Counselling at the University of Stirling has been taken over by the external provider Spectrum.Life, now offering students 24/7 support through a free phone helpline.
At the end of January 2026, the University announced that students in need of counselling support should now turn straight to counselling and mental health support provider Spectrum. Life. This 24/7 service replaces the previously offered one-at-a-time, in-house counselling provided by the University itself.
Brig sat down for an interview with Rachel Jones, Director of Student Services, to better understand what support the University has to offer.
Rachel has been working at the University of Stirling since August 2024 and has worked in a range of different universities since 2000.
Her role at Stirling entails the management of student services, students’ skills and employability and student and faculty operations. In relation to this recent change, she said:
“…The basis of our review led us to make the decision that Spectrum.Life was the best way for us to provide a consistent and standardised counselling support offer to our students… It allows us to respond to shifts in our student community as well.”
Spectrum.Life
The University has had a contractual agreement with Spectrum.Life since 2023. The company is an established digital counselling service provider for a variety of organisations and institutions. Students are offered professional and qualified counselling available 24/7 through the support helpline 0800 031 8227.
Rachel goes on to clarify what this entails.
“Yes, so it’s entirely free for a student… It’s entirely confidential, and the position of that confidentiality is explained in that confidentiality statement when the caller first calls the number. Literally… a student can ring it as many times as they want.”
While this service is always available to students, it does not offer longer-term counselling support.
When asked about this, Rachel responded:
“So that isn’t a commitment we would make.” She continues, “What we will guarantee through that offer is that you would speak to a qualified psychotherapist or counsellor every time, but because the service is situational, not based on a longer-term therapeutic relationship, that’s not the model.”
This is however not new as the University shifted towards a more short-term ‘one-at-a-time’ counselling model back in 2019.
Mental Health Advisers
Though in-house counselling is no longer available, there are roles which offer in-person support to students who may require it. Rachel spoke of the Mental Health Advisers at the University, she said:
“So, we have Mental Health Advisers who are… both of the mental health advisers we have are mental health nurses by background.”
She goes on to explain that their role is not to diagnose students but rather help them find the most suitable support for them to ultimately succeed in their studies.
Rachel continued by saying, “Their role as mental health advisers is to work with students who are experiencing ongoing mental health issues, so ongoing low mood or really difficult anxiety or stress, and work with a student to try and understand what the root of that is…”
She explains that there is an Urgent Referral Pathway which helps ensure the Mental Health Advisers can help students who need the support.
“…So, any risk associated with mental health is dealt with by mental health advisers. And that’s been the case since 2019. That Pathway allows any member of the University community who’s concerned about a student to raise that with us through the referral pathway.”
The Student Services Hub is available and ready to help with any questions relating to mental health support or getting support from a mental health adviser.
Reviewing Student Counselling Services
Rachel goes on to clarify how the counselling model has changed over the years. Previously offering ‘block’ sessions, they moved to a ‘one-at-a-time’ model in 2019.
This model was implemented to cut waiting times and instead offer a more situational and short-term approach to counselling. With the one-at-a-time model, students could come with a certain concern and some weeks later book a follow-up session.
“So, we reviewed our counselling support off the last spring, and we used user data to look at user demand and engagement.”
Amongst results showing a lower engagement in first-year students, Rachel mentions:
“This data also revealed that while students’ needs were being met, there were some inconsistencies in the way our one-at-a-time model was being applied.”
At the end of 2024, they looked over this information, also noting improved but still long waiting times, with some students having to wait up to three weeks for an appointment.
“Then, the timing of our review converged with some staffing changes that were prompted by various things,” Rachel said.
When asked about the current situation at the University in relation to this decision, Rachel replied:
“I would say that we would never make a decision like this driven for financial reasons only… so I feel confident that the decision we’ve made provides scalable, consistent standard access to a level of equal specialist, qualified, accredited support.”
Rachel also mentions how this is a response to the number of students who commute.
“So, 40 per cent of our students now live at least 20 km away from the University, and that does impact the number of days that they travel in, particularly those students who are juggling over life commitments like families, caring, part-time job commitments…”
Getting feedback from students
Rachel stresses the need for feedback to improve and evaluate the services the University offers.
“Yeah, so my plea on my request to users of this service would be: Please, please give feedback because that enables us to understand how this need is being met or not. And then how we use that information to move the service forward.
“I’m always delighted to speak to students. That’s why I’m here.”
Additionally, the Students’ Union’s ‘Ask and Listen’ day on March 10 will offer students an opportunity to talk to Rachel and offer feedback on the student support services.
Wellbeing Week 2026
Well-being Week this year is from February 23 to 27 and will offer students an opportunity to talk to the mental health support team and other organisations.
Rachel said, “…It’s a long-standing initiative that we’ve run, and for the first time this year, we are running a day on the 25th. That’s around raising awareness of suicide and suicide prevention and postvention.”
“There will also be a number of organisations with stalls. And information about the services they offer. So, Breathing Space, Samaritans, Papyrus…”
Conclusion
In conclusion, Rachel said, “The other thing I would say is that we are in a constant process of reviewing our services to make sure that they support students as best as possible…”
She continues to say that “this is the beginning of a dialogue, and I welcome students talking to me about how we can best support them”.
Rachel ends by saying:
“It’s a long, long time since I was at University. The pressures are very different and the insight that students can give on their own experience is really, really powerful for us, because we want to be able to support students in the way they need in order to thrive.”
Featured Image Credit: University of Stirling
2nd year History & Journalism Student at the University of Stirling. Moved over from Sweden in 2024 to study in Scotland.
