COUNSELLING & PERSONAL ASSISTANCE

An introduction to the Health and Wellbeing Team

The College Health and Wellbeing Centre (HWBC) team comprises of our nurses and counsellors.

Two registered nurses have staffed our centre in recent years. On Fridays, Mr Blake Patch is on duty. Blake has 29 years of clinical nursing experience in major Sydney hospitals including St Vincent's; Royal North Shore, with surgical and emergency; and Cairns Base Hospital acute mental health experience. Blake began working with us in 2022 and coupled with his approachable disposition makes him a valuable addition to the Health and Wellbeing Centre. 

The other nurse on duty, Monday to Thursday, has been Sr Suzana Borlovan. She has cared for our staff and students since 2020 but over the Christmas break decided to pursue one of her passions and has accepted a teaching role in the CQU School of Nursing, thus she has resigned from Saints. 

We are sure that Suzana will bring to this role the passion, dedication, commitment and warmth that so characterised her contribution at Saints these last few years. Suzana has helped shape the HWBC team with her generosity of thought and action, her commitment to the highest quality of care and holistic approaches to wellbeing. Marijke and I wish Suzana all the best as she helps form new generations of nurses to the highest standards of nursing professional care.

As part of our health care for boarders, a GP attends before school each week to address boarders’ general health care concerns. For more urgent matters, our RNs will arrange appointments with a local medical clinic with whom we have a longstanding relationship.

Mrs Marijke (mar-ay-ka) Keller is our part-time counsellor at Saints. She is a registered psychologist and has been working in primary and high schools for the past 18 years. Mrs Keller works on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays. She is highly skilled in small group work, in helping young people understand how the brain functions and in supporting those who are experiencing emotional ups and downs.

Br Roger is a qualified counsellor with advanced training in adolescent trauma, adolescent CBT, solution-focused therapy, adolescent grief and loss, and eating disorders. He has a special interest in supporting our boarding students, including support during those initial weeks of homesickness and separation from families. Br Roger works as part of the HWBC team, Monday to Friday.

Q & A about the HWBC and what we do

What does the College nurse do?

The nurse attends to the illness and injury needs of all the members of the College community, boarders and day students on an emergency and needs basis. The nurse will develop and monitor care plans for students with ongoing medical conditions. Boarders’ medications are kept in the HWBC and administered under the guidance of the nurse. If possible, the nurse attends college sporting events to ensure the wellbeing of students.

When a boy is sick during class, he is asked to speak to his teacher who sends him to the Student office for a red slip to visit the infirmary. This step is important so that we have oversight on where all our students are during the day. During recess and lunch times, a boy is expected to get a red slip. When it is an emergency, clearly a red slip is not the priority and health is.

The nurse conducts a professional triage to determine the appropriate actions. 

Many student concerns can be addressed with permitted over-the-counter medications and redressing hydration. For boarders that may mean a bed in the HWBC infirmary, for day students it may mean a call to parents to collect their child. The nurses also liaise with the counsellors as we know that mental health and physical health are intertwined and a presentation can have a number of facets to be addressed. Treatment always prioritises the health and wellbeing of each student.

What does a counsellor in a secondary school do? 

• A school counsellor is a special part of the pastoral care team.
• The counsellor plays an integral role in young people’s lives as they can speak confidentially to a counsellor and so unburden themselves or share experiences that might be difficult to talk about to other adults.
• A counsellor is not part of the disciplinary side of the College.

There is a regular Counselling Connections section in our newsletter, Saints News, that offers a perspective on relevant mental health issues. You will be emailed a link to the newsletter, or you can read the latest issue or back issues via the News & Events page on the College website.

What are common issues that school counsellors frequently address?

They frequently deal with the full range of ups and downs of adolescent growth and experiences, which include: 

• friendship and peer troubles.
• homework worries.
• anxieties large and small.
• sadness and separation issues.
• diet and eating disorders issues.
• homesickness, especially for boarders.
• adjustment issues in moving to a larger school and possibly loss of some friendships, grieving and loss in family separations.
• deaths or separations in one’s community.
• self-worth issues.
• confidence.
• decision-making.
• identity.
• concerns about health and physical wellbeing.

How do I arrange for my son to meet a counsellor?

• Call 07 4052 9135 or 07 4052 9136 or email the counsellors sac.counsellor@cns.catholic.edu.au  and start a conversation to help the counsellor determine the best way to meet your son.
• A face-to-face meeting is ideal if this can be managed.
• Alternatively, a message to your son’s head of year or head of residence (for boarders) will also initiate a counselling meeting for him.
• Counselling conversations remain confidential between the young person and the counsellor with respect to the Privacy and Consent form that each counselling client signs.

Health and Wellbeing Contact details:

• Ms Marijke Keller: mkeller@cns.catholic.edu.au 07 4052 9136
• Br Roger: brroger@cns.catholic.edu.au 07 4052 9135
• General email: sac.counsellor@cns.catholic.edu.au (a copy is sent to each counsellor)

Our students are on the road to growing into mature Men of Saints, and the Health and Wellbeing team welcomes contact with parents and carers. We look forward to working with our students and their families in 2024.

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