ABSTRACT
The context in which student counselling takes place is both exciting and, at times, alarming. The potential for alarm is rooted in the changing nature of the student population, with a noted increase in the level of disturbance, and the rapid move towards expansion and structural change within the organization of higher education. Student counselling in Britain began in the 1950s with individuals who had seen the need for dedicated services through their work as teachers, administrators, doctors and psychotherapists within universities. Parallel to the accreditation scheme Association for Student Counselling (ASC) developed a document entitled Advisory Service to Institutions. Examinations and continual assessment have a particular significance both in reality and within the internal world of students. Many practitioners who come into student counselling from other settings find the impact of the academic year, and the external tasks that each student must complete, an intrusion on their concept of therapeutic work.
