Heather McLennan, Med, RCT (Registered Counselling Therapist)
Nova Scotia College of Counselling Therapists
You may be interested to know that prior to the formation of the College of Counselling
therapists, any one who wanted could call themselves a counsellor. The College is the
legal governing body for counselling in the province of Nova Scotia. It is now illegal for
people without the proper qualifications and membership in the College to call
themselves counsellors or to do counselling.
Any student in she school can come to see Heather for counselling. We have always
followed a policy that if the child is in Grade 6 or lower, we consult with the parent.
(Even though it is legal for any child of any age to see a counsellor if they want.) Grade
7 and up just have to ask to see Heather and she will see them. Any parent can make a
request for their child to see Heather, either directly to Heather or through Joanne Alex or
John Leonard Bernard.
All parents are welcome to come in and meet with Heather about their children.
Students come to see Heather for a wide range of issues. When we have worked out what
is going on, the number of times the student is seen becomes fewer. However, the door is
always open. Problems come and go, as does the reaction to them especially in children
and teenagers where development is ongoing.
No student is ever refused if they want to see Heather. Every student has been told
repeatedly that if they are upset and they need to see Heather, all they have to do is come
to her door or ask one of the Principals to find her.
Counselling therapy is a process where the person coming to counselling needs to work
out a problem or learn ways to handle problems. The student is looking to make positive
changes and is prepared to work on doing this.
Some students really do not want to work on positive changes, either because they aren’t
ready or because they really don’t want to make changes. If this is the case, it is made
very clear that this is not what counselling is but they are still welcome if they want to
come and just talk.
Counselling is confidential but there are limits to the confidentiality. The police or
children’s services has to be notified if:


it seems that there is a real and immediate risk that the person may hurt them self
or someone else.
information is provided that is about the abuse of the student in the room (if the
student is under 16 years of age) or about any child under the age 16 years.
This duty to report is actually the responsibility of every person in Nova Scotia who is 18
years of age or older.