Abstract:

The topic of this paper concerns the counselling system at a specific university - Mendel University in Brno. Counselling is a very important part of not only the university environment. In general, there is an increasing demand for counselling services in the whole society. Life presents humanity with new and familiar obstacles, albeit in a different context (pandemics, war conflicts, climate crisis, migration), to which it must respond and deal with in some way. Sometimes the path is active resistance, sometimes gradual adaptation. All this can have health (physical) consequences, and is reflected in the psyche. Not everyone is able to adapt to a new situation smoothly, there are also individuals who need the help of those around them. For these people, professional counselling is the first and often only help. Individual universities also offer counselling services in accordance with the legislation. It is now a standard part of the university environment to provide support services to students as well as academic and non-academic staff. The majority of clients come from students. They seek help mainly in the areas of coping with studies, psychological distress, anxiety disorders and depressive states. Another large group are students with specific learning needs, such as students with learning disabilities, as well as students with psychological (mental), physical and sensory disabilities. In addition, the two groups may overlap. The quality of counselling services is also assessed as part of the evaluation process, which is the responsibility of the Ministry. In this paper, we will focus on mapping the situation, who visits the counselling centre and what problems they come with. We will also mention the already implemented survey, which took place in the fall of 2019 and aimed to determine the level of satisfaction of students with special needs with the services of the Counseling and Career Center. We will also be interested to know whether the coronavirus pandemic has had any impact on counselling services. Counselling was previously a neglected area that was considered to be a kind of secondary, complementary activity of the university. It is now clear that well implemented counselling activities can prevent and possibly mitigate academic failure. In the case of staff, they can also address, for example, relationship problems at their source. This is where working with a professional coach who is able to mediate in the workplace or engage in a negotiation process proves promising. Again, both students and employees can benefit from his services. The paper will conclude with a brief mention of further visions towards improving the level of counselling services. If there is satisfaction on the part of the staff, including the college management, this will be reflected positively in the satisfaction of the students. The study, which is generally demanding, will not lose any of its quality, but will teach students how to deal with crisis situations and how to face them, which they will then take into their future personal and professional life.

Keywords:

Special educational needs, university, counseling, support services, crisis, stress.