By Tamesha Doughty on Wednesday, 6 April, 2022 at 06:07 PM

Professor at Pennsylvania State University, Dr. Julia Green Bryan, is pleased at the increased number of guidance counsellors within Barbadian schools.

The former guidance counsellor at the Lodge School said she believes guidance counsellors play an integral role in schools despite encountering numerous challenges.

She made the comments in light of a two-day workshop at the Erdiston Teachers’ Training College, where she shared information on how counsellors can create greater synergies to achieve greater results.  

Dr. Bryan indicated that she is desirous of seeing the development of a national counselling model for Barbados.

She added: “There is so much that you have to do for kids, and I think that counsellors in Barbados are also crying out for their own model … a culturally appropriate model rather than one borrowed from the [United] States or England”.

While Dr. Bryan acknowledged that mental health and academic needs are increasing, she said she believes that the COVID-19 pandemic revealed the extent of the challenges.

“It has shown us just how many challenges kids and families have and even more so how important mental health in school is – not just academic counselling to help kids do better… but also addressing the mental health needs of our children,” she explained.

The workshop, entitled Building School-Family-Community Partnerships: Maximising your School Counselling Services and Impact, was conducted by the Barbados Association of Guidance Counsellors.