Secondary Counselor

Parents can contact Courtney directly if they feel their child would benefit from counseling and/or social and emotional support or if there are circumstances that may affect the emotional well-being of their child during the school day.

Guidance and Counseling
TIS offers counseling services to students and families through preventative and responsive services as well as consultation. The aim of the counseling program is to enhance the development of the whole child. The counselor focuses on personal, social, emotional, substance abuse prevention, and crisis counseling. Counselors conduct parent and staff in-services and liaise with the community. Students may be referred to
the counselors by any concerned party: teachers, family members, other students, administration and self-referral.

Academics and Physical/Emotional Health
The physical and emotional well-being of a student is intrinsically linked to his/her success in school or extracurricular activities. Poor stress management, family problems, lack of organizational skills, low self-esteem, and other issues can all have a negative impact on the quality of a student’s work and his/her relationships with others. As students reach adolescence, issues like anger management, interpersonal relationships, body image, hygiene, and time management can become more apparent. Students are encouraged to discuss these issues with the school counselor in order to receive ongoing support and to learn practical skills such as how to express feelings appropriately, limit-setting, time management, stress management, and other skills. The school counselor works with students individually, in groups, and in the
classroom to improve their social/emotional well-being and to learn practical skills that will help them be successful in and out of the classroom.

Transitions
Families who live abroad for an extended period of time have the pleasure of traveling, meeting new people and learning about and participating in different cultures. Despite the upside of being an expatriate, it can also be stressful. For students who attend international schools, they must learn to deal with the flux of adjusting to a new environment, saying goodbye, and developing and maintaining meaningful personal relationships whilst being expected to handle a school workload and extracurricular activities. Moreover, transitions are not just limited to students who are coming and going. It is also important to address transitions within the school such as moving on from 5th grade to 6th, entering the Diploma Programme, and other school-related moves.

Ms Cortney can help address these issues by assisting TIS teachers and administration during orientation week, providing resources and information to parents and students, and meeting with students individually.