Within school care teams, I, as a psychologist, add the psychological perspective. I help keeping focus on the promotive and preventive work around student health and contribute with ideas about how to organize the student care work. I collaborate with school management; I offer consultation to educators and student care team members, and act as a sounding board.
In some situations, and for some students, the general pedagogical strategies are not sufficient and various efforts do not have the intended effect. When this is the case, consultation can contribute to change, by offering a psychological perspective on the educator’s area of expertise. Consultation gives teachers the opportunity to take a step back, to reflect and find new ways to related to a problem or handle a situation. A consultative intervention also has the potential to help school staff develop new skills and prepare for future challenging situations. Sometimes occasional consultations are enough, and sometimes multiple meetings are needed to reach the desired change.
When a pedagogical assessment and other efforts have not fully helped, when students are at risk of not attaining the goals for their current grade or experience other difficulties in the school situation, a cognitive assessment by a psychologist may be required. By describing cognitive strengths and difficulties, the psychological assessment can supplement the pedagogical assessment. A cognitive assessment by a psychologist is also needed when evaluating whether someone has the right to attend a school for students with intellectual developmental disorder.
