It’s no secret that students can get stressed about their coursework. However, along with course pressure, students may be dealing with complex mental health issues impacting their physical and emotional well-being. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic also exacerbated mental health problems in young people.
According to the American College Health Association, during the 2020-2021 school year, more than 60% of college students experienced one or more mental health disorders. While another national survey stated that almost three-quarters of students reported moderate or severe psychological distress as they tried to keep up with their studies in a highly competitive environment.
These are not good numbers, and educational institutes need to explore what is causing students mental distress. Fortunately, this is where school counselors come into the picture. These experts are essential in helping address students’ mental health and providing relief. Here’s how:
What Is The Job of A School Counselor?
School counselors are professionals concerned with how a student is performing in school. Their primary purpose is to ensure there are no hurdles in a student’s academic journey and that students can achieve their goals with minimal hassle. Therefore, to do their job, a school counselor must have the skills, expertise, and knowledge that makes them suitable for this multifaceted position.
Hence, if you’re wondering how to become a high school counselor, the process is relatively simple. You must first ensure that you have the relevant educational qualifications, credentials, and licenses to work with students.
There are many reasons a student may be underperforming in school; they may be stressed, not studying enough, a victim of a volatile domestic household, or experiencing active bullying. In all these cases, you need to intervene, address their circumstances and help them get back on track with their education.
How you can take care of a student’s mental well-being:
Raise Awareness About Mental Health Issues
Students need education beyond their classroom walls. There is more to life than covering a syllabus and appearing for their tests. Often a student may be experiencing a mental health problem as they try to keep up but may not have enough information to comprehend what they’re going through.
For this reason, you must guide students on mental health issues, reduce the stigma around these conditions and inform students what they can do if they think they need guidance.
Creating awareness is a layered process. You need to explain what mental health is, what factors can lead to poor well-being, and which social taboos prevent individuals from getting help. From there, encourage students to ask questions, conduct seminars that can teach them coping mechanisms, and educate them on asking for help.
Identify Warning Signs and Intervene
If a student is not doing well, you may notice it in their behavior. Certain students become quieter and isolate themselves from their peers, while others become more aggressive, easy to anger, and chaotic in class. As a school counselor, you need to monitor how students are doing in class and recognize when a student is behaving in these ways.
For instance, you may notice a student taking far more leaves than they generally would or getting detention often and suspended frequently. You need to engage with that student when you pick up on these sudden changes.
Expect the student to show you resistance, deny your claims, and choose not to cooperate with you. But, when your student is ready to talk, pay close attention to how they react to your questions, what parts of their life they find hard to talk about, and observe for mood swings.
This can inform you if the student is experiencing anger management problems, anxiety, or depression, etc., which is making them act this way. Are they being abused? Bullied? Or do they have an uneasy relationship with their parents? If you suspect abuse and have incriminating evidence, you may need to inform Child Protective Services (CPS) or the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline.
Counsel Students Through Different Phases Of Their Life
As a school counselor, you need to provide students with a safe space to express themselves freely without fearing consequences. For instance, if a student is having a hard time dealing with the death of a loved one or is having difficulty expressing their grief, you can help them find ways to cope and handle the loss.
Similarly, if a student has a problem making friends, doesn’t know the right social cues, and feels alone, you can actively work to identify why socialization is challenging for them and offer practical advice to help them step out of their comfort zone.
No matter the concern, you need to spend time with your students one-on-one, listen to them without interruption, take notes, talk to them and present your perspective.
Provide Helpful Resources and Guidelines
A student’s mental health is essential to their academic and personal life. Therefore, when a student hits a roadblock, such as feeling detached from class, struggling to keep up with their lectures, or feeling anxious, they need your help. As a school counselor, you will have access to numerous informative resources that can guide students.
For example, if a student feels disengaged in class, why not conduct a personality test and learn their hobbies to recommend subjects and career options that can ignite their interest?
Furthermore, if a student wants to understand mental health better, wants to learn ways to deal with panic attacks, or how to identify signs of stress, you can provide them with helpful links or books written by certified psychologists.
Working collaboratively with your students can boost their mental well-being.
Guide Students To Other Agencies
Before you become a school counselor, you will receive the skills and training to deal with sensitive issues and provide crisis intervention. However, despite your expertise, you may encounter cases you cannot deal with at a school level and need to consult external agencies.
You need to ensure that the professional you refer a student to is legitimate and has a certified license and the necessary experience to look after them better. For example, if you feel a student may have undiagnosed ADHD, you must involve their parents and advise them to get their child tested.
Sometimes, connecting a child to external agencies like psychiatrists, psychologists and doctors may serve their best interest and help them improve their mental well-being.
Final Thoughts
As a school counselor, you must acknowledge the mental health problems students face and find ways to provide them relief. This includes creating a culture of awareness of mental health to reduce the surrounding stigma.
If a student encounters obstacles in expressing themselves, exhibits reactions like sudden bouts of anger, or feels emotionally trapped, you need to be there for them. Furthermore, as a school counselor, don’t hesitate to utilize your resources, particularly if they can benefit a student. Lastly, understand your limitations and connect students to external agencies when you know the situation’s complexity cannot be dealt with at a school level.
Also Read: 4 Ways Drugs Affect Your Mental And Physical Health
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