The Hero Who Saved My Life: Why School Counselling Matters for Teen Mental Health
It was 1983. There were no mobile phones in our pockets and not a computer in sight at school. Culture Club, Madonna, and INXS were the artists playing through our Sony Walkmans. My high school was in Altona, Melbourne, and I had started there in Year 8 after moving from country Victoria. I was a shy boy and always daydreaming—these should have been exciting years for me. However, I found myself in Year 9 battling grief, confusion, and a creeping sense of not belonging.
It was a time when we didn’t talk openly about mental health, especially not as teenagers. But I was quietly—and quickly—unravelling.
I had recently lost my grandmother, the one person who provided me with a sense of safety in a world that was beginning to lack it. Her death was like a sudden silence in my life, a gaping emotional wound I didn’t know how to express. At school, I was bullied, sometimes cruelly. The reasons were unspoken, but I’ve come to understand them with clarity as an adult. My mannerisms, my sensitivity, my difference—it all made me a target.
That year, I found myself in a precarious situation, balancing between functioning and falling apart. And if not for Miss Tudor, my school counsellor, I might not be here telling this story.
The Importance of Mental Health Support in Schools
School counselling isn’t just about helping students choose subjects or think about their careers. It’s about emotional survival. It’s about early intervention. For many students—especially those grappling with personal trauma, identity issues, bullying, or mental health conditions—school counsellors are often the first, and sometimes only, adults they can trust.
Mental health support in schools can be life-changing. It certainly was for me.
I didn’t go to Miss Tudor expecting anything. I didn’t even know what counselling was. I was sent to her office after crying in class—not for the first time. I remember sitting in the too-big chair across from her, not knowing what to say. But she didn’t rush me. She didn’t force the conversation. She simply sat with me, quietly holding space, allowing me to be a scared, grieving, confused teenager without judgement.
She didn’t try to fix me. She didn’t offer clichés or empty reassurances. She just listened. And in that quiet listening, I found the beginnings of something I hadn’t felt in a long time: hope.
Counselling in Schools Can Save Lives
I truly believe that Miss Tudor saved my life. And the extraordinary thing is – she probably doesn’t know it.
School counsellors may never see the long-term impact they have. But for students like me, their presence can be the difference between giving up and carrying on. I can’t overstate how powerful it is for a young person to feel seen and heard, especially during the rollercoaster years of adolescence.
Teenagers are navigating identity, belonging, hormones, family changes, social pressures, academic expectations, and more. It’s an overwhelming time. Now add in grief, bullying, or struggling with your sexuality in an era when being “different” meant isolation, not celebration—and the pressure becomes unbearable.
Having a trusted, qualified mental health professional available during these developmental years can be transformative. Counselling helps students build resilience, learn emotional regulation, and understand their own experiences. It offers them a place to cry, to question, and to be vulnerable in a world that often expects them to be tough.
School Counselling Builds Emotional Literacy
Another gift Miss Tudor gave me—though I didn’t recognise it at the time—was language. The ability to talk about what I was feeling. She helped me name grief, sadness, anxiety, and fear. She helped me realise that what I was going through wasn’t weakness or failure. It was human.
Counselling in schools plays a vital role in building emotional literacy. For many young people, it's the first place they learn that mental health is just as important as physical health. That crying doesn’t make you broken. That talking about your feelings is a strength, not a flaw.
And this matters so much—especially for boys. In so many school settings, boys are still encouraged, whether directly or indirectly, to “toughen up” or “man up”. School counselling challenges those damaging narratives and offers a space where young men can show vulnerability without shame.
Looking Back with Gratitude—and Forward with Purpose
I never got the chance to thank Miss Tudor. I don’t know where she is or what became of her. But I carry her with me every day.
Her quiet presence and patient listening did more than get me through Year 9—they set me on a path. A path that eventually led me to become a counsellor myself. Today, I work with clients navigating the same storms I once endured: grief, shame, bullying, confusion, and mental health struggles. And in each session, I try to offer the same compassion, calm, and care that Miss Tudor gave me.
Because I know it matters. I know that sometimes, it saves lives.
Life Was Still Hard, But I Was No Longer Alone
While that moment in Miss Tudor’s office was life-changing, it didn’t mean that life suddenly became easy. I would still go on to face many challenges—grappling with my identity, experiencing periods of depression, and navigating the complex journey of coming out later in life. There were still painful lessons, setbacks, and moments when I felt completely lost. But because of that early experience of being truly seen and supported, I knew that help was out there. I understood that I didn’t have to carry everything on my own. That realisation shaped how I approached future hardships—and reminded me, time and again, that healing was possible.
Why We Must Prioritise Counselling in Schools
As we look at rising rates of youth anxiety, depression, and suicide—particularly among LGBTQIA+ youth—the need for accessible school counselling becomes painfully clear. Mental health support must be embedded in the education system, not as an optional extra but as a core offering.
Counselling services should be well-resourced, visible, and inclusive. Counsellors should be trained not only in mental health but also in trauma-informed care, cultural sensitivity, and LGBTQIA+ inclusion. Every student, no matter their background or identity, deserves a safe space in their school.
Importantly, we need to normalise help-seeking at an early age. Students should know that asking for help is brave, not weak.
Counselling Changes Lives—and Shapes Futures
The ripple effect of one counsellor’s kindness in the 1980s is still being felt today. It lives on in the clients I support, the community work I do, and the advocacy I share. And I often wonder how many others Miss Tudor helped—how many other young people walked into her office scared and walked out a little lighter.
Counselling in schools is about more than mental health. It’s about self-worth. It’s about planting seeds of hope and healing that can grow into strength, compassion, and purpose.
To all the school counsellors out there: please know that your work matters. Deeply. Even if students don’t say it. Even if they don’t come back to thank you. You may not realise it, but you could be saving lives.
Just like Miss Tudor saved mine.
Shaun
