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Foundations for a good life

Troubled children in ten Edinburgh primary schools are finding a place to be heard and helped.

The Place2Be is an innovative, growing charity that supports and nurtures anxious children and gives them the means to move past their problems and build the foundations for a successful life.

One-to-one counselling sessions form a vital part of The Place2Be service and these are delivered by trained volunteer counsellors who are supervised and supported by qualified counsellors.

Ten Edinburgh primary schools currently benefit from The Place2Be, helped by 36 volunteer counsellors. These volunteers are a crucial element of the Edinburgh team – reducing the annual cost of the project by £430,000 and adding huge capacity to the service.

Margaret Forbes has been a volunteer counsellor at Canal View Primary School in Wester Hailes for the past four years.

“The support we provide enables children to tap into themselves, understand their emotions and talk in a space that is completely safe with no judgements,” she said.

“They can explore what’s happening in their lives and in their heads and find their own inner strengths. I strongly believe that kids know within themselves what’s best for them – they just need space and time to see that.”

Margaret (52) trained as a counsellor after arthritis meant that she could no longer continue with the physical demands of a career in nursing.

“There’s a real satisfaction of seeing how one-to-one therapy works for children – it gives me a feeling of giving something back. When I had to leave nursing through ill health, I felt guilty as I couldn’t contribute. There was also a sense of feeling less valued as an individual by society, you begin to feel invisible – being a volunteer has changed all that.”