1

End of Term Review 2 December 2015

Please note – the format of the workshop will differ from this powerpoint

Adam Sandelson

LSE Student Counselling Service

2

Aims

Review progress over the first term

Anticipate future challenges Practical approaches Stress management skills Sources of advice and help

3

Part 1

What progress have you made in the first term?

4

Initial challenges

Transition - leaving behind the familiar and adapting to the new

Coping with loss, after initial excitement subsides

Meeting new people Academic challenges

5

The Social Side of Settling in

Making new friends Meeting people from similar and

different backgrounds Keeping contact with people from

home Balancing from work and leisure. Being realistic about what to expect Give yourself time to adjust Looking after yourself - food and

sleep

6

Settling in: The Academic side

Adjusting to a new level of study Adjusting to self-directed learning Trying to keep previous standards Adjusting reading strategies Presentations and essays The tutor relationship

7

Academic challenges

Feeling overwhelmed with material

Adapting to a new style of learning

Needing time to develop an independent critical voice

Anxiety can lead to procrastination

We may disguise avoidance by being very busy

We may find things to do that are interesting or even useful, but don't contribute towards the main goal

8

Reviewing expectations

What were your initial expectations? Social Cultural Academic

How has your actual experience worked out?

9

Part 2

What are the future work challenges facing you as a student?

10

Future work challenges Sustaining momentum Academic support Divergent tutor/ student

expectations Essays, exams and the

dissertation Making decisions about

the future – jobs, internships, PhD’s, location, relationships

Sorting out your whole life in 1 year

11

Underlying dynamics

Trying to please others Wanting to be the best Being a perfectionist The family / historic context for your

success, eg keeping the family together

Setting yourself impossible targets Re-enacting anxiety, trauma, failure

…

12

Dynamics of study

Pastrelationships

Relationshipwith LSE or

course of studyor tutor or …

Currentrelationships

13

Keeping perfectionism in check

Perfectionist attitudes can reduce achievement

They deny you satisfaction and cause you to achieve far less

Perfectionism is undesirable and an illusion! Experiment with your standards for success:

try for 80% Focus on the process of doing an activity not

just the end result. Evaluate success in terms of what you

accomplished and whether you enjoyed the task

14

Part 3

What are the practical ways of dealing with future challenges?

15

Practical approaches Revise and develop your study skills Time management skills Realistic and achieveable goals Short term targets and longer term

strategies Recognise achievements Concentrate on the task, not the

outcome Talk to others, ask for help and support

16

Focussing on the task

Break down huge activities into small manageable tasks

Remember past successes - you are likely to pass!

Allow time for breaks … space to breathe … and think

Mind maps, scribble ideas Go for a walk, talk out

loud

17

Part 4

Review your Stress Management Skills

18

Stress Management Skills Physical, behavioural, cognitive Regularly switch off with some kind of

physical activity Good self care – sleep, diet, caffeine,

alcohol and nicotine Allow yourself time out without guilt Acknowledge anxiety, rather than

denying it. Ask if your negative thoughts are

realistic

19

Challenging negative thoughts Apply ‘Socratic reasoning’ or

imagine this being tested in a Court of Law

Identify the negative thought Eg, I can’t do this Course

Ascertain the evidence For and Against

Ask if you are making a ‘thinking error’

Propose a more reasonable alternative thought

20

Thinking errors All or nothing thinking Discounting the positive/ tunnel

vision only seeing the negative side of things

Overgeneralizing because it happened in the past it will

happen again in the future Believing a catastrophe will happen Emotional Reasoning

If I feel it then it must be true

21

Evaluate your approach

What are the biggest challenges facing you over the coming year

Where can you most usefully improve your existing work strategies and coping skills?

LSE Student Counselling Service – KSW.507

Free and confidential Mainly short term counselling Book appointments in advance See Website for

Stress management handouts Self help resources Relaxation MP3’s

23

Sources of advice and help

Academic Adviser Departmental StaffDisability and Wellbeing Service Student Services

Centre TLC study skills advisors Learning World Student Union and Advice Centre Medical Centre

Mental Health and Wellbeing Advisors Deans

Don't wait until problems have grown impossibly largeIt’s OK to ask for help earlier

24

Forthcoming Groups

Stress Management Group (3 weeks)

Self Esteem Group (3 weeks)

Therapy Group

Places on all groups need to be booked in advance. Please see the website, Call Ext 3627, visit KSW.507 or email student.counselling@lse.ac.uk.