A Fresh Approach to Emotional Support

Bromley's whole student focus encompasses much more than a year-round academic curriculum. It's also the perfect way to sum up the school's approach to counseling and therapy - both cornerstones of Bromley's core philosophy.

Designed to give each student the time and space she needs to come to terms with the changes she needs to make in her life, Bromley takes a unique approach to providing pastoral and emotional support for every student, giving each girl the opportunity to play an active role in her own personal development.

Instead of using mandatory individual counseling as the primary vehicle for a student's journey towards personal and social maturity, Bromley first enrolls each girl in a twice-weekly group meeting. Focusing a particular topic (from personal relationships to bereavement, divorce, adoption and substance-use recovery) each group lasts the duration of one term, giving students a chance to complete valuable personal work within several topics during her stay at Bromley.

"We recognize that not every girl is particularly fond of the individual therapy process, and she may not be ready - or able - to face some of the intense struggles that have got her to this particular point in her life," says Bromley counseling manager Lucille Mutty.

"That's why we focus on groups as a primary vehicle for fostering each girl's emotional growth and offer individual counseling as an optional addition to the schedule."

Designed to teach healthy coping skills, each group "helps students start to recognize the difference between what they think they want and what they actually need," according to Mutty, pointing out that the vast majority of students also take advantage of the individual counseling option, meeting weekly with one of Bromley's four certified counseling staff.

The groups also provide an excellent forum for building self-confidence and interpersonal skills, according to Beth*, a current Bromley student. "[When I arrived at Bromley] I was worried about social pressures and social problems, but since we have group therapy and individual therapeutic access here, we can work that out and talk about it as a community. It really takes an edge off problems that can be damaging to your education."

Indeed, both group and individual counseling are critical to a girl's overall development, says Mutty, but forcing a girl into individual therapy simply isn't effective. Instead, we let her decide when she's ready to do the work. It's an approach that has so far proved highly successful, helping students realize that "there really are long-term rewards for doing the work [of therapy] - even if the process doesn't necessarily have the short-term impact a girl is looking for."

And because group meetings and individual sessions are built right into the curriculum and school day, students understand that their participation in one or both isn't optional: it's simply a fundamental - and respected - part of the Bromley community.

*Student's name changed to protect privacy.