School-Based Counselling Work With Teachers: An Integrative Model

Abstract

Teachers increasingly face many challenges in a wide range of areas, mainly in those related to their students’ behavioural problems and psychological well-being. Evidence shows that teachers can effectively assist students at risk or with difficulties, when they are adequately guided and supported by well-trained school counsellors. Hence, the need for more holistic and systemic school-based interventions for children at risk and their families, as well as specialized assistance for teachers is advocated by many authors. Focusing on the role of teachers in promoting the social-emotional health of pupils at risk, the authors present the key components of an innovative counselling intervention within school context that focuses on enabling teachers being more resilient and more confident in order to better deal with cases of “difficult” students. The model integrates elements of systemic, psychodynamic and resilience based thinking with a strong emphasis on “inclusive education” issues. The authors describe the key theoretical background and the various aspects of this model, discussing the challenges of its implementation. They finally propose that in order to be effective, such models should emphasize the collaborative, dialectical, and systemic aspects of the counselling process with teachers. The final conclusion is that school counsellors have a critical role to play in supporting teachers helping their “difficult” pupils avoid school exclusion and develop further mental health problems.