ABSTRACT
Various authors estimate that between 10 and 20 per cent of school-age children exhibit emotional and behavioural problems (Kottler and Kottler, 1993; Vernon, 1993; Mental Health Foundation, 1999; Thompson and Rudolph, 2000). This reinforces the importance of teachers being able to use basic counselling skills in order to help a substantial number of their students. In fact, Mosley (1993, p. 105) firmly believes that ‘personal counselling is an essential activity which should be included in all schools’. In order to fulfil their pastoral duties and play their part in the teaching of personal and social education (PSE), all teachers need to have basic counselling skills, and at least one teacher in each school needs to have developed specialist expertise in counselling (McGuiness, 1998). The purpose of this book is to help classroom teachers, and those in schools responsible for pastoral care and PSE, to develop effective counselling skills and intervention strategies.
