SPEAK UP
Sometimes student can feel nervous about speaking with a counsellor or other professional for the first time. They might worry about saying the wrong thing or getting into trouble. Below is some information on what you can expect when seeing someone from the CSC Wellbeing Team for the first time.
You can speak with anyone from our wellbeing team about anything that is bothering you. It could be about you, a friend or family member, or another student. Some of the things we reguarly discuss are:
Friendships / family issues
Relationship issues
Bullying
Stress
Gender & Sexuality
Self Esteem
School based issues
Mental Health and Wellbeing
Drugs & Alcohol
Family Violence
Grief & Loss
In the first session it is likely they will want to get some general information about you. They might ask questions about:
how you have been feeling lately
what has been happening in your life lately
your past
how things are with your family
your medical health.
They ask you all these questions is so they can better understand what is going on for you.
Be honest and try and say as much as you can so the counsellor gets a better idea of things.
After your first session, your counsellor will probably have a talk with you about what you would like to do from here. They may suggest that you come back and see them again, or they may suggest another person who is better qualified to address your particular needs.
Everything you say will be confidential unless you tell them that you are thinking of hurting yourself or someone else, then the counsellor might have to inform parents and/or relevant services. See below for more on privacy and confidentiality.
What you speak with us about is confidential (that means it stays between you and the wellbeing worker)
Unless….
You give your consent (agreement) to share information with someone else, like a parent, teacher or another worker
You are being seriously harmed by someone else
You are being neglected by someone who is meant to care for you
You are thinking of seriously harming yourself
Someone else is being, or is likely to be, seriously harmed by you or another person
We form a reasonable belief that a sexual offence has been committed by an adult against a child under 16
Or if our notes are subpoenaed by any court.
No worker should ever break their confidentiality with you unless the situation is really serious and they feel they have no choice. If a professional decides it's necessary to report something about you, it doesn't mean they don't care about or don't respect you – it's quite the opposite. They'll have decided to tell a small number of people who have to know, in order to stop things from getting worse. They will normally talk to you about it first.