Reporters! Not the ‘c’ word again

A boy of 12 tragically died on 24 September during football training in Dundee. According to the BBC, “Youssef’s classmates were told of the tragedy at a special assembly, and have been offered counselling.”

Aargh! There’s the ‘c’ word! I can’t tell you how irritating I find that particular cliché when solemly uttered by hacks trying to emphasise the gravity of an event. If you’re not with me on this, then it would be difficult to explain why it gets up my nose so much. It’s something to do with the basic implication that the offering of counselling is the litmus test for how shocking, disturbing or upsetting something is. “Were they offered counselling?” “Yes.” “Really? God! It was that bad? I see. Counselling? Poor things.”

I read somewhere that on 22 July 2005 when Jean Charles de Menezes was shot by British police on the London underground, a member of staff in the ticket office shouted an offer of counselling to fleeing eyewitnesses as they ran out into the street. Being offered counselling is not the equivalent of being put on a ventilator, receiving open heart surgery or having a limb set in plaster. It’s not the result of a clinical assessment by a qualified psychologist, doctor or paramedic. Anyone can ask “do you want counselling?” Unfortunately, it’s an increasingly common question – and I blame the media.