Hello, my name is Catherine Hirst and I am the School Counsellor at Kingston Park Primary School. My role is to offer emotional support to the children of Kingston Park Primary School in the form of formal counselling sessions. I am normally in school every Thursday.

Why does Kingston Park need a School Counsellor?

Everyone has thoughts, feelings and worries, children are no different! Children may worry about similar things to adults such as friendships, bullying, difficulties at home, feeling left out or they may be finding it hard to contain their very difficult emotions like anger, anxieties or intense sadness. Sometimes these worries feel so big that they don’t know how to cope and this can often come out in their behaviour.

Counselling is a way of giving a child a chance to talk about upsetting feelings, challenging behaviour and situations they are experiencing with someone who is trained to listen carefully without making any judgements. As children can find it difficult to put into words how they are feeling it’s really important to do this in a child friendly way.

How can counselling help?

Children are referred to counselling for a variety of reasons such as anxiety, anger, bereavement, parental separation and lack of confidence. Having thoughts, feelings and worries listened to, clarified or understood by someone who is not directly involved can be incredibly helpful. Counselling can also encourage children to see things differently and I teach new skills to help a child cope better. Counselling can help improve a child’s self-esteem, increase their self-belief and encourage positive changes.

If you would like more information about how your child can receive counselling please talk to Mrs Cowell, SENDCo as she coordinates all of the referrals.

Once a referral is made I normally meet with the parent/carer to discuss this further. However if you simply want some advice and a chat about ways to support your child emotionally I would be delighted to meet with you.