‘It hurts to give up on a child who has already been given up’: School counsellors' perspectives on their support for children in foster care

Abstract

This qualitative study examines how 17 elementary school counsellors perceive their work with out-of-home foster-care children. Three main themes emerged from the in-depth semi-structured interviews, highlighting the challenges and conflicts faced by these counsellors: (1) shying away from providing deep therapy but helping with specific issues, (2) the professional and ethical dilemmas of having to report to the authorities about foster families' domestic neglect or abuse while maintaining positive work relationships with these families and the children and (3) prevailing admiration towards the foster parents. The study recommends comprehensive training for school counsellors, administrators and staff as well as professional peer-support groups for counsellors.