Counsellors Corner: Handling change and dealing with grief

Counsellors Corner: Handling change and dealing with grief Our counselling department has expanded in size and now provides many services to both the Primary School and High School.

Our counselling department has expanded in size and now provides many services to both the Primary School and High School.

Introductions

We hope that you had a good summer and that your children are getting used to their new surroundings and happy to be back at school where they can interact with their peers again. The focus of our June Counselling Corner was on transitions and at this time we are thinking particularly of the Year 7 students who are now in high school and of the new students, whether they come from a school in Bangkok or from another country.  We welcome them to St Andrews and hope that they are adjusting well.  If you have concerns, do let the school know by contacting your child’s tutor, the Head of Year or one of the counsellors.

Our counselling department is particularly pleased about the move to the new school as we now have a great set up, a proper reception area and more office space.  You will find us on the Office floor in the Blue building.

Bevin Clark (bevin.cl@standrews.ac.th is the Careers and University advisor. Amy Bonehill (amy.bo@standrews.ac.th) is in charge of personal counselling and is assisted by Simone Courso (simone.co@standrews.ac.th) who will come in twice a week (Tuesdays and Wednesdays).  Lauren Hoontrakul (lauren.ho@standrews.ac.th) is doing an internship under Amy’s supervision. Students can come to the counselling office before and after school, and at lunchtime but at times we also see them during a class.

Grief Counselling

As you know we have had a sad beginning to the school year with the passing of Mr Simon.  It was a shock to many of us, students, staff, and parents. It will take a while for some of us to process this reality. As a school we have tried to return to our routines while offering support for students who need it and allowing them to express their feelings whenever these come up. The counsellors are in touch with teachers and will see students who need more personal attention.

As Mr Roo said in his earlier message to parents grief is very personal. There is no right and wrong. Some students will talk about their feelings, others won’t. Some will display strong emotions and will cry, others will withdraw or be quiet. Some will want to be with friends or relatives, some will want to be on their own. Grief can also come up at unexpected times, sometimes weeks or years from the actual death of the person we lost. For parents it can be a challenge to witness their son or daughter’s grief and they might now always know how to handle it. If you are concerned about your child’s reaction do not hesitate to contact us. In the meantime we are sharing some links that we find useful:

• About bereavement in childhood

• Addressing grief

• About childhood grief

• Teenagers' understanding of death

Workshops

On another, more uplifting note, we look forward to seeing some of you at Coach Alessandra’s workshops. Please email amy.bo@standrews.ac.th if you are interested in attending this Friday’s ‘Mindful Way to Conscious Parenting’ Part II. The course runs for six weeks @8.15 on Fridays in the Exam Room on the top floor of the R Building of Primary School.

Amy, Simone and Lauren are also preparing  some workshops for parents of high school students. The first one will take place on the 27th of September at 8:15 am and the topic is Social Media and Your Teen. We will be giving students a survey to find out which social media apps they are using and will share the results with you. Kindly mark this date in your calendars.

We would like to wish you and your children a successful school year.