Remote Appointment Guidelines

Session terms 

• Online and phone therapy can only be offered to students residing within the EU, for indemnity puposes. 

• The UL Student Counselling and Wellbeing team will engage in their work throughout their normal working hours during the week. 

• All session times refer to Greenwich Mean-Time (GMT). 

• Due to cost, international calls are not possible, but Microsoft Teams is available in both audio and visual formats. 

• Prior to setting you up with a team member, a next of kin or trusted contact person must be named and their telephone contact number provided in the registration form sent to you. The service will only use that contact should you (the client) be considered at risk by a team member. We will always talk to you prior to contacting your named person. 

• You do not have to agree to phone or online support. You are welcome to decline this support. However, should you engage in such support you are demonstrating that you have agreed to do so. Should you change your mind about wanting to work in such a way, please talk to your assigned team member about this. If you feel you cannot do that, please email counselling@ul.ie to inform us that you no longer wish to engage in support this way. 

• Phone and online support requires you to use your words. This is more important than in face-to-face support because we cannot read your emotions over the phone, unless you communicate it to us. This is a condition of our support. 

Systems used for remote appointments

Microsoft Teams  

UL Student Counselling and Wellbeing Service uses Microsoft Teams to engage students in online visual support. This will take place between you and the team member via both party’s UL email account only. Please keep an eye on  your UL emails and UL Microsoft calendar, as the service team member will set up the sessions by inviting you to click on a Microsoft Teams link via email. 

Phone 

If you do not have a way of engaging with online support or if you feel it doesn’t suit you, you are welcome to engage in support over Microsoft Teams audio.

*Team member refers to any member of the UL student counselling and wellbeing team, including intern team members, qualified team members, Psychologist Assistants, and Clinical /Counselling Psychologists. Emails and phone calls from the administrator should also be treated with confidentiality and netiquette, as outlined above. 

**Online psychoeducational support refers to any form of support occurring over the internet, including Microsoft Teams (including audio only and audio-visual), or messaging via Microsoft Teams