Counselling Support at

Landmark International School

Landmark International School offers free and confidential counselling to all students. The School Counsellor, Mark Thomas-O’keefe, is available every day during term time.

Mental health difficulties affect about one in 10 children and young people. That’s around three children in every class. Most don’t receive the support they need, even though there is evidence to show that young people are less likely to suffer from serious mental health problems later in life if they receive support at an early age. Promoting positive mental health in schools has a range of other benefits, improving behaviour and relationships, attitudes to learning and attendance rates. It also helps children and young people to engage more fully with their local and wider communities.

We have put together a number of questions to help you understand what counselling is, who can access it and how it works.

What is counselling?

Counselling is a way of exploring your thoughts and making sense of your feelings. It offers you the space and time to make decisions about your life and future within a safe, trusting and accepting relationship.

What can I expect?

This support focuses on listening to you, exploring how you are feeling and what is affecting you. It offers you a safe, supportive, non-judgemental and confidential environment.

Is it confidential?

Your Counsellor offers confidentiality to help you to explore what’s happening in your life. However, if they feel that you are at risk of seriously hurting yourself or anyone else, then we will need to share information to help keep you and others safe. This will be done with your knowledge. At times, it may be useful to share information with key staff, parents/carers, to ensure that you receive the right support. Your counsellor will discuss this with you before it happens and when discussing suitability to receive counselling.

How often do we meet?

Sessions can be 30 or 50 minutes. They can be weekly of fortnightly or at another timescale agreed with you. They are normally for 6 weeks but if you feel you need more or less, you can discuss this with your counsellor when you meet.

Who’s decision is it?

We appreciate that unless you have tried counselling, it is not easy to know whether it will be useful for you, but we will work with you to help you make that decision. It might be that you want support but not in school counselling, we can explore that.

How can it help me?

Counselling helps you work things out for yourself, to make your own decisions and look at things differently. It can help you feel better about yourself. It empowers you to find your own solutions, grow, develop, enhance self-belief and make positive changes.