Of Locusts, Looming Tsunamis, and Letting It All Out.

Abstract

In her work as a school counsellor, the first author was concerned for the emotional resilience and welfare of the high school's senior male students. This article details the participatory action research she undertook--in association with the other two authors--to address this concern. The first author established a pilot programme designed to investigate the potential of mentored self-help groups for Year 12 boys who wished to expand their range of emotional tools. One group of volunteers from Year 13 were mentored by the second author, a counselling professional from outside the school, and they offered expert commentary on their recent experience of Year 12. A second group comprised of Year 12 students spoke freely about their concerns surrounding expectations from both school and the wider community culture. Their meetings became a keenly anticipated part of their school week and they formed alliances that were new and supportive. They were enthusiastic about keeping their group going into the future and also mentoring new groups in 2011 for boys moving up into Year 12. The article examines the development of both the Year 13 and Year 12 groups and reflects on the findings from the pilot programme, focusing on the viability of the continued operation of similar groups within the school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of New Zealand Journal of Counselling is the property of New Zealand Association of Counsellors and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)