Hi Susie
I read your post with interest. I'm right at the end of my diploma and have
had a placement in a secondary school. I also work as a teaching assistant
in another secondary school. In both schools, amongst both staff and student
groups, the atmosphere is very pro-counselling. On numerous occasions I have
seen teenagers ask when they can come and have a chat when a counsellor has
arrived for one of their peers.
I take great pleasure in the way that counselling has been cultivated within
those schools - perhaps they should be used as a model :-) Unfortunately, I
can't take any credit as both systems were set up long before my time.
Best Wishes
Beverley
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> Date: Mon, 7 Apr 2003 15:21:16 +0100
> From: "s.macer" <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: counselling young people
>
> Mo,
>
> Apart from being counselling student in training, I'm also a peripatetic
> music teacher in a school that provides a counselling service for
> pupils. The counsellor comes into school in response to a pupil having
> anonymously marked an 'X' on a chart of her available times.
>
> Obviously my role is to teach not offer counselling to my pupils, but
> working one to one in a boarding school creates a closer relationship
> where they are more likely to quite unexpectedly splurge out all sorts
> of things to me. I've never known any of them accept my tentative
> suggestion that perhaps the school counsellor might be able to help them
> though. Most have looked horrified and a few have reacted with total
> derision by way of response.
>
> I think this may be partly due to their knowing that pupils who have
> seriously infringed school rules have been 'made' to have counselling
> with resultant feedback to fellow pupils that the woman is an 'old
> dragon', and quite probably their fears about confidentiality or the
> small possibly of another pupil spotting them coming or going from the
> counselling room (even though it's located in the san) doesn't help
> either.
>
> So I can only say that from my own teaching experiences that pupil
> perception of the school counsellor is pretty poor.
>
> From my own perspective I'm always having to weigh up the 'duty of care'
> as a teacher, plus being bound by BACP codes of ethics and practice as
> to whether I'm able to keep what a pupil tells me confidential or
> whether there is an obligation to report the matter.
>
> Kindest,
> Suzie.
>
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