Reflections on family counseling

Abstract

As we counsel families in our practice as school psychologists, we are constantly confronted with the need of reflecting on and questioning our functions. On approaching this part of our daily practice we come across concepts such as listening, consent and accompaniment, which refer to aspects that do not leave the professional unscathed and that affect him/her in ways that cannot be ignored, giving rise to feelings of malaise, doubts and suffering in the professional. What is to be done about this malaise? What different ways are there of facing it and of looking for answers to it in our day-to-day work? These and other elements are part of the reflections raised in this article.