School counselling service in Manchester

How our school counselling service works

Our school counselling service brings a qualified children’s counsellor into your child’s school once a week, at a fixed time, in a private room. Gitta Strassman MBACP sees each pupil individually for a 50-minute session, using play and art with younger children and more conversation with older ones.

Every arrangement starts with a referral, either from the school or from a parent. Parents always agree to counselling first and meet Gitta on their own before their child’s first session. After that, sessions run weekly, with a review every six sessions or so.

For SENCOs and pastoral leads

If you are a SENCO, inclusion lead or head of year in Manchester, you probably have a list of pupils who need more than the school can offer and are a long way from the front of the CAMHS queue. We can see some of those children in school, alongside the support you already provide.

What we need from you is fairly simple. A room that is quiet, private and the same each week. A named contact who can let Gitta know about timetable changes, trips and exam weeks. And a clear route to your designated safeguarding lead. Gitta has worked with children and young people for 25 years, much of it with autistic and ADHD pupils, so she is used to fitting around a school day and around the support set out in a pupil’s EHCP.

What she won’t share is what a pupil says in sessions. With parents’ agreement, she can give you general themes and practical ideas, such as a pupil needing a movement break before maths or a quiet exit card. Safeguarding concerns always come to you straight away.

For parents asking about counselling in school

Many children find it easier to be seen in school. The building is familiar, there is no extra trip across town, and the session can sit in a part of the week that already has structure. For parents it saves travel and time off work.

You don’t have to wait for the school to suggest it. You can get in touch with us and we will talk through how to approach the school, or you can ask the SENCO yourself. The school has to agree, because they provide the room and the time. Your child’s sessions stay private from the school as well as from you, though you will hear how things are going at reviews.

How this differs from other support in school

Some schools employ their own counsellor, and some have NHS mental health support teams who offer short pieces of work, often based on CBT. Those services can be very good, but they may have waiting lists or session limits, or not suit younger or neurodivergent children.

We are independent of the school, which some children and parents find easier to trust. We can also work with children from age 3, through play, and continue for as long as it is helping. If a pupil needs psychiatric assessment or medication, that still goes through the GP or CAMHS. A child in crisis or at immediate risk needs 999 or A&E.

We work in schools across Manchester, Salford, Bury and Whitefield. If a school isn’t the right setting for a particular child, sessions can be held at our north Manchester clinic or online.