Counsellors’ Corner is a collection of resources on the most common issues that parents, teachers, and students bring to the counselling office. This webpage represents an ongoing collection of current literature, websites, and our own interpretation of “best practices” regarding parenting and teaching through life’s common issues during childhood. The newsletter, “Counsellors’ Corner” was initiated by Tara Ryan (and her therapy dog, “Sam”) in 2018. It was distributed to the counsellors in School District #71 (Comox Valley) to be used as a hand-out to parents seeking support. It has now grown to distribution district-wide, including several of our community partners in the mental health field. In 2021, Bridget Mawhinney joined Tara in recreating the format so it is also useable for students and teachers. We now include tips for teachers and students to maximize success in the classroom, considerations for what might be going on for the child/teenager, and suggestions for intervention.
Tara Ryan is a Registered Clinical Counsellor who obtained her Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Saskatchewan in 1994 and her Masters of Education in Counselling Psychology from the University of Victoria in 2002. She was an elementary school teacher from 1991 – 2003, a school based counsellor from 2003 – 2018, instructor of non-violent Crisis Intervention, and now works as an Outreach Counsellor and on the Crisis Response Team for the Comox Valley School District.