Counsellor launches book

A CARMARTHENSHIRE therapist has launched her first book to offer extensive help to those counselling children and young people.
Lorraine Sherman from Hebron near Whitland has written her first book, called Skills in Counselling and Psychotherapy with Children and Young People, which she launched at Coleg Sir Gâr’s Ammanford campus where she lecturers in counselling.
With 30 years of experience as a humanistic psychologist, supervisor, therapist and relationship counsellor, Lorraine never expected to become an author: “I never thought writing a book would be part of my life,” she said. “I knew I had the information in me but putting it down on paper and in book format is something completely new to me.”
The book, which took three years to complete, has already received five-star reviews on Amazon and describes the book as a ‘comprehensive essential text for any counsellor or psychotherapist working with children and young people’.
Mrs Sherman is the clinical supervisor of all secondary school-based counsellors across Carmarthenshire as well other counties including Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and Neath Port Talbot. She also teaches accredited BACP courses at Coleg Sir Gâr and Trinity Saint David, some of which she has written herself.
Her book covers important aspects of counselling including confidentiality and disclosure, legal issues and how to relate to younger people. It also includes a chapter on how to use play to help children express themselves, which was developed with two other counsellors. It also covers counselling techniques such as cognitive behavioural therapy, psychodynamic and person centred and humanistic approaches.
Explaining that counselling young people is different to counselling adults, Mrs Sherman said: “There’s a whole chapter on legal frameworks regarding counselling children, who don’t fully understand their own actions as adults might. I’ve worked in this area since I was 16 when I started as a playleader and a youth worker but issues in counselling do change with society so we have to adapt to dealing with issues such as online bullying and we also work closely with other professionals including child protection officers, teachers and social workers.”
At the launch, the author acknowledged the work of the late Peter Clarke, whose work as the first Children’s Commissioner for Wales paved the way for a universal counselling service in Wales, entitling children and young people aged 11-18 to access a counsellor in all secondary schools.