What is King’s Counselling Online (KCO)?

When registering for mental health support at King’s, you are assessed based on a form you complete describing your symptoms. This is called the ‘CORE-34’ and once you complete the questionnaire, a clinician will be able to understand your level of need, based on a score which will indicate whether this is currently low, moderate, high or severe. 
  
Based on this score, along with other information you provide about your reasons for registering for counselling, a clinician will suggest the best way for you to receive support. 

Once you register with Counselling and Mental Health Support, your information and preferences will be reviewed by one of our clinical team.

If King’s Counselling Online is appropriate for you, we will let you know and one of the KCO team will be in touch to arrange an appointment at a convenient date and time. 
 
The online counselling sessions are usually delivered via Google Meet, but please let us know if you prefer to use another platform. 
 
Important to know: If you are in crisis (which may be indicated by a CORE-34 score of over 25 or if you are worried about your immediate safety), please refer to our article Emergency & crisis support for students for guidance.

Yes; if you are not in the UK, you are still able to receive support from King’s Counselling Online.

The service is only intended for you if you score as ‘low to moderate’ in relation to your mental health needs  
 
The service is unlikely to be suitable for you, if: 

• You are in a crisis and you need the urgent intervention of emergency services.
• Your CORE-34 score is above 20.
• You are already waiting for an appointment with the King’s Counselling & Mental Health Support Service, or are under the care of either an NHS mental health team or private psychological therapist or psychiatrist.  
• You believe the advice or short-term counselling support of a therapist would not help.
• You think you may need your counsellor to support you by liaising with your tutor on your behalf, or by providing evidence in relation to mitigating circumstances.  

This is a confidential service, but you will be required to provide your student ID number and other personal information when accessing the service.  
 
Our affiliate therapists are all UK-based, fully trained, and qualified to British standards. They are registered members or accredited members of the BACP and/or UKCP. 
 
Important to know: If you are at risk to yourself or a potential harm to others, we may need to extend confidentially and share this information with other relevant King’s Student Services, your emergency contact, your GP and/or NHS crisis services. We will always aim to seek your consent, but there may be some circumstances where this will not be possible. 

For more detail on our safeguarding policies and procedures at King's, please refer to When I share information with a student support service, is this kept confidential?

If you have received a CORE-34 score above 25, this would indicate your current needs are very high.

In this situation, we recommend contacting crisis services so that you can receive the appropriate level of support.

Please refer to our article Emergency & crisis support for students for guidance.

You find lots of guidance and resources for managing your own wellbeing in our Health & wellbeing category, and you may also find this article helpful: Top tips on managing your mental health & wellbeing.