Education
You may be wondering how this fits into therapy, but special educational needs and experiences with learning difficulties persist beyond school or are diagnosed late! So, sometimes the pupils are now adults and wish to unpick their experiences. I am also interested in the mental health and well-being of school communities and all those found within. Helping to remove barriers to progress for pupils, adult staff and adults who struggled as pupils is a passion project for me.
Typically, and this is my favourite way to work, people invite me in to visit and a discussion begins. I don’t always know what the work will be or where the changes need to come from (it is never the same twice) but I care enough to arrive without an agenda, and be curious to find out.
The best place to start is leadership - as headteachers you have the overview and hold the whole school, but more importantly, set the tone. Yet who looks after you? Leaders can be so dedicated, they take on more and more including medical care, social work and now mental health. Yet a therapist would never hold that amount emotionally, they receive regular supervision. I would encourage all leaders in education not to add one more plate to spin this term…even if it may appear that other leaders are ticking boxes and talking mental health. I aim to understand and notice what is going on for you, in your unique school environment. What makes that difficult? Do you need support during unexpected, negative moments during the week? I can be there for you in person or online.
Sometimes I assist with teaching and learning in class by supporting the development of teaching staff on a weekly basis and give them space to be reflective and more importantly, reflexive. This can benefit both the teacher and their pupils over a term. I can offer a supportive teacher during directed hours, a therapist after school. I especially enjoy working with front-line teachers by mentoring, coaching or simply reflecting on pupils. That also means I am available for other staff within those hours, at no extra cost, should a need arise.
I always offer professional, time-limited support to an agreed budget. I understand the financial and time pressures that schools face in any given term, so I fit in quickly and sensitively.
Contact me here if you’d like to meet
“Adam’s protective and caring nature, together with his attuned cognitive & emotional empathy, enables him to create a safe space with the client. He is explorative and genuinely interested in the lived experience of the other. Adam takes challenges in his stride and is able to problem-solve, creating learning opportunities out of difficulties. Adam has always shown incredible patience, resilience, professionalism, and most of all compassion.“
Giulia Pintus - MBACP, MBPsS - Early Years Intervention, Milestones Matter
Mental Health Support in Schools
What affects adults and children individually in school makes a difference in the level of connection they experience with each other. For me, this is the hidden curriculum. If the adult or child feels distressed and cannot explain or understand why they are feeling that way, that confusion can lead to mental health issues. Progress can be made at any point of the year but we know as teachers that we have to bond quickly and be hitting our stride well before the end of Autumn.
So what gets in the way of that? We all make up narratives for how we’re feeling but ‘a child’s narrative is less convincing than an adults’ (Perry, 2019). The ‘monsters under the bed' are seen through, adults can be dismissive - but everything expressed is a communication, a need to express complicated, implicit emotions e.g. they are scared or frightened but they don’t have the words. So they need to be listened to, and their feelings scaffolded. This is what I offer, a relationship and the use of my self. Sometimes we have a tendency to think that just talking about a feeling and expressing it isn’t an incredible achievement, or it is a luxury on a busy day, but as educators, we wouldn’t say that within a lesson, that zone of proximal development is our bread and butter!
Is it possible to give meaningful, personal feedback whilst ensuring that the pupil isn’t missing what occurs in class? In education, if we understand the importance of expression as a road to understanding (Vygotsky) – what about the ability of the person listening to be accurate in relating? To reflect back and acknowledge where you are and what you feel as well as holding the curriculum in sight? I can offer regular contact that combines both precision teaching and current class work, however, it is alongside relationship building and understanding, blending both good teaching practice and the conditions of a person-centred therapeutic approach.
‘It is essential that at least once in their life they come in contact with a person who knows without any doubt that the environment, not the helpless, battered child, is at fault’ (Miller, 2008:145)
Miller, A. and Miller, A., 2008. The Drama of being a Child. London: Virago Press.
Perry, P., 2019. Podcast: The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read - Freud Museum London. [online] Freud Museum London. Available at: <https://www.freud.org.uk/2019/04/09/podcast-the-book-you-wish-your-parents-had-read/> [Accessed 9 September 2022].
Support for headteachers and staff
As headteacher or leader you may be asked if you miss being in class? Yet you are now responsible for something much bigger and have an influence over even more children. Post-pandemic it may feel as if the role is finally reverting back to what it was for you, but how do you feel as a school leader when the expectations remain high but your recent challenges are quickly forgotten? Who is looking out for you?
A school family is a community; it is important the community works well and supports each other. Yet, headteachers and admin staff are often left holding the well-being of that community together in addition to their daily tasks! Is it midday and you still haven’t looked at your list of things to do?
Of course, you support everyone willingly, but education is a very personal profession, often dealing with a diverse community and giving a part of ourselves in the process. I can provide a holistic approach to the whole school's well-being, depending on the needs of the adults or the degree of pressure they feel under. These can be one-off conversations or long-term relationships.
One-to-one check-ins can be organised however the school sees fit. It can be a drop-in during term time or a quick response on an ad hoc basis when the week is challenging. My support might be used when and where required, confidentially, either on-site or online. I believe a staff more able to deal with personal issues, or their relationships with peers and parents are more able to remain effective in class (which ultimately benefits the whole school). I find staff often give so much during term time but neglect self-care and crash into half terms, often resulting in illness. I offer a traded service which can be used as the school wishes across the whole academic year. The service can be face-to-face, online, telephone, asynchronous, and out of hours.
Do you want to consider the mental health of yourself and staff? Contact me here.
Making time for change
What is your story? The narrative you tell yourself at home or at work? When the child suddenly has a stomach ache, we see there might be difficulty elsewhere. We digest that feeling for them, ‘You’re nervous - it’s the school production. Nervous anxiety is okay, it is healthy and expected. I’m not surprised you feel that way too, so do I. Our class is about to do something amazing out there!’ Residential experiences are full of this digesting of feelings by the adult so that children can safely overcome and move forward emotionally.
Who does that for the adult? Our adult equivalent to the stomach ache narratives is much more plausible and not always noticed by others. Or maybe they are noticed, but colleagues are too polite or kind to gently challenge you? I can help here because my agenda is always yours. I believe what we tell ourselves, getting closer to a personal truth that makes sense to us right now, is the greatest thing we can do with our time. Life is busy and our own needs are easily neglected when we follow those life rules from the past or society e.g. ‘just get on with it’ or ‘others have it worse.’
There may be a desire to make personal changes for leadership, staff and the school ethos, to explore different personal outcomes. I am always interested in your unique setting and bring curiosity to understand your position as a leader in your school community. You will find me passionate about my work - I consider it a privilege to visit and enjoy building a connection.
I listen intently, and we figure out a way forward.
“The more healthy relationships a child has, the more likely he will be to recover from trauma and thrive. Relationships are the agents of change, and the most powerful therapy is human love.”