School Counselling Service

To Speak with a counsellor, please complete this form  which will be sent to the team. Your name is added to a waitlist which the team review every week. Once a counsellor is available they will contact you at school. The school counselling service does not provide crisis support – if you need help right now please click here 

What does a school psychologist do?

The psychology service may serve each student differently depending on their challenges and goals. Generally, the psychology service provides:

·         Student Counselling

·         Psychometric, Behavioural and Mental Health Assessment

·         Student and parent seminars on relevant topics

·         Teacher and parent consultation

·         Collaboration with external service providers.

The school psychology service is generally not designed for complex issues requiring extended treatment and at times will support children to connect with appropriate support services. The team can then collaborate with these providers to assist in implementing recommendations and supports.

When should I see the school psychologist?

Students may engage with the psychology service for support with significant or persistent challenges with:

·         Learning at school

·         Getting on with teachers, family members, friends and others

·         Feeling unhappy, angry, worried or scared

·         Coping with difficult situations

·         Feeling hurt or unsafe

The psychologists also provide seminars to the student and parent community on relevant mental health and child development topics.

How do I arrange to see a school psychologist? 

Sometimes students are referred to the school psychologist by a parent, teacher or a friend- or students might also opt to self-refer.

You can organise a referral by

·         Asking a PC teacher, Year Advisor, Dean, or another trusted member of staff know that you would like to speak with someone from the psychology team.

·         Speaking to the student office.

·         You or your parent can complete a referral online at the top of the page.

Referrals are received and then placed on a waitlist. The psychology team meet weekly to look at their availability and allocate students as soon as a spot becomes available.

Confidentiality

Student confidentiality is very important to the quality and access of the counselling service, and the psychologists try very hard to protect and respect this. Psychologists will often initially call or meet with parents/carers to introduce themselves, obtain consent and discuss the student. Depending on the situation, some students aged 14 or older may access the service independent of parent permission. Students are always encouraged to talk with their parents about their wellbeing. The psychologists then work to find a balance between student confidentiality and the need for a collaboration with parents/carers, other professionals, and school staff.  Therefore, while the counsellor will not provide specific details of counselling sessions, necessary feedback may be provided to parents and staff members at appropriate times if it is relevant to your child’s wellbeing, behaviours or learning.

Further information about the informed consent process is provided when a student is referred to the psychology service. Please ask us for more information.