Annual School Counsellors’ Conference

Our Annual Conferences are nationally important for schools, school pastoral staff, counsellors and psychotherapists alike, and connect schools and colleagues across the country with insightful, practical professional development.

Planning for 2026

Our conference team is now preparing for our 2026 conference event on Thursday 24th September, at the same venue and time.  Please keep an eye on this page for further details. 

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18th Annual Counsellors' Conference

Our 18th Annual Conference brought together counsellors and pastoral practitioners from across the county and country for a thoughtful exploration of the emotional realities facing young people today. The day opened with a keynote from Dr Rebecca Bolam, “The Unappointed Container: containing organisational anxieties in the midst of adolescent crises,” followed by a diverse programme of workshops addressing themes including gender identity, boundaries, sexual abuse and family dynamics, boarding school experiences, risk-taking and anxiety, staff wellbeing, absent fathers, and shame.

Conference reflections and writing

In the months leading up to our 18th Annual Conference, we shared two reflective blog posts exploring themes central to the day. These pieces continue to resonate and offer thoughtful insight for practitioners working in school settings.

Blog post 1 - The Pull is Strong (May 2025)

A reflective piece by Debbie Lee, Lead Counsellor at King Alfred's Academy and one of our 2025 Conference workshop leaders  exploring emotional complexity and boundary questions when working therapeutically with school staff. 

Blog-The-Pull-is-Strong-Debbie-Lee.pdf

Blog post - Behind the Scenes (Sept 2025)

Our conference team share a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the quieter work and collaboration that shape the day.

Blog-Behind-the-Scenes.pdf

17th Annual Conference

Our 17th Annual conference opened with a personal and thought provoking address by Debbie Lee entitled 'Acting Out and Acting Up the Psychodrama of a School', the introduction to which can be viewed below.  Additionally, our experienced workshop leaders led insightful sessions covering topics including identity, jealousy, death, autistic girls and creative play.

16th Annual Conference

Shona Reed-Purvis' heartfelt address 'What HAS love got to do with it? Connections in therapy', laid the foundations for the day, with further workshops on themes including narcissism, strong emotions, divorce, hate and grief.

A short clip from Shona's keynote speech can be viewed below.

15th Annual Conference

The Storm After the Calm: therapeutically picking up the pieces - brought us together in person for a full day of face to face professional learning and nourishment with new and familiar colleagues. Our experienced workshop leaders hosted sessions on race, chaos, feelings, psychosis and relationships.

Kathy Peto delivered an impactful keynote speech, 'The Young Person, the Family and the Outside World: how do we as therapists find our positions in the systems surrounding young people?'

A short clip from Kathy's keynote speech can be viewed below.

Previous Conferences

Our School Counsellors' Conferences began in 2008, and were introduced by our late colleague and friend, Nick Luxmoore. They quickly became an established fixture in the school calendar, with new people coming from far and wide and old friends returning. The conferences are intended to raise the profile and clinical standard of counselling in schools and provide an opportunity to reconnect with other counsellors to celebrate their work with young people in schools.