The Emotionally Healthy School
Schools should serve as environments where every young person is supported to develop self-belief, confidence, and pride. (Therapy and Social Change Network, TASC, 2025)
The Therapy and Social Change Network (TASC) is a national group of practitioners committed to developing more emotionally healthy schools. This includes supporting the emotional well being of staff and students, increasing mental health support and ensuring students with special needs receive the best service possible. Many schools already do this and with more therapeutic support and understanding their practices could be enhanced.
The Iron Mill College in Poole has been training counsellors and psychotherapists for over 30 years. Most of our students go on to have rewarding and fulfilling careers supporting people in the Poole area and beyond. Many of them work for local organisations and charities; others work in private practice. However, almost 20% of counsellors work with young people and school counselling is now the most prevalent form of mental health support for young people in the UK.
The College supports many endeavours to create more emotionally healthy schools. One aspect of counselling that is often overlooked is the role counselling has always played in the development of social change and advocacy for vulnerable groups of clients. This is a key part of the work of school counsellors that is often undertaken in partnership with other professionals.
In the past year, the college has formed a national School Counsellor Network (SCN) which offers a wide range of free online seminars to the general public. Our initiative is supported by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy and the Psychotherapy and Counselling Union. We are now about to offer a low cost, in person conference with presentations and workshops, networking opportunities and lunch, provided by our very own staff and students here at the Iron Mill College in Poole, on Saturday the 5th July. This is aimed at all those wishing to develop emotionally healthy schools.
To find out more, visit https://www.ironmill.co.uk/school-counsellor-network/Event