Understanding the Experience and Needs of School Counsellors When Working with Young People Who Engage in Self-Harm

Abstract

Self-harm rates are increasing globally and demand for supporting, treating and managing young people who engage in self-harm often falls to schools. Yet the approach taken by schools varies. This study aimed to explore the experience of school staff managing self-harm, and to obtain their views on the use of guidelines in their work. Twenty-six pastoral care staff from New Zealand were interviewed. Interviews were analyzed and coded using thematic analysis. Three themes emerged: The burden of the role; discrepancies in expectations, training, and experience; and the need for guidelines to support their work. This research, therefore, demonstrated a need for guidelines to support school staff to provide support around decision making and response to self-harm in the school environment.

Development of guidelines for school staff on supporting students who self-harm: a Delphi study

“…In 2018, an interview study involving school staff was conducted [ 32 ]. The interviews aimed to explore their experience and current practice in managing self-harm in schools.…”

“…A recent study highlighted the challenges New Zealand school staff face in supporting students who self-harm [ 32 ]. Pastoral care staff reported a perceived increase in distress in young people, resulting in increased workload (i.e., more students needing support) and a lack of resources [ 32 ]. They reported feeling overwhelmed and ill-equipped to support these students.…”

“…They reported feeling overwhelmed and ill-equipped to support these students. The findings highlighted the lack of consistency in practice and responses between individual staff members within and between schools in New Zealand [ 32 ]. Guidelines can serve as a tool to address these issues and help to establish consistent practices within the school environment; they are generally viewed favourably by pastoral care staff in New Zealand [ 32 ].…”

“…Guidelines must be relevant to the communities it aims to serve, evidence-based and provide behaviourally-specific recommendations to increase the likelihood of implementation [ 40 ]. This is particularly important when considering the incongruence between the reported need for guidelines in New Zealand schools [ 32 , 37 ] and the reported lack of uptake and implementation of the available international guidelines in New Zealand schools [ 37 ].…”

Young people and adult stakeholders' reflections on how school staff should support students who self‐harm: A qualitative study

“…A. Garisch et al, 2020;Te Maro et al, 2019). These studies also highlight the need for increased support for school staff and ensuring good communication between all parties involved (student, school staff, family, and formal services) (J.…”