The role of the school counsellor
The effectiveness of this school-based program allows school counsellors to be readily available to school staff for consultation and to families and students. This is all about the wellbeing of our children.
What does the school counsellor do?
The school counsellor helps students:
- Engage fully with their school experience by addressing social and emotional issues.
- Understand themselves and others.
- Improve self-concepts and cope with stress.
- Develop decision-making and problem-solving skills.
- By offering counselling to students and families for issues ranging from peer relationships to the effect of separation and loss on family members.
- By providing group work for students with an identifiable need.
The school counsellor helps parents:
- Participate more effectively in their children’s education.
- Understand and meet their children’s social and emotional needs.
- Utilise school and community resources.
- Access referrals from outside agencies, where appropriate.
What is counselling?
Counselling provides the opportunity for people to clarify worries and develop and use strengths to find ways of managing and resolving these or new ways of coping.
Counselling addresses such issues as:
- Behavioural problems at school or at home
- Self-regulation
- Building resiliency and self-esteem
- Child protection issues
- Conflict resolution
- Dealing with anxieties and fears
- Family separation and change issues
- Grief and loss
- Learning difficulties
- Anger management
- Welfare/financial assistance
- Friendship issues/social skills
- Parenting concerns
St Columba’s School Counsellor
Our school counsellor is a free service and is part of St Columba’s School’s ongoing commitment to the pastoral care needs of the students and school community. Discussions and any records kept by the school counsellor are considered as private and treated confidentially.
School Counsellor Services
Our school counsellor helps to identify, to assess, and to resolve the social and emotional challenges of children, which impact upon their attendance, wellness and achievement in school.
Their main aim is to support children to gain the most from their educational opportunities. They work together with pupils, parents, school personnel, community agency staffs and others to help make school a successful and useful experience for all children.
Our school counsellor also works with parents and staff to support them to better understand our children. St Columba’s School provides the services of a school counsellor to support our community.
