Guerilla Counselling 101

Over the years I've worked with many youth considered "at-risk"... of which many of them have been referred to "counselling".  Sending a youth to a counsellor to "get help" is like sending a child to a dentist without anaesthetic.  Youth between the ages of 12 to 19 are developing into their identity, which as part of the natural set of processes, dissonance with others is a part of it.  They are forming who they want to be and need to resist the influence of others... therefore sitting in an office with a "traditional" modelled counsellor is a set up and doomed to failure.   Then my favourite system response... "the youth needs to be ready for counselling to be successful."   It's very rare that any child or youth is "ready" for counselling.  I believe that there are many effective strategies that can accomplish a therapeutic change that are not face to face, but a product of a strong, integrated therapeutic support system.  Over the next year I will be adding posts to not only support my perspective, but give practical examples of it's application.  Thank-you for reading my blog and trusting that it's not meant to be critical of the amazing work that counsellors and therapists are doing, but to show how larger systems, like education, can support and enhance the opportunities for one-on-one work to be much more effective.