What is counselling?

Counselling is a supportive relationship that helps a client to

use their skills and resources to cope with life circumstances
in a better way to achieve overall wellbeing, career
development or to overcome psychological problems.



Who is a counsellor?

A counsellor is a professional
with theoretical knowledge
and training in counseling.
Counsellors use this
knowledge and training in
order to help clients
overcome their problems and
realize their full potential.




Do you need a counsellor?

How is your personal and academic life progressing? This is an
important and interesting time of your personal and
professional development. As an undergraduate student, you
may be facing new life challenges including your course work,
living away from home, extracurricular activities, working with
colleagues, relationships and love affairs and much more. As it
could be interesting and rewarding to face these challenges, it
could also be stressful at times to cope up with them. Family
members, friends, mentors are among the many resources,
that may help with facing them. In addition, counselling would
be a suitable way of getting systematic help that will
capacitate you to deal with your current stressors and also to
face future challenges. The list given below may highlight
some of the issues in relation to your academic and personal
life. These are only examples and note that it is by no means
an exclusive list.



Academic issues:

Difficulties with language
Difficulties with learning
process
Time management
workload and deadlines
Examinations and presentation anxiety
Poor performance
Repeat exams
Decision making



Personal issues:

Home sickness: living
away from home
Life transitions: from school
to University
Life changes: from dependent
to independent
Relationship issues
Major life event: Loss or separation from loved ones,
accidents
Domestic violence
Physical and
sexual abuse
Psychological
problems that cause
anxiety and distress
Financial difficulties







Types of services provided by counsellors

Individual counselling
Group counselling
Referrals to other services




The counselling session

The duration of a single session and the number of
counselling session will differ depending on the needs of
the client.
Nature of the counselling relationship

Maintaining the clients confidentiality
Respecting the individuality of the client
Clients are treated with dignity and care
There will not be any pressure on the clients values
No romantic or sexual relationship with the client
The client has the right to end counselling at any time


Student counselling at SAITM

The student counselling services will be offered by the
Department of Psychology and Medical Psychology
during weekdays from 8.00 am to 4.30 pm. This service is
free of charge. The students are requested to make a
prior appointment to seek counselling.



Contact information

Department of Psychology and Medical Psychology
Faculty of Medicine

South Asian Institute of Technology & Medicine
No. 60, Suhada Mawatha, Millennium Drive,

off Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumarathunga
Mawatha, Malabe, Sri Lanka.


Telephone: +(94) 112 413331 Ext: 235