School Counselling
Schoolbag Articles
What is counselling?
Counselling involves providing a safe environment for students to share your challenges and work through your social, emotional, behavioural and mental health issues with a trained counsellor.
A Counsellor supports students by helping you learn and use strategies to manage and cope with your emotions or situation and enables you to make choices for positive change and development.
Support and Referral Process
There are 3 levels of counselling at TK:
1. Support by teachers
Students are encouraged to talk to their Teachers who will provide the
first level of support.
2. Referral to counsellors
Students who need more specialised attention may be referred to a teacher-counsellor
or school counsellor who will provide early intervention for students facing
social, emotional or mental health challenges.
Tier 2 Counselling is provided by the following:
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School Counsellors who are professional counsellors with either a Diploma, Bachelor or Master Degree in Counselling.
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Teacher-Counsellors (TC) who are trained on in counselling skills including and in areas such as suicide intervention, grief and loss counselling, and psychological first aid.
Our Teacher Counsellors
The school’s counselling team comprises the following teachers:
Name |
Email Address |
---|---|
Mr Kalaisselvan Poniah Ponrajah |
kalaisselvan_poniah_ponrajah@moe.edu.sg |
Mrs Tan Pei Shan |
teh_pei_shan@moe.edu.sg |
Mdm Halilah |
halilah_salim_alkhatib@moe.edu.sg |
Mr Vincent Tan |
tan_kok_leong_vincent@moe.edu.sg |
Mdm Jasma/Mrs Khairul |
jasmawati_saptu@moe.edu.sg |
Ms Suriyani |
suriyani_a@moe.edu.sg |
3. Referral to specialists or community agencies
Students who require more intensive intervention will be referred to our
Lead School Counsellor, or mental health professionals from the multi-disciplinary
Response, Early intervention, Assessment in Community mental Health (REACH),
or social service agencies.
Who may benefit from Counselling?
If you encounter the following difficult situations, or know of someone who may need help, do talk to any of your Teachers or you can also do a self-referral or refer a friend by requesting for a counselling session.
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Stress or School Anxieties
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Academic /Exam Anxieties
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Grief and Loss
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Relationship issues with Peers
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Family Conflicts
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Bullying
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Encounter of Cyber Dangers/ Threats
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Signs of distress
What happens when you see a Counsellor?
During the counselling session, the counsellor will explore your concerns and various coping strategies with you so that you can try what works best for you. Together, you will tap on your strengths and resources to customize strategies to build your mental well-being.
The Counselling sessions are CONFIDENTIAL and this means:
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It will not be reported in your report book, stay in your records that may affect your future, nor shared with anybody.
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However, for your safety, your school counsellor will be required to share the information that puts yourself or someone else at risk of being harmed.
Other Useful Helplines
If you would prefer to speak to someone outside the family or school, do consider the following contacts for support:
Organisation |
Telephone number |
---|---|
Samaritans of Singapore (SOS) 24hrs |
1800-221 4444 |
Singapore Association for Mental Health |
1800-283-7019 |
Touchline for youths Mon to Fri, 9.00am to 6.00pm |
1800-377-2252 |
IMH Emergency Hotline Urgent intervention for those who are facing a mental health crisis |
6389-2222 (24 hours) |
Schoolbag Articles
Schoolbag.sg has feature areas on student well-being in their articles. Please click on the following links to access them.
Item |
Link |
---|---|
On Growth Mindset |
- Helping Our Children Make Mistakes
|
On Stress and Coping |
- Keep calm and let them carry on
|
On Conversations about Feelings |
|
On Students’ Mental Health Support |