University of Limerick to clear counselling waiting list

The University of Limerick (UL) has implemented new measures to combat the growing number of students on waiting lists to receive counselling.

The institution, which is responding to the huge demand for on-campus counselling services, has allocated extra funds to clear the waiting list for this service by the end of the year.

This additional resource means it can employ the services of another full-time counsellor, which translates into 20 extra sessions a week.

“Within the first four weeks of term we had developed a long waiting list of more than 40 students. We went, and the Students’ Union went, to university authorities and they responded and said they weren’t happy with the situation either and said they’d give funding to ensure no students have to wait to be seen,” said head of counselling at UL Dr Declan Aherne.

“It’s a response to an issue that has been building over the years. It’s clearly not going away so the university has taken a positive step and said yes, let’s address it now, in the short term. They’ve also agreed in the long term to look at a more sustainable solution regarding an extra position.”

He said he was “absolutely delighted” with the decision the university has taken and said its response was extremely positive.

“They’re [the university[ really showing a genuine commitment to helping students who are struggling.”

The Students’ Union, along with Dr Aherne, said it ramped up efforts to tackle the waiting list issue after reading an article in the Irish Examiner which revealed the number of students attending counselling nationwide increased 300% in the last eight years.

“After reading that I really wanted to do something so I wrote a press release calling on the HEA and the HSE to collaborate and make sure the funding is part of the budget and then internally we’ve been lobbying the director of student affairs and our governing authority,” said president of the University of Limerick Students’ Union (ULSU) Colin Clarke.

“I’ve just been saying it every chance I get, at every single meeting, at finance meetings, governing authority, everything, until something was done. And from yesterday the extra hours were there.”

Mr Clarke said the move “makes sense” and that an increase in the demand for services should logically mean an increase in the supply of services.

“It makes sense for colleges nationwide to invest in the mental health of their students. UL took on three new people to increase their retention rates because retention rates are obviously very important,” he said.

“But if you actually look at the statistics, the biggest thing preventing people from dropping out is counselling. They’ve gone to counselling and they’ve gotten better and have decided to stick it out. So it’s not just the morally right thing to do, it also makes business sense to keep people in college.”

Mr Clarke said campaigns such as Please Talk and other mental health campaigns promote the idea of going to talk to a professional if you are having issues.

However, the effectiveness of those campaigns is negated if they reach out to a service and cannot be seen immediately, he said.