doors on the right-hand side. The entrance to the counselling rooms is located at the first door to the right along the balcony. We also have an office in the Student Services Centre on the ground floor.
Should you have difficulties locating us prior to your first counselling session, feel free to drop in to reception at the Student Services Centre, where they will be glad to help.
You can use the following link to register with the service on a confidential basis. You will be asked to complete a number of short questionnaires to help us understand what it is that you are struggling with and how this has been affecting you.
If you are having any difficulty with the registration process, you can contact us by email or phone and we will help you to register with the service. counsellor@dkit.ie | +353 (042) 9370247
If are unsure whether counselling is something that can help you, or feel that you are in need of support urgently, you can use our daily drop-in service to have a chat and figure this out. It can be helpful to think things through with someone objective and our drop-in sessions are perfect for this.
As part of the support offered to students by the Counselling Service, DkIT Students can also avail of Togetherall and Niteline. This ensures students have access to tailored support on a 24 hour basis.
For more supports and resources for students please visit us on Moodle.
Togetherall is a confidential, online community where members can interact with and support each other anonymously 24/7. Togetherall also offers reliable information and online courses designed to support wellbeing and academic performance (e.g anxiety, mood, relationships, and procrastination).
DKIT students can access Togetherall for FREE, using their DKIT Email to register.
Niteline (1800 793 793) offers a late night confidential information and support line to students that is delivered by trained student volunteers.
Lines are open 9 pm until 2.30 am every night during term – time.
As a student of DKIT you can access free text support from 50808 by texting ‘DkIT' to that number.
We offer a number of workshops and group-based programmes to students in DKIT with the intention of supporting positive emotional wellbeing, relationships with others personal development (e.g. The Body Project, Active Consent, Bystander Training, Mindfulness for Challenging Times). We can also offer specific workshops on request. For more information on these workshops and programmes please visit the Student Counselling Service on Moodle.
We also promote events across the year so watch out for e-mails, notices and posts on Instagram @dkit_studentservices. If you have any questions about programmes or workshops please email counsellor@dkit.ie.
As part of a SATLE (Strategic Alignment of Teaching and Learning Enhancement) funded - project, a group of students from DkIT created a series of short audio - visual resources to introduce mindfulness within the DkIT community.
The project aimed to develop resources that could in the first instance, support students in developing their awareness and understanding of mindfulness, including how it can improve mental health, wellbeing and academic performance. Secondly, it offered some resources to help students build key mindfulness skills.
The name 'Breathe and Be' reflects one of the underlying principles of mindfulness, learning to bring awareness back to the present moment, allowing yourself to simply 'be' through focusing on the breath, again and again.
As one of the students involved said,
‘The resources are a step towards a larger conversation around mindfulness on the campus. For students, by students. In the age of distraction, mindfulness is a great remedy. And it’s free. So why wouldn’t you take it?’
We hope you find them helpful.
Resources produced by: Eimear Mattison, BA (Hons) Audio and Music Production, Matus Buffa, BA (Hons) Audio and Music Production, Shona Kelly, BA (Hons) Film and Television Production, Elsa Dias, BA (Hons) Early Childhood Studies. Special thanks to Derynta Jannadhiya, BA in Theatre & Film Practice
With support from Dr Adèle Commins, Head of Department of Creative Arts, Media and Music and Dr Emma Carroll, Head of Student Counselling.
The Student Counselling Service is not an emergency response service. If you are in need of urgent support the following services are available on a 24 hour basis.
Additional information on local crisis support services is available on the HSE website Crisis Supports Section.
Speakout is an online anonymous reporting tool available to students and staff to support the disclosure of experiences including various forms of bullying, intimidation, discrimination, sexual harassment or assault.
Mental Health Services in Louth include day - care centres in Dundalk and Drogheda, as well as St. Brigid's Hospital, Ardee, and Crosslanes in Drogheda. Referrals to Louth/Meath Mental Health Services are usually done via referral from GP.
A wide range of support services are available within the community. You can find out about what is available within the ‘Connecting For Life’ Help and Support Information Cards.
The Counselling Service provides a consultative service to all staff in relation to student issues and concerns. If in any doubt about how to respond or proceed with a student difficulty or concern please feel free to consult with a member of the Counselling team. This can be arranged over the phone (042) 9370247 or by emailing counsellor@dkit.ie.
The following resources have been designed to provide additional information to staff about the counselling service and guidance on supporting students who may be struggling:
This leaflet provides an overview of the function of student counselling service and how and when to make a referral.
This section of Moodle contains online resources including training modules in relation to supporting students in distress and information about additional training that you can avail of as a member of staff.
Going to college can be a wonderful and exciting experience for young adults. At the same time, it can bring a number of challenges for students, those who are just beginning and those who are progressing through their chosen course.
Alongside this journey, life outside of college also offers challenges and for many people, trying to manage everything can feel overwhelming.
If you feel that your student is struggling, you can encourage them to contact the Student Counselling Service. This service is specifically for students, and is provided free of charge by qualified and experienced professional Counsellors and Psychologists.
Counselling provides a safe, supportive and confidential environment in which students can discuss any emotional or psychological difficulties they may be experiencing. The Counsellor will use their training and expertise to help them clarify the issues that are impacting on them, and support them in exploration and development of helpful ways in which they can support themselves.
The Student Counselling service offers support with a wide range of emotional, social and psychological issues. Some examples can include depression, anxiety/panic attacks, transitions, mental health difficulties, bereavement and loss, interpersonal or relationship problems, family difficulties, self-esteem, trauma, including sexual trauma, academic issues, addiction issues, eating disorders, self-harm and suicidal thinking. Whatever issue your student may have, we encourage them to seek support.
The Counselling Service is open from 9 am until 5 pm from Monday – Friday.
Please see Making an Appointment section above.
If chooses to engage in counselling, they will be offered an initial assessment appointment during which they will be guided to clarify issues of concerns and consider how counselling may be supportive at this time. Due to the pressures on the service, we offer short-term input, with up to 6 therapy sessions available to students following their initial assessment appointment. In exceptional circumstances, additional appointments may be offered. Appointments typically occur on a weekly or fortnightly basis, depending on the student’s circumstances.
As a confidential service, we are unable to share information about students without their expressed consent. This means that we are unable to tell you if the student is attending the service or share any information about their wellbeing. There are some exceptions to this, involving circumstances where there someone’s safety is at risk. We are however, able to talk to concerned parents/guardians/partners in a general sense, offering advice and guidance on supports and resources that their student can avail of.
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