Exam Results and the Role of Counselling — For Young People and Parents Alike
Every August, exam results day arrives in Scotland with a wave of emotion. For many young people, it’s a moment of celebration. But for others, it brings anxiety, disappointment, or even despair. Grades may seem like a simple snapshot of performance, but they often carry far deeper emotional meanings — for both students and their parents.
While much attention has been rightly given to the mental health of young people during exam season, it’s important not to overlook the emotional toll this time can also take on parents. Hopes, fears, and expectations — often unspoken — can surface suddenly when results arrive. For many parents, this is not just about their child’s future, but about their own feelings of success, failure, and identity as caregivers.
When results fall short of expectations, some young people may experience shame, anxiety, or a deep sense of personal failure. At the same time, parents might wrestle with guilt (“Did I put too much pressure on them?”), helplessness (“I can’t fix this for them”), or even disappointment — emotions that can be hard to admit and even harder to process.
Psychodynamic counselling offers a unique and compassionate way of understanding these emotional responses. Rooted in the idea that our present struggles are often influenced by unconscious patterns and past relationships, psychodynamic therapy creates space to explore the deeper meanings beneath distress. It doesn’t just ask, “What’s wrong?” — it asks, “What’s really going on here?”
For young people, this kind of therapy can reveal how exam stress might tap into earlier feelings of not being good enough, of fearing rejection, or of tying self-worth to achievement. For parents, counselling can uncover how their emotional responses are shaped by their own childhood experiences, beliefs about success, or internalised societal pressures around parenting.
Importantly, psychodynamic counselling is not about blame — it’s about understanding. It helps families move beyond surface reactions and begin to speak more openly about their fears, hopes, and emotional needs. In some cases, family or parent-focused counselling can be just as important as therapy for the student.
There is no doubt that Scotland is making progress in recognising the importance of youth mental health. More schools now offer counselling services, and public awareness is growing. But exam season remains an emotionally loaded time for families. We need to create more spaces — at home, in schools, and in communities — where emotional realities can be named, understood, and held with care.
Because at the end of the day, a young person is not defined by a grade — and neither is a parent. What truly matters is how we meet these moments of challenge: with compassion, curiosity, and connection.
Psychodynamic counselling offers all three — for both young people and the adults who care for them.