The University Of The West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad & Tobago

The Peer Counselling Association (PCA) has been in existence over a period of twelve (12) years and continues to grow in membership, appreciation and acknowledgement amongst the student body of the University of the West Indies. This group holds great expectations from our peers and we the members of PCA assist them with any threatening obstacles that hinder their path to become well-functioning members of their society.

The PCA is a dedicated group to the psychological well-being of students of the University of the West Indies. The members of the association aspire to attend and assist with every student’s mental functioning and capability of life as a student whilst pursuing his/her academic career at the University.

Every academic year, discussions are held on topics pertinent to the University population such as coping with life away from home, depression, relationships, drug abuse, time management, anger management, healthy eating and so on. AIDS awareness is another focus of the PCA, manifested in our annual AIDS rally on campus.

Together with the support of the Counselling and Psychological Services, as well as other groups within the institution, we wish to ensure that the University student has someone who cares for him/her and can assist them in any capacity we can. By providing trained peers with whom the student can identify, the aim is to assist the student to:

1. Cope with his/her difficulties independently

2. Make wise and safe choices against rash, irrational ones.

3. Feel that he/she has a support base for help amongst his/her peers if in the event the individual may not wish to go to a professional in the field.

4. Be referred in the event that he/she needs immediate professional help.

5. Focus on balancing academic and non-academic life.

6. Have control of his/her destiny by recognizing that he/she has control over his/her environment and therefore may hinder these same unsavoury situations from controlling his/her life.

Please Note:

All information discussed amongst the counsellor and the student shall be confidential between that counsellor and the student.

For whatever reasons the student realises that he/she need some assistance to deal with his/her issue/s, it is entirely voluntary by that person.