School Counselling Department Overview
Our mission is to facilitate each student’s personal/social, academic and career development through the counsellors’ delivery of guidance and counselling activities as well as through a collaborative effort between the home, school and community. The ultimate objective is to help students identify their interests and abilities, and enhance productivity, dependability, self-expression and control, accurate decision-making and conflict-resolution skills along with other competencies that will remediate student deficits, strengthen their unique capabilities and enable the youth to participate in the society as responsible future leaders.
The schools counselling department offers all students a plethora of services that include both individual and group counselling sessions. Metropole’s Counselling Program perfectly blends with the UAE Federal Law issued by H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan in 2006, concerning the rights and protection of people of determination. Therefore, we at Metropole ensure that all the students are encouraged and motivated to reach their full potential by providing a comprehensive school counselling program that values the individuality and respects differences of each student and nurtures them to enhance their educational, academic, career, emotional and social needs.
Counsellors meet regularly with parents, administrators, university representatives, and community resources who assist students in their educational journey. The department is committed to providing the school community with services and programs that will support and enhance the overall educational goals at Metropole.
What is the need of a Counsellors in Schools?
Should school counsellors be available and responsive to special or unexpected needs of students and parents/guardians? The answer is yes! Thus, the purpose of the responsive services component is to work with students whose personal circumstances, concerns, or problems are threatening to interfere with or are interfering with their healthy academic, career, and personal/social development. Specific issues some students face include academic choices, career choice, child abuse, cultural diversity, family loss, relationships, school attendance, stress and change in family dynamics. As a result, there is a continuing need for individual counselling, small-group counselling, and play therapy.
Parent/guardian involvement with and participation in the activities of the counselling program are critical in helping students overcome barriers to their, academic, career, and personal/social development. Parent/guardian involvement may include referring their children for assistance, working with school counsellors to identify areas of concern, giving permission for needed services, and providing help in resolving issues. School Counselling services are implemented through the following:
1. Individual Counselling - School counsellors provide individual counselling for students who are experiencing educational difficulties, personal concerns, or normal developmental tasks. Individual counselling assists students in identifying problems, causes, alternatives, and possible consequences so that appropriate action can be taken.
2. Small-Group Counselling - School counsellors provide small-group counselling to students who need and will benefit from a small-group setting to address their needs and concerns. Interventions may take the form of short-term groups or crisis intervention groups that deal with such topics as social wellbeing skills, anger management, relationship concerns, grief processing and study skills.
3. Consultation - Consultation is an interactive process that school counsellors provide to help parents/guardians and teachers address the academic, career, and personal social needs of students.
4. Referral - School counsellors use school and community referral sources that deal with crises such violence, abuse, and terminal illness. These referral sources may include mental health agencies and social services etc.
Why should a student be referred to our school Counsellors?
The purpose of the inhouse referral process is to provide timely and effective support to initiate an appropriate plan of action for students at various levels of need. The school Counsellors recognise the contribution of all members of the school community including educators, parent/guardians and students in the identification of early warning signs.
For further information on our Counselling services please refer to our Counselling policy.
For any questions regarding social, emotional counselling support please contact our inhouse CDA licensed school Psychologist, Ms Rubina Zahoor on [email protected]
