ACC Accord Summer 2021 Issue 111

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ACC CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE FORUM by Elaine Bennett ACC has increasingly sought to develop support for members working with children and young people and promoted the two conferences in 2019. ACC has also commented on various consultations about young people’s mental health and emotional wellbeing and will continue to lobby for their needs, even more pertinent as we move forwards from Covid-19. As a further development we are now in the process of forming a small Steering Group to help us establish an ACC Children and Young People Forum. The vision is to support our members who counsel young people from 6–18 years and the suggestions being considered are to: • hold quarterly Forum meetings as opportunities to discuss topical issues and be a supportive network, which Sharon Hastings has kindly agreed to facilitate, • devote a page within each edition of accord for relevant articles about issues which can arise when working with children and young people, • establish a section on ACC’s website which will have resources and links for Children and Young People Counsellors, • develop resources for the profession to assist counsellors working with CYP to encourage the innate spiritual capacity of the child (following Rebecca Nye and others) as therapeutic resources. We have developed a questionnaire which will be circulated to all members to ascertain how many of you work with children and young people and how you think the Forum could support you. We are also interested to know how many members may want to work with children and young people. The current members of the steering group are practitioners with a variety of experiences working with children and young people in different settings. Heather Barton is a qualified Counsellor, Play Therapist, Coach, Supervisor and Trainer. She has a BA in Integrative Counselling, and MAs in Play Therapy and Relational Counselling and Psychotherapy. Heather is currently close to the end of studying for a Professional Doctorate in Counselling and Psychotherapy Studies at Chester University. She has a private practice, and for the last fifteen years has also been working as a school counsellor/play therapist, working with CYP from four years old to eighteen plus, in many different settings. Vicky Bell is a CYP Counsellor and Supervisor of CYP counsellors for a large community based commissioned service on the South Coast. She also has a private practice working predominately with families and CYP, alongside providing Pastoral Supervision. Vicky provides these services face to face, online using video calling and text based (email and instant messaging) and over the phone. She qualified 13 years ago as a Person-Centred Therapist, later completing training including systemic family work, online working (pre covid-19), supervision and reflective practice. Vicky has worked in schools, community and 3rd sector settings. All have been non faith-based and included working for RELATE, Place2Be, YMCA, as well as smaller organisations. Elaine Bennett counsels children, adolescents and adults and has a private practice. She has a BA (Hons) Counselling and MEd (Child and Adolescent Psychotherapeutic Counselling). She has experience of working with children and young people in schools, with Place2Be, a London sixth form college, the BIG C cancer charity and young people’s counselling agency. Pete English is a school counsellor and is the project lead for ListeningPeople - from AtaLoss. org. He trains those who work with young people to understand how loss and bereavement has an impact. Ange Harris has an MA in Integrative Counselling from the University of Roehampton. She 36 accord Summer 2021 www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org
feature works two days a week as a school counsellor for the Norwich School and counsels adults and young people from age 13 in private practice. Christine Pinder has been counselling for more than 35 years, starting in the eighties in a counselling agency working with young people, and more recently a group of us set up a much needed service in Suffolk offering counselling to 11–25 year olds. She also has a small private practice and in the other half of her life is a vicar in her local Anglican church. Sulette Snyman devoted 17 years of her professional life to establishing Neurofeedback Therapy as a force to be reckoned with. Her first encounter with Neurofeedback was on a very personal level when her son was diagnosed with a concentration challenge. His remarkable results inspired thousands of parents to put their children through the programme. As franchisor to 60 franchisees she was responsible for delivering more than 700,000 hours of Neurofeedback Training sessions. Her passion is to help children reach their full potential. Sulette says there is nothing more satisfying as to see a child go from struggling to being a hero. Hannah Stanwell Smith is an integrative counsellor with experience of working with adults and young people in her private practice and has also worked as a school counsellor in a Norfolk School. Hannah has a First Class BA (Hons) Counselling degree and is trained to work with clients who have experienced trauma, having spent over five years working for an agency supporting survivors of childhood sexual abuse, rape, sexual assault and domestic violence. If you would like to be part of the Steering Group to develop the Forum please email Elaine Bennett on ebccss@acc-uk.org. As a Taster of what may come Pete English has prepared the following scenarios for reflection. A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A SCHOOL COUNSELLOR Sasha I could tell things weren’t good as soon as Sasha walked in through the door. She slumped down on the chair and stared at her thumb, blood red from where she had been picking at the skin. I allowed a few moments of silence to pass and tried my best not to interrupt it. ‘Mr Evans hates me.’ I reflected with a questioning tone at the end of my sentence. ‘Hates you?’ I enquired. ‘He does – he’s got it in for me. He never picks on Sarah or Charis, just me, and the boys get away with it,’ she explained whilst simultaneously ripping her appointment card into tiny pieces which fell to the floor. I made a mental note to ‘shelve’ my carefully planned session exploring Sasha’s loss of her grandad and continued to listen intently as my eye caught the growing pile of shredded card on the floor around Sacha’s non-uniform trainers. Sasha’s perception is that Mr Evans hates her. Is that a possibility? Sam I have never played Fortnite, but Sam has. He tells me that he is really good and I praise him for the skills that he is learning – patience, teamwork, endurance, no copyright infringement is intended” communication. I’m not sure that his mum sees it that way, especially when she sees the glow of a tablet as she passes his bedroom door at 2.30 on a school day morning. Sam admits that he is tired. ‘But I’m 900th. I won some money!’ ‘Tell me about it Sam. Is there a new level out now? How do you feel about the world of Fortnite changing overnight?’ I ask. (How did you feel about your dad leaving suddenly overnight I want to say). How important is it that we understand Fortnite? COUNSELLING SPACE The new, very enthusiastic PE teacher, presses ‘play’ on the high energy music video that she has decided to use as a warm up in the hall close to the room I use to counsel in. I quite like the track and evidently so do the Year 8’s who are joining in with the chorus encouraging all of us to ‘funk it up’. The enthusiastic PE teacher is less enthusiastic when she realises that the giggling is from a group of boys who have amended the lyrics to something less appropriate! Rooms in school are at a premium. What can you do if the room you work in is unsuitable? Ellie I notice that Ellie is rubbing her arm and has pulled her sleeve down. ‘Mum’s acting really weird again.’ ‘She’s never in the house and she’s got this new boyfriend.’ I listen www.acc-uk.org • www.pastoralcareuk.org accord Summer 2021 37
Page 1 and 2: Issue no. 111 Summer 2021 e-accord
Page 3 and 4: editorial Editorial by Sue Monckton
Page 5 and 6: feature Weinstein. Millions of indi
Page 7 and 8: feature or purpose. They may questi
Page 9 and 10: feature not mean a return to ‘nor
Page 11 and 12: The beginnings of this journey tie
Page 13 and 14: feature This may look a bit confusi
Page 15 and 16: feature Spirituality and support in
Page 17 and 18: feature users benefits everyone.
Page 19 and 20: News & Diary New Head of Membership
Page 21 and 22: pastoral care Current Support Numbe
Page 23 and 24: Counselling CHANGES TO MEMBERSHIP R
Page 25 and 26: feature government to implement a f
Page 27 and 28: feature “to lead gently.” There
Page 29 and 30: feature males:102 females) to compl
Page 31 and 32: pastoral care behaviour (including
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Page 39 and 40: feature Meeting ACCEnT Forum Member
Page 41 and 42: feature Pregnancy loss by Amanda Pa
Page 43 and 44: feature Supporting a nation in mour
Page 45 and 46: In Touch Table Talk for Wellbeing -
Page 47 and 48: In Touch Do you have a female frien

ACC Accord Summer 2021 Issue 111

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