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The Secret Mental Health Service:- Page Page 4
Below is a list of services that you could suggest when having those late-night conversations. As a helper it can sometimes be hard to hear this but you are not the only person your friend can talk to. They will have other friends and family members who care. So, help them to identify who those people are and suggesting these services can be helpful too.
Shout - Text Shout to 85258
Childline - Call 0800 1111 or visit their website for alternative services - https://www.childline.org.uk/
Samaritans - Call 116123
If they need more ongoing help
Abingdon Bridge (aged 13 - 25) https://www.theabingdonbridge.org.uk/
Riverside Counselling Service for Young People https://www.riversidecounsellingservice.co.uk/young-people/
NHS - Child and Adolescent Mental Health Support (CAMHS) Team or Mental Health Support
Team contact the Single Point of Access - https://secureforms.oxfordhealth.nhs.uk/mhst/
Adults Where Are You?
Young people helping other young people is nothing new. Although, I do think young people are turning to each other far more than they ever have. If you’ve watched Sex Education, you’ll know that the main character Otis provides a somewhat professional sex and relationship advice service to his peers. Albeit his clinic is often in the grotty off-limits toilet block, abandoned due to asbestos! Having grown up with parents as therapists, Otis has picked up a few tools along the way and his young clients soon come to trust (in Season One) his words of wisdom. Although, the whole show does seem to predicate itself on exploiting stereotypes for humour, it is reflecting something of the relationships between adults and young people. In fact, I am beginning to think some young people do not trust us to understand their difficulties, not to overreact, not to be judgemental, and to respond in a way that leaves them feeling understood. It’s not everyone’s experience, but it’s definitely what we are hearing in the counselling service.
The pandemic seems to have left young people stuck somewhere two years ago and are now suddenly in a world where everything has become incredibly controlled, serious and the decisions that they make are perceived as having fixed lifelong consequences. Whether that’s their GCSE choices, completion of ordinary homework, the use of single use plastic or what they sent online. They’ve missed out on valuable prep time to get them ready for adulthood. This Easter holidays, seize the opportunity to be playful and if the relationship between you and your young person has drifted, remember these wise words from Otis…
By Matt Barnard, Lead School Counsellor
The Cherwell School Counselling Service
By Matt Barnard and Donna Brunstrom
Matt Barnard and Donna Brunstrom are the School Counselling Service, Here they say a little more about themselves and the work they do…
What is counselling?
Counselling means different things to different people, and that includes counsellors themselves. In this article, I am going to explain what to expect from our service. It’s important to begin by saying that each person accessing the school’s counselling service uses the sessions in different ways. Some come and just want to talk and for us to listen and understand. It helps them to reduce their anxiety and feel less isolated with their problem. Some have no idea why they are feeling the way that they are and need us to truly listen and ask questions to help widen their perspective and deepen their understanding. Others know exactly what they want from meeting us, and we are there to help think through a question or a dilemma that they are facing.
Fundamentally, counselling is about making sense of an emotional or psychological distress. We focus on what underlies the symptoms in order to gain insight. By gaining insight, we can reflect on our own experience, feel a greater sense of control and have enough distance in our own mind, to then make decisions that are what we truly want. Rather than being avoidant, fearful of something and consumed by negative thoughts and emotions.
Who are the counsellors?
The counselling service is led by Matt Barnard and Donna Brunstrom. We work together very closely, to offer the very best service, which is continually adapting to meet both the needs of the students and respond to the availability of support outside of the school.
Matt’s first training is in Psychodynamic Therapy, which has its origin in Psychoanalytic Theory. The approach works on the principle that we hold on to painful memories and experiences in our unconscious that influences our behaviour and emotions in the present. In the session, the aim is to make unconscious material conscious and therefore bring about insight free from defensive behaviours. There is a focus on the therapeutic relationship, free association and offering interpretations or a potential hypothesis to account for what’s happening in the person’s life. Matt has continued his professional development, by completing further postgraduate training in family and systemic therapy which takes a more external, rather than internal perspective. Systemics, recognises the impact of the systems that we live and the influence it plays on our mental health, whether that be society, school or our family. Finally, Matt is in the process of becoming an accredited Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing therapist that is an evidence-based approach to processing trauma.
Donna trained at the Banbury Counselling Academy where she gained a Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling. Using an “integrative” approach, means that she draws upon a variety of resources and methods so that she can tailor the therapy to each person and their circumstances. Recognising the courage that it takes to come and attend a counselling appointment, Donna has a focus on the relationship between herself and the client. She will always go at your pace to explore what’s going on in your life, in a way that is safe, confidential and without judgement. Donna is also a teacher of Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), which is an evidence-based approach to help people with a variety of mental health conditions.
We are also joined by some amazing counsellors on placement who are in the process of completing their training courses to become fully qualified. They are highly supported through clinical supervision in and outside of school or through their training institution. Paula O’Connor, Heidi Mercer and Lucy Cunningham all join us from The Banbury Counselling Academy and are working towards becoming Integrative Therapists. Kirsty Mercer and Sophie Elliot join us from the Institute for Arts in Therapy and Education. Mel Macro is completing her Master’s in Psychodynamic Practice at Oxford. Melissa Handy will be joining us after Easter from Chrysalis that takes place at Oxford Brookes. Continued../
Regardless of our therapeutic approaches, we know, that it’s the relationship between ourselves and the young person that’s going to make the difference. Counselling is a two-way process, in that both the counsellor and the client (student) will need to work together to bring about change. It’s an equal relationship, and often young people are surprised that we are not there to tell them what they should do, but offer suggestions and work through what suits them best. Another example of how counselling means different things to different people. We try to empower young people to make changes, where possible, for themselves.
The school’s counselling service is not about giving advice, or telling the young person what to do. Some people’s definition of counselling is that we are about giving strategies, and I guess insight can bring about a strategy but what we are offering is something unique and specific to that individual. If someone is looking for psychoeducation about how to improve sleep, manage procrastination or how to revise better they are best placed speaking with a member of the pastoral team or a member of staff that they feel comfortable in speaking with. Over one hundred members of staff have now attended the Mental Health First Aid course, and so are equipped to have mental health conversations and provide direction to appropriate services and self-help resources. I think in the first instance, this is the best first step in getting help from the school before thinking about contacting the counselling service or other agency.
Counselling is a short-term intervention in that it has a specific goal in mind, in which there is an aim to achieve. It is of course supportive, but we are unable to offer ongoing support in the same way that say a member of the pastoral team can, like a tutor or Deputy Year Leader.
What is the process and what can you help with?
Students aged thirteen and over can refer themselves without consulting their parents or caregivers or the school in the first instance. We do strongly encourage that they do, but unless we have any concerns for their safety, or the young person gives us permission, we will not let parents know. If the child is under thirteen, we will seek permission from parents/caregivers first before meeting with them.
The self-referral form is accessible from the School Intranet Homepage, that can also be accessed from home by signing in to a Chrome browser and pressing the homepage button. We believe that this approach is helpful in ensuring that the young person wants to access the service, rather than being sent or told to do so. Just as with adults, the effectiveness of the sessions will only work if the person wants to be helped.
In the first session, which is usually with Matt or Donna, we may ask a lot of questions. Essentially, we are trying to understand what the problem is that the young person needs help with, and whether counselling would be of help or to consider another service that may be more appropriate. The first session, will feel very different to subsequent sessions as the counsellor is less active, and will use a personcentred approach by taking the lead from the young person.
There are many variables that may influence our decision to offer counselling or recommend an onward referral. It’s why we assess and make decisions on a case by case basis. It’s not possible to fully define what we work with and what we don’t. We take in to account the problem itself, the preference made by the young person, the severity of the problem and consider the timely manner in which they could be seen by another service if we make an onward referral.
We may recommend making a referral to the Mental Health Support Service (MHST), which is part of CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service). Their Education Mental Health Practitioners can come in to school or offer appointments remotely. It is a low-level intervention, of the same level as the counselling service, but takes a very different approach by focusing on the symptoms rather than what lies underneath the problem. This is very useful when someone is feeling low, with no obvious cause or are experiencing low level anxiety, like feeling worried about friendships or upcoming exams. It’s also useful for those who want to take an approach that is very much about the here and now. They use Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Behavioural Activation, Worry Management and other evidence-based methods. If your GP has made a referral to CAMHS, it is possible following a review of your case, that MHST is offered. Contin…/
