From School Psychologist, Tessa Prior
The Waverley College Counselling team is made up of three Registered Psychologists, Ms Tessa Prior, Mr Greg Cameron, and Ms Alex McCredie. Together we work with all students from Years 5-12 to support their mental health and wellbeing. As a team, we will be writing regular articles in the Nurrunga about topical or relevant issues each month with a link to a platform called SchoolTV for more resources. Our contact details are on the school website and linked on SchoolTV if you would like to get in touch please email or call us at any time.
This month we will be focusing on resilience. Resilience is one of those skills that all boys need and should have. It refers to their ability to cope and adapt in situations when confronted with challenges such as adversity, trauma, tragedy, or even stress. It is essential to their mental health and wellbeing as part of their journey to adulthood. It is a skill that can be learned from an early age through the support of an adult role model.
However, being resilient does not mean your son won’t experience any difficulties, but it will better equip him to manage those situations. Particular parenting styles such as ‘over-protection’ can be viewed as being unhelpful towards the building of resilience. Although this may be a natural instinct, potentially experiencing failure is all part of the process. Encouraging your son to take healthy risks will help them trust their capacity to deal with uncomfortable situations and increase their capacity for courage.
Please look at further information on the SchoolTV link below to gain an understanding of how to support your son’s brave behaviour, to assist them in adapting to situations, and developing resilience.
If you do have any concerns about the wellbeing of your son, please contact the school for further information or seek medical or professional help.
Here is the link to this month’s edition https://waverley.nsw.schooltv.me/newsletter/resilience