Pastoral Care

COUNSELLING

"Adolescents are not problems to be solved, but wonderful resources to be explored and celebrated."

Michael Resnick

The Development of Counselling Services

In the early 1990s, the St. Monica's College staff clearly identified the need to support and promote students' emotional well-being in a direct way. While teachers in the classroom had a welfare role, it was determined that there was a place for a non-teaching position whose sole focus was the welfare of students. In response to this need and on the initiative of the Principal, the counselling service was established in 1994. Over the years the service has grown and is now an integral part of the Student Services Faculty.

The services provided today include:

• Individual, confidential counselling sessions for students.
• Support for teachers in their work with students.
• Professional development for staff.
• Availability of the counsellors for parent inquiries and concerns.
• Parent support programs and seminars.
• Assessment.
• Referral.

What happens in Counselling?

• During the adolescent stage of development and growth, young people often experience many new challenges in their lives, which may include issues with friends/peers, learning difficulties, self confidence, bereavement, anxiety, stress, depression and many others.
• The role of the counsellor is to support students through these challenging times, by assisting them to identify their issues and to develop appropriate strategies and action plans to cope with or resolve these issues.
• The counselling process works best when the adolescent is actively involved in coming up with solutions to his/her own problems via structured discussions and activities with the counsellor.
• Counselling often has a homework component designed to help the student maximise the strategies/ideas gained from the sessions.

Students are able to make appointments with counsellors on their own initiative and do not require permission from their parent/guardian in order to do this. However, students are encouraged to tell their parents that they are seeing a counsellor and to discuss their issues and progress with their families.

Students are given an appointment time that is usually during class but may also be at lunchtime or after school, as agreed. The class teacher signs the appointment slip before they attend the appointment.

Student or parent involvement with counsellors is offered in the climate of confidentiality. Ethically, confidentiality cannot be maintained if, in the professional judgement of the counsellor, the student is seriously at risk of harm or poses a risk to themselves or others. In such cases families and /or relevant professionals are notified. This notion of confidentiality and its limits is clarified with students prior to any formal counselling sessions.

The Varied Work of the Counsellor

The role of the college counsellor means that they are involved with many groups across the whole school, assisting to identify and meet the welfare needs of the college. The counsellors:

• are members of the Student Welfare Committee and are involved with sub committees that work on areas of curriculum or school policy concerning welfare.
• support teachers with their work in the classroom, assisting with programs or offering advice about particular students.
• work closely with the Education Support Faculty in supporting students with learning difficulties.
• administer cognitive assessments for those students identified as having serious learning problems and for students coming up for integration funding review.

The college counsellors both conduct and offer support to many different programs that operate in the school.

• In the area of parent education, the counsellors offer evening seminars and short courses during the day, usually covering topics such as transition from primary to secondary school and adolescent development; communication skills; limit setting and problem solving.
• The counsellors also assist with the training and regular support of the students who take on special roles in the school, such as Peer Mediation and VCE Supportive Friends.
• The counsellors provide professional development to the staff in areas such as loss and grief, behaviour disorders, managing discipline issues and learning difficulties.
• They also organise guest speakers to come to the college to explore topics of interest.

Referral to other agencies

The counsellors may recommend referral to an outside agency when they are unable to provide the specialist help required by the young person or family, or when a local agency offers particular programs or support that will best meet their needs at the time.

The counsellors are familiar with the many and varied local services for families and young people, and are able to provide information about them and/or to make contact on the family's behalf. Some of the services offered include specialist counselling, financial advice, youth activity programs, support groups, parenting courses, family mediation.

CONTACT TELEPHONE NUMBER

The College Counsellors work from both the Davisson Street and Dalton Road campuses.