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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