Background:The mental health of university-level students has become a global concern due to the increased level and complexity of mental health presentations among students and the rise in demand for university-level counselling services, often the primary source of support for these students. However, to date, few studies have explored counsellors' experiences of working in this context. Aim:To explore counsellors' experiences of providing counselling to students in university-level institutions in Ireland. Method:This interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) study used one-to-one semi-structured interviews to capture the lived experience of qualified counsellors who were actively providing counselling in university-level institutions (N = 8). Data were analysed following the six stages of the IPA analytic method.Findings: Two superordinate themes were identified: 'fighting for recognition' captures participants' struggle to gain and/or maintain a sense of value in their professional identity and to explain the complexity of their role to others; and 'zigzagging' describes how they need to respond flexibly and creatively to meet student needs in a context that is unpredictable and evolving. Conclusion:The study highlights the growing complexity of the university-level student counsellor role and identifies the challenges and rewards associated with working in this context. It suggests the importance of role recognition and counsellor capacity to adjust to protect their well-being and ultimately the quality of the service provided to students.

Mothers of 25 children with congenital heart disease were interviewed to elicit family reactions to the patient's disorder. Problems for parents included: vague apprehension about the behavior of the newborn, uncertainty about the diagnosis, anxiety about the child's symptoms, fears of death, feelings of guilt, disappointment and irritation with their burden, overprotective attitudes, attempts to provide the child with a normal active life, difficulties with discipline, and various problems related to hospitalization, cardiac catheterization, and heart operation. The physician's role in management of such patients is aided by awareness on his part of the general and specific impact of this handicapping disorder of childhood.

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