Schools Counselling Northern & Western areas

1. Schools Counselling Northern & Western areas Phil Lindsay, CSM BACP Accredited Counsellor

2. Who are we • CSM Phil Lindsay • MBACP Accredited Counsellor • BSC Hons Youth & Community work • Cert CAMHs • Counsellors Patricia Lindsay • Certified Play Therapist • Qualified Counsellor Carmel Rooney • Accredited Counsellor Ann Johnston • Child Psychotherapist • Locum workers • Mairead O’Donnell • Tommy Marron

3. Our aims • to increase children’s emotional well-being, and • improve their learning potential

4. What we do Work children young people and their families in primary and special needs post primary……………In individual schools and clusters • Time 4 Me One to one counselling • Time 4 Us Groupwork Bespoke groupwork Pyramid Programme Hero book Programme • Time 4 Staff Staff Training Staff consultation • Time 4 Parent Awareness raising for Parents / consultation Road shows Incredible Years Programmes

5. Which geographical areas do we cover • Northern Area • Western Area • Mid-Ulster through Derry, Enniskillen/Fermanagh

6. Mental Health: Handling Emotions and Behaviour • Key Ingredients for working with any young person: • Maintaining an open mind • Each day is different • Understanding each child as an individual • Sense of humour • Understanding behaviour as communication

7. Keeping Your Child in MindOvercoming Defiance, Tantrums and other everydaybehaviour problems by seeing the world THROUGH your Child’s Eyes by Claudia M.Gold, MD “Being understood by a person we love is one of our most powerful yearnings, for adults and children alike. The need for understanding is part of what makes us human. When our feelings are validated we know that we’re not alone. For a child, this understanding helps develop his mind and sense of himself. When the people who care for him can reflect back his experience, he learns to recognise and manage his emotions, think more clearly, and adapt to his complex social world”.

8. What do your current strategies look like? • If its working why try fixing? • If its not working why keep doing it?

9. Key background reading which can help us to understand and then find ways to support our children and young people in self regulation

10. Attachment: Attachment theory can help to make us more compassionate. We need to think about it in a wider, longer – term sense.Explore key attachment patterns Emotional Regulation: Can the child identify and express a range of emotions Do they have an emotional language Do they recognise links between feelings and thoughts Can they recognise sensations, facial expression and tone of voice Do they respond inappropriately to others emotions Adolescent Brain Development: Brain development continues right throughout adolescence and into the twenties and thirties. During adolescence with all the biological, hormonal and physical changes that come with puberty the most dramatic change is happening to the pre frontal cortex.

11. Strategies: Calm Box • “Mr Happy / Calm box” • Suitable for: all age ranges of children and young people as well as special needs sectors • This is a creative technique which compliments the current resources used in schools to support children and young people with moderate to severe disabilities; however it can be suitable for all age ranges and abilities. • Each box is unique and is decorated with pictures/stickers etc which are personal to the child’s interests. The contents contain various objects suitable to the particular child/young person’s age, aptitude, needs and capabilities. The box aims to stimulate positive feelings which all children and families need for healthy growth. The objects within, are used in a fun way to create positive feelings of happiness and calm. The counsellor, parents/carers, key contact, class teacher and child can all plan together suitable and effective techniques and resources can and should be placed in the box. The contents include a range of resources which can be used in the classroom and in therapy sessions. Two boxes can be made during the sessions with the client, one for school and one for home. • The box encourages staff and family members to enter into the spirit of fun, pride in the child’s achievements and personal creativity as well as promoting open communications. • Suggestion of objects to place in the box include: • A Safe Place C.D • Relax kids CD • Affirmation sentences • Texture – tissue/coloured paper • Massage ball/stress ball • Turtle card Squidgy ball • Springs/ slinkys • A4 paper and crayons and Colouring books • Material such as: Felt, rough stuff, silk, satin, rough, prickly, aromatherapy oils or lavender wipes • Toy soldiers • Play dough • Colouring stuff/markers • Glitter bottle – can be bought or made (eg)Bottle water – drops of colour – sprinkles • Photographs of multi sensory room – home/bed etc and parks etc

12. Emotion dictionaries • They can be used to identify own and others emotions • Creating a book of the different emotions, • what they look like, • feel like and • what do about them when you come across them

13. Other strategies and techniques toassist in creating understandings of an emotional language and self regulation • The following can be used to introduce a variety and varying degrees of emotions • Scaling lines • Cue cards • hassle logs • role play • video

14. Strategies Key points from Attachment Support • Attending to… • Empathy before discipline • ‘wondering aloud’ • Providing containment • Being kept in mind • Commentaries • Create new opportunities • Empathy and hope • Integrating advice and information Underpinning all of this is a secure key adult relationship

15. Strategies: comic strip conversations/social stories • Use of colours to signify the underlying emotion • Using thoughts in the form of thought bubbles to support • Using a magic remote control • Using comic strips to replay and review situations and drawing upon the colours and bubbles to indicate thoughts actions and phrases