Why do students need counselling?
28th September 2022
There are 3 levels of counselling that can be offered to students at the school level; with counselling done by trained teachers being one of them. Teachers who have received counselling training for teachers, apart from doing their primary function, also possess the expertise to get engaged in school counselling which involves advising students on social conduct, emotional problems, vocational planning and many more. Most students nowadays suffer from several anxiety and behavioural disorders, reasons varying from immense academic pressure to fare better, to parental pressure, peer pressure and all other sorts of external tension and pressure. Counselling by teachers, though non-medical and non-psychiatric in nature, may act as a therapy for these children; even if students do not suffer from any disorders, counselling can help them build a strong foundation toward general "life skills training" so that they realise and develop their ‘personal resources’ and be prepared for the future. According to Psychologist Turlogh O'Concubhair, "Guidance in schools is that area of the school’s provision that is specifically directed towards helping pupils realise their full potential in preparing for adult and working life."
According to Rogers (1942) School and educational counselling “aims directly toward greater independence and integration of the individual; the individual is the focus, the aim being to assist him or her to grow, to cope with present or future problems in a more integrated fashion".
Since children spend a major part of their day in school therefore it automatically comes under the responsibility of the teachers to take up the responsibility to help and guide these students. Being able to perfectly balance each role of a teacher, including counselling and guidance, needs something more than just intuition and experience on the teacher’s part. Here “the basic requirement of a teacher” then becomes receiving school counsellor training in the hope of making their counselling jobs easier and helping the students overcome their negative orientation created by various internal/external factors; without proper training teachers may feel ill-equipped to handle the various psychosocial problems that the students are facing in their lives.
Proper counselling and guidance help the students reach their full potential in the long run and also prepare them mentally for the global competition. Most teachers today are required to perform the additional job of providing guidance to the students (with varying degrees), apart from their usual teaching duties and responsibilities. Therefore, schools need to focus on creating a caring and inviting environment for the students to grow, develop and achieve success along with life-long learning. The guidance and co-operation have been made an integral part of modern education in most nations, making it all the more important for teachers to receive formal training in ‘counselling’ so that they are well-aware of the problems that students face in their lives and be prepared to be able to manage and handle the trickiest of situations more effectively and improve the student’s overall learning process.
Written By : Anindita Das