Counselling children experiencing mental ill-health and their parents: : School social workers´ experiences from a family systems approach

Tarja Väyrynen Börgesson; Maria Kjellgren

doi:10.1921/jpts20252470

Authors

Tarja Väyrynen Börgesson School Counsellor, Primary School Administration, Education area Northeast, City of Gothenburg https://orcid.org/0009-0009-0198-8827
Maria Kjellgren Umeå University https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8581-6241

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1921/jpts20252470

Keywords:

school social work, counselling, family systems theory, family systems approach, children, parents, mental ill-health, Minuchin

Abstract

This paper examines school social workers’ (SSWs) experiences of counselling children experiencing mental ill-health and their parents. Eight SSWs from elementary schools in a large Swedish city were interviewed online. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. 

As a theoretical frame, the study uses Minuchin’s structural family approach. The results indicated that SSWs schedule counselling together with children and parents depending on the degree of mental ill-health, wishes, and consent. The SSWs emphasised structure, role, information, and passing forward. They also took account of the family system as a whole, its parts and its broader context. 

This study contributes to the development of future initiatives for school social work counselling with children and their parents. It addresses a gap in the literature, as Swedish SSWs’ work of counselling children experiencing mental ill-health and their parents has not previously been studied or reported in peer-reviewed publications. This paper meets an identified need and demonstrates how social work counselling can be conducted in schools. 

Author Biographies

Tarja Väyrynen Börgesson, School Counsellor, Primary School Administration, Education area Northeast, City of Gothenburg

Tarja Väyrynen Börgesson is a social worker with a Master of science degree in psychology and a Postgraduate in psychotherapy, specialisation family therapy. She works as a school counsellor at an elementary school in Hjällbo, Gothenburg since 2006. She has been convener for the school counsellors of northeastern Gothenburg 2012 – 2020, convener for the school counsellors at city level 2013 – 2019, supervisor for students of social work from the University of Gothenburg 2013 – 2019 and representative for the school counsellors in Gothenburg’s process team for student health 2014 – 2017. She has a special interest in school counselling and the training and education för school counsellors.

Maria Kjellgren, Umeå University

Maria Kjellgren is a certified social worker (MSc in Social Work), a licensed psychotherapist, a licensed healthcare social worker, a supervisor and teacher of psychotherapy, and holds a PhD in Social Work. She works as an associate professor at Umeå University, Department of Social Work. Her doctoral research focused on the individual counselling practices of school social workers with children in Swedish elementary schools. She teaches in the Bachelor’s Program in Social Work, the Hospital Social Work/Healthcare Social Work program, and the Policing program at Umeå University. Her current research focuses on child psychiatry, school social workers, and healthcare social workers.

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