Newsreader Kate Silverton has been counselling primary school kids over the past month, and says the mental health role has been a “joy”.
The former Strictly Come Dancing star is continuing as a BBC broadcaster while volunteering at the London school.
Kate, 50, who has a degree in psychology, trained with charity Place2Be.
She said: “I’ve started counselling in a London primary school – on placement, I should stress. I have my own clients and I report to a supervisor at the end of the day. I’m absolutely loving it.
“That’s my joy at the moment. It’s an extraordinary privilege to be doing that. I feel very focused and fired.”
(Image: WireImage)
Kate is releasing a book next month for parents of children aged up to five, titled There’s No Such Thing As Naughty,
She said: “I explain how we can tackle tantrums and tears, stop sibling squabbles and help our children to lay the good foundations for good mental health. I’ve studied really hard and researched for many years to put all of this down in a fun, engaging, easy-to-understand way.”
The BBC journalist, who has daughter Clemency, nine, and son Wilbur, six, with husband Mike Heron, a former Royal Marine commando, says she is “really engaged as a mum”.
(Image: PA)
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Kate has previously described counselling children’s mental health as her “life’s work”. She will begin a masters in child psychotherapy in September.
After this she will undertake two to three years’ further study before becoming a fully qualified child psychotherapist.
Kate has also been working hard on herself during lockdown and revealed that she’d lost two stone thanks to her gruelling home workouts.
(Image: Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
She told the Daily Mail: “I got one of those rebounder trampolines.
“I was studying how toxic stress sits in the body so the jumping up and down helped.”
She added: “I turned 50 and I did mark that by saying I want to look as well as I can.”
If you’re struggling and need to talk, the Samaritans operate a free helpline open 24/7 on 116 123. Alternatively, you can email jo@samaritans.org or visit their site to find your local branch
