Our counselling and mental health services

We offer short-term counselling  and mental health services modelled on brief intervention talk therapy to support you while you're studying at AUT.

We provide a practical and solution-focused approach to a wide range of issues, whether you need help with personal or study-related concerns. We can connect you with other services within or outside AUT. No formal mental health diagnosis is required to access our services.

Initial assessment

During your first appointment, you'll meet a member of our team to assess your situation and discuss the best ways to support you.

This may include:

• Suggesting coping strategies and self-help tools
• Referring you to brief intervention talk therapy
• Connecting you to other university support services (including the Disability Support Service, Student Hub, rainbow student support, health coaching)
• Guiding you to self-refer to private therapy
• Linking you with specialised long-term support if needed

Brief intervention talk therapy

If you're on our waiting list for counselling sessions, we'll get in touch with you as soon as we have availability.

Our service is designed to support people with mild to moderate difficulties. Most students see us for 3-6 sessions. This can be extended on a case-by-case basis.

Same-day appointments

We can provide immediate support if you can’t wait for an appointment to be available. The need for an urgent appointment is assessed on a case-by-case basis. Please contact reception on 09 921 9292.

Each semester, during the assessment weeks, we also increase our availability to offer 30-minute same-day appointments that are available on a first-in first-served basis. These are suitable for brief support and same-day concerns.

Group workshops

We also facilitate a range of group discussions throughout the year. These will be advertised via student communications as they come up.