The professional is personal: an evaluative inquiry into the experience of setting up and managing a university counselling service

This project is an innovative form of evaluative inquiry into the university counselling service which the researcher set up in 1992 and still manages at Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College. The inquiry explores the experience of the researcher in relation to this role, and also the experiences of other heads of university counselling services. This inquiry was conducted within the naturalistic research paradigm, using interviews as the primary data-gathering route. Preparation, conduct and analysis of interviews were informed by heuristic methodology. The focus of this project is to establish a structure of experience and learning drawn from reflections, self-process, motivations and subsequent actions of the researcher and ten participants from other student counselling services over a period of time. These eleven participants comprised two counselling and psychotherapy researchers; eight participants (four men and four women) who have all set up and, or managed a university counselling service; and the researcher. The information was gathered through self-process, dialogue and semi-structured interviews. Qualitative paradigms and processes have been used since these approaches value the human experience component in conception and realisation of a concrete, functional structure.

The outcomes are in the form of conclusions and recommendations regarding the management and operations of university counselling services, e.g. guidelines and checklists where core themes are gathered in such a way that important new considerations are highlighted. These findings have also made a significant difference to the continuing work and insight of the researcher and have also assisted other practitioners in both setting up and managing university and counselling services in general through providing the material for academic papers, conference presentations and training events.