SE Asia School Counselling Network

Conference 2026/27

The annual conference is a chance for School Counsellors from across the region (and beyond!) to connect, share good practice and engage in self care with other professionals who know exactly what their job entails. As International School Counsellors we have a perculiar and often isolating role – getting together once a year helps us to feel part of a community with our peers.

We are really excited to announce that our 15th annual conference will be held at Australian International School, Singapore on 3rd – 5th December 2026. A massive thank you to the team at British International School Phuket for hosting last year, feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

We are also excited to announce Kate Minosa will be facilitating our Pre-Conference Training (starts 9am) Thursday 3rd December:

Topic: Trauma in Children & Adolescents

Facilitator: Kate Minosa, Clinical Psychologist

Title: When the Body Keeps the Score at School: Trauma-Informed Practice for School Counsellors

Cost: $200 SGD per person

Children and adolescents don’t leave their trauma at the school gate — they bring it into every classroom, every corridor, and every counselling room. Yet school counsellors occupy a uniquely powerful position: often the first professional a young person trusts, and frequently the bridge between the student, their family, and clinical care.

This full-day workshop equips school counsellors with a grounded, practical framework for identifying, understanding, and responding to trauma in the young people they serve. Drawing on current neuroscience and evidence-based approaches including Trauma-Focused CBT (TF-CBT) and Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT), participants will move beyond theory into hands-on skill-building tailored to the realities of a school setting — limited time, limited clinical resources, and a whole lot of complexity.

A dedicated focus of the day will be working with parents and caregivers: how to communicate a trauma lens to families who may not yet have that language, how to engage parents as partners in a young person’s recovery rather than inadvertent obstacles, and how to hold space for parents who may themselves be carrying unresolved trauma of their own.

By the end of the day, participants will leave with a clearer lens for understanding how trauma shows up in behaviour, learning, and relationships; practical tools for trauma-informed conversations with both students and their families; and greater confidence navigating the boundaries between school counselling and clinical referral.

Designed for school counsellors working across primary, secondary, and international school contexts in South East Asia.

The Conference: $200 SGD

As usual we have a wide range of workshops and talks over 2 days which are designed to help us share skills and discuss issues that are pertinant to our unique roles in schools. While Friday is given to whole group discussions and talks, Saturday is smaller group workshops where counsellors from across the region share strategies & knowledge. Thank you to everyone who has signed up to deliver a talk or a workshop so far – this conference couldn’t function without you! And of course we have the Friday social where we get to catch up with old friends and make new ones.

Topics for workshops and talks so far include: parent led CBT, neurodivergence, what to do with data, affluent neglect, arts and expression based strategies, bullying interventions, psychophysiology, working with grief and loss, somatic techniques, falling down the looksmaxxing rabbithole, cultivating gratitude and working with anxiety amongst others.
As always we the full line up will be confirmed closer to the date when presenters are given permission to attend by their schools.

4th December 2026: 10am – 5pm + evening social.

5th December 2026: 8am – 3pm
Saturday is devoted to workshops. We will have 20 workshops to choose from in 5 workshop slots.

Please register here

As always the conference aims to give participants practical strategies that they can use in their work with children and young people, and on the Friday evening a social is planned, to give participants the opportunity to unwind and get to know their peers from across the region.

The conferences are run not-for-profit and the entry fee covers costs only. We would not be able to put on annual conferences if it were not for the generosity of the host schools and you, our speakers.

We hope to see you there! Aylssa & Steph (AIS)