RATIONALE

Catholic schools are concerned with facilitating, enabling and assisting young people to grow in their ability to freely and responsibly choose life and development.

Developmental counseling, in contrast to adjustment or crisis counseling, is not always problem-oriented in terms of assuming that the child has some difficult problem. Instead, the goals are the development of self-understanding and awareness of one’s capacities. Developmental counseling focuses on helping children know, understand, and accept themselves.

This approach to counseling then is clearly more than a remedial service and is concerned with providing all children with access to a resource which helps them cope with normal developmental challenges.

Each school develops a Guidance Plan specific to their needs and resources based on this program.

Children usually face challenges in the elementary grades in at least four areas:

SCHOOL:

o understanding the teachers and being understood by teachers;
o being afraid to ask questions;
o coping with difficult work;
o wanting to improve in some academic subject;
o not liking a specific academic subject;
o test anxiety.

HOME:

o wanting to get along better with parents and siblings;
o coping with changes in the family;
o coping with loss and grief;
o wanting to do more with parents;
o understanding changes in themselves as they mature.

RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS:

o needing more friends;
o being picked on;
o getting children to like to play with them;
o being afraid to talk with people;
o learning to get along with others;
o belonging or being accepted;
o peer pressure;
o learning to choose friends wisely;
o developing a spirit of empathy

SELF:

o being unhappy;
o feeling inadequate physically, socially or personally;
o learning how to identify and manage feelings;
o learning how to deal with shyness or lonesomeness

And so, our program is concerned with the needs and tasks of all children. It attempts to take advantage of developmental opportunities by providing access to a counselor for all children.

In addition, we have a concern that each school provide a safe environment. The Lures Program is currently in use with parents, teachers, and students.

DEVELOPMENTAL TASKS

These are tasks with which all children need assistance, some in a more intensive manner than others:
o to learn a sense of self identity and self-acceptance;
o to learn the giving-receiving patterns of affection;
o to learn to belong;
o to learn to be competent;
o to learn to become reasonably independent;
o to learn to become purposeful, to seek resources and responsibilities of the world, to become involved, to develop a spirit of service;
o to learn to handle feelings and to manage aggression and frustration;
o to learn to make choices and accept consequences of one’s decisions;
o to learn respect for self and all others;
o to learn to get along with parents and other significant adults;
o to learn the importance of confidentiality;
o to learn the difference between tattling and reporting;
o to learn to see life and learning as an interconnected whole, aimed at loving God and serving neighbor.

SERVICES

Individual Counseling
Small Group Counseling
Classroom Guidance
Consultation with Teachers/Parents
Testing and Evaluation
Referral to Outside Agencies
In service with Teachers/Staff
Safe Environment Training

Referrals can be made by parents, principals, and teachers or by the students themselves in Grades 6-7-8. Parents will be contacted for permission before the counselor works with students on an individual basis. (Note: A letter will soon be sent home, which you can sign and return if you do NOT wish to have your child individually counseled, even if your child requests such. If the letter is not returned, it will be assumed that you are consenting to having your child counseled, if it is requested or if it becomes necessary.)