A Day in the Life of a Children’s Counsellor
“I never quite know what to expect when I open the red door of the Fegans’ offices but what I do know is my clients, the children I counsel, need to know exactly what to expect when they arrive.”
Mum of five, Debbie, has been working as a qualified Fegans Counsellor for nearly two years and sees children from a variety of backgrounds. She is based within a boy’s school for one day a week, in a primary school one afternoon a week, and from the Fegans’ offices in Tunbridge Wells every Thursday and Friday.
Today was a busy day in Tunbridge Wells with five appointments booked in. When Debbie arrives at the office she displays her dependable smile to all the colleagues she meets along the way and makes her way to the counsellors’ office. There, she gathers file information about her first client who is due in shortly. She also collects the play equipment she will use in the session and prepares the therapy room.
The first child Will*, aged 11, has been dealing with a difficult time at home due to his mother having an affair and seeing his dad crumble as a result. The mum moved out of the family home and Will, an only child, had been left with his dad. The boy was feeling the burden of running the home as his dad worked full-time. Will started showing signs of anxiety and depression, and sadly began cutting himself.
With this now being his sixth session, Debbie was able to discuss ways that could take the home pressures off Will, she asked Will about his extended family and if he was close to any of them. Together they worked out that having a visit from his grandad for one evening a week and him cooking for them would be something Will could look forward to. She also talked to Will about the relationship breakdown of his parents, she did this every week to get a regular update from him on how he was processing it. This week Will’s response was slightly better, and he was feeling a little more settled as his mum has agreed to regular meet-ups. Once the session had ended, Debbie spoke briefly to Will’s father to get the visits from Grandad organised.
Her dependable smile flashed at Will as she waved him off…back to the office for Debbie, case notes to write up and then to prepare for her next client, a child suffering physical abuse from a relative.
*client’s names have been changed to protect their identities