Counselling at Charles Darwin School

Counselling is a safe space for you to be listened to without judgement, to help you understand your thoughts and feelings.  Counselling can provide an opportunity to share feelings in a confidential space, rather than allow them to grow and become unmanageable.  Some difficulties you might want to discuss include:

• Relationship and friendship issues
• Drugs and alcohol
• Self-esteem issues
• Abuse
• Issues at home
• Bullying / Cyber-bullying
• Anger
• Sex / sexuality
• Identity issues
• Anxiety
• Bereavement / Loss
• Depression
• Self-harm
• Eating disorders
• OCD and Phobias

What to expect

Privacy – Counselling sessions are confidential, which means anything you discuss with your counsellor will not be shared without your permission, except in situations where there is a risk to your safety or that of others.

Non-judgemental Space – Counsellors are trained to provide support without making the client feel evaluated or judged.

Initial Assessment

Understanding needs – In the first few sessions, the counsellor will ask some questions to better understand your background, current situation, and reasons for seeking help.  This will help in tailoring the counselling process to your specific needs.

Setting Goals – The counsellor will work collaboratively with you to set achievable goals.  These goals might relate to managing emotions, changing behaviours, improving relationships, or just simply understanding yourself better.

Participation

Clients are encouraged to engage in their counselling sessions by talking openly about their thoughts and feelings and taking part in any activities suggested by the counsellor.

We encourage feedback on what is and is not working for you. This allows us to adjust our approach if needed.

This is a collaborative process where both the counsellor and the client evaluate progress throughout the sessions to ensure needs are met where possible.

Conclusion

We offer between 6-8 sessions and once these have been achieved, we evaluate the progress the client has made and discuss any aftercare that may be needed.  This could be an onward referral or resources to promote ongoing self-care.  We offer every client a follow-up session which usually takes place a month after ending the therapy.

Our Team

We have a team of eight counsellors who work in school across all five days using two dedicated counselling rooms which are situated near the canteen.  We have a therapy dog, Ted, who is also part of our team.  Outside of regular appointment times, we also offer drop-in sessions, and these are on a ‘first come first served’ basis and operate on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 8am.

How to access support

If you feel you would like to have counselling, please speak to your Achievement Co-Ordinator or Pastoral Manager, who will complete a referral form for you.  When you reach the top of our waiting list, we will contact parents for permission.