Rachel Forrest
School Counsellor
My name is Rachel Forrest and I am the Student Counsellor for Secondary School at GEMS First Point School. I recently relocated to Dubai from the UK, where I studied Social Work and Social Policy at the University of Nottingham.
In 2011 I started my career as a Social Worker and gained 12 years of experience within statutory agencies as a case holder and then a manager. During this time, I have worked effectively with children, their families and other professionals to ensure that the children’s safety and well-being is maintained and that they have the necessary environment to thrive.
For the past 6 years, I have been the Manager of a Children’s Residential Home in the UK. In this role I developed strong relationships with the children I cared for, founded on trust and mutual respect. The children I worked with had all suffered significant and complex trauma. As a result, they demonstrated emotional and behavioural issues which impacted their ability to engage in education and the wider community. I led the care team supporting these children and ensured that they were cared for in a nurturing and therapeutic environment. It was our responsibility to meet their health, education, identity, cultural and social needs, to ensure they were able to meet their full potential. During this time, I had the privilege of seeing each child we cared for grow and develop into happier and healthier young people, who achieved much more than they had ever expected.
In my role as the Student Counsellor, I aim to take a holistic approach to each child, supporting them in the way that they need, to enable them to access their education and achieve their full potential. It is my belief that in order for a child to fully engage in school, they must also meet their emotional and social needs.
Students can be referred for counselling support by a member of staff, parent or by themselves. Counselling sessions take place during the school day on a 1:1 basis. There may be occasions where group sessions are more appropriate, but this would be agreed with the student beforehand.
If you wish to discuss the counselling support on offer at the school or have any queries regarding this, please feel free to contact me on: [email protected]
