**£800k school counselling initiative set to launch

More than 300 pupils aged 13 to 16, who attend schools without an existing counseling service, will be offered a 10-week course of school counselling.

The £835,000 study will be led by counselling psychologist Professor Mick Cooper from the University of Roehampton, and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.

Pupils who take part in the counselling will be measured against pupils who don’t. They will be tested after six weeks, three months and six months after their first sesson, to test the immediate and longer-term effects.

“Teachers will identify children they think might benefit, then they will meet with a researcher and talk about whether the children want to take part. We’ll also asking parents to agree,” Cooper said.

Cooper said the programme comes at the right time.

“There has been a big emphasis of children and young people’s mental health over the last few years.

“We know there’s a lot of children and young people with mental health problems who are not being adequately treated.”

“This study will find out whether counselling is an effective way, and a cost effect way, of doing it.”

"At the moment, we’re not sure what kind of counseling is being offered. There is probably a lot of diversity going on out there, but we don’t know what kind of practice.”

Cooper said if the programme proves the benefits of counseling on offer – a humanist approach based on listening – he hopes it can link to a more standardised approach to school counselling.

“This is one of the biggest interventions. It needs rigorous evidence to assess it.”

Between 60 and 85 per cent of secondary schools in England offer some form of counseling.

Earlier this month, however, the Department for Education's Mental Health Champion, Natasha Devon called for a counsellor in every school.