Rookie Minds provides one to one counselling and play therapy in primary and secondary schools. Our aim is to improve the resilience, confidence and mental health of the pupils we work with. We currently provide children and young persons mental health services in several primary and secondary schools throughout Scotland helping pupils to deal with a variety of issues including bullying, bereavement, domestic violence, neglect, loss, trauma, family breakups and many more issues.
Why work with Rookie Minds?
As part of Rookie Rockstars we are well respected by schools, parents and pupils alike. Through having often worked with us on other projects, pupils build up trust in us and therefore find it easier to open up and discuss issues with us. We treat every pupil as an individual and tailor our approach to suit their needs and situation. We only provide services using fully qualified experienced counsellors ensuring all pupils have the very best support available.
One-to-one counselling.
Our one-to-one sessions provide weekly support to pupils who have an ongoing need for more in depth counselling. Our fully qualified counsellors tailor each session, taking into account a childs age, needs and situation. For younger pupils we use play therapy to encourage pupils to express themselves in a non verbal way, helping us to get the best idea of how to provide support.
Self Referral for pupils (The Rookie Drop In)
The Rookie Drop In is a safe place for pupils to come and chat or play during lunch time. We would usually have a permanent “Rookie Room” in the school which is available to all pupils on a self referral basis. It’s used to help children express themselves and for the counsellor to offer solution focused therapy to help the child through their situation. Our counsellors make themselves a real part of the school by visiting classes, speaking to staff and walking around the playground from time to time. This raises awareness of the service and helps our counsellors to be approachable by staff and pupils.
Staff Support/communication
Rookie Minds leave 30 minutes free at the end of the day to be available for staff. This allows us to speak to the senior management team with regards to any safeguarding issues that may have arisen and keep them informed of progress etc. This time allows class teachers to come to us for any support, advice or concerns they may have about pupils in their class. We can simply be an ear for them or we can also try to give some practical advice to enable them to offer the best support possible to their pupils.