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Starting college often means a new city, a hostel room and nobody who knows you yet. If your college has 100 or more students, it must now have a qualified counsellor you can talk to when that gets heavy.
Does every college have to have a counselling centre?
Larger ones must have a counsellor. On 25 July 2025 the Supreme Court of India, in Sukdeb Saha v. State of Andhra Pradesh, issued binding interim guidelines on student mental health (Supreme Court of India, 25 July 2025). Every educational institution with 100 or more enrolled students must appoint at least one qualified counsellor, psychologist or social worker. Smaller institutions must set up referral links with outside mental health professionals.
The University Grants Commission had already asked every higher education institution to run a Students Services Centre with trained counsellors (UGC guidelines on students' psychological and emotional well-being, April 2023). Your college may call it something else: wellness centre, counselling cell, student wellbeing centre or student support services.
How do I find the student counselling centre in my college?
Try these in order.
College website. UGC says colleges must highlight their student support system on their website and in the admission brochure. Search the site for “counselling”, “wellness”, “wellbeing” or “Students Services Centre”, and check the Dean of Students page.
Notice boards and hostel walls. The Supreme Court asked institutions to display helpline numbers prominently in hostels, classrooms and common areas. The counsellor’s details may be posted nearby.
Orientation material or the student handbook. The court also asked colleges to build awareness of their support services into student orientation.
The campus health centre. UGC asks the two to coordinate, so staff there can point you across.
Someone you already know. Your faculty mentor, class advisor or hostel warden. You only need to ask, “Where is the counselling centre and how do I book?” You don’t have to say why. Our guide on how to talk to a hostel warden about problems has wording.
What does a college counsellor help with?
Far more than emergencies. The UGC guidelines list academic pressure, peer pressure, stress, career concerns and depression among the issues the centre is meant to address, and say sessions can be online, in person, on a telephone helpline or in groups. Students go for things like:
feeling homesick or lonely in the first months (common enough that we wrote about feeling lonely in your first year of college)
exam stress, a bad result, or falling behind
trouble with a roommate, friends or a relationship
ragging or harassment, alongside the formal complaint route in our fresher’s guide to anti-ragging rules
choosing a branch, minor or career
grief, family pressure, or simply not feeling like yourself
If you need a doctor or psychiatrist, the counsellor can usually help you find one.
If part of what’s weighing on you is a pile of coursework with no clear starting point, Fermi’s AI tutor can work out what you already know and build a plan for the session, so you sit down to a clear next step. It is a study aid, not counselling.
Is college counselling confidential?
Largely, yes. The UGC guidelines say colleges and their Students Services Centres must keep each counselling case on mental health issues confidential. The Supreme Court guidelines describe mentor and counsellor support as “consistent, informal, and confidential”, and ask colleges to keep anonymised records for their annual reports on wellness work.
At your first session it is fair to ask, “Is there anything you would ever need to share, and with whom?”
Is it normal to see a counsellor in college?
Very. In the United States, the 2024-25 Healthy Minds Study of more than 84,000 students at 135 colleges and universities found that about 37% had received therapy or counselling in the past year (Boston University School of Public Health, September 2025). In India, the government’s Tele-MANAS helpline has handled more than 29.82 lakh calls since it began, the health ministry told Parliament in December 2025 (Press Information Bureau, 5 December 2025).
How do I book my first counselling session?
Most centres take bookings by email, an online form, a phone call or a walk-in.
By email: “Subject: Request for a counselling appointment. Hello, I am [name], [year and branch], roll number [number]. I would like to book a session with a counsellor. I am free on [two or three time slots]. Please let me know what works. Thank you.”
At the desk or on the phone: “Hi, I’d like to book an appointment with the counsellor. What is the earliest slot?” You do not need to give a reason.
In the first session: “I’m not sure where to start, but I’ve been feeling [stressed, low or stuck] since [when].” That is enough.
If the centre is closed or you need to talk tonight, Tele-MANAS is a free, 24x7 national mental health helpline launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, on 14416 or 1800-891-4416 (IIT Kanpur counselling service page on Tele-MANAS).
Save your counselling centre’s number in your phone this week, before you need it.
