How to Support Student Mental Health as a Counselor

The role of a school counselor isn’t an easy one. You’re regularly seeing kids struggling with anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems. This can sometimes be overwhelming, but the good news is that you are in a position to provide life-changing support. You might have completed the bachelor’s or the online Master’s in School Counseling but also the right strategy and understanding each student’s situation is just as important. This article will go through some strategies you can use to support students in need.

The first thing you should focus on is making the students comfortable in your environment. It is challenging to make lasting changes with individuals if they can’t open up to you and speak freely. You should start with maintaining a comfortable office environment and being as accommodating and friendly as possible. Also, it is recommended to establish confidentiality ground rules so they understand that any personal information is safe in your hands. Make sure you’re there to support students during their scheduled meetings and available during other times of the day. If you’re able to check in every so often, that might be helpful, too. This is because students might go through crises or challenging times outside of meetings, so ensuring that you’re available will not only prevent troublesome situations but also keep the students at ease so that they can rely on support when required. Ensure that all your students are educated on mental health issues and ways to care for themselves. It’s often that those suffering from mental health issues might feel alone or not completely understand their conditions. So take the opportunity to teach them how and why they are feeling the way they think and from there, they are better equipped to strategies and tackle those mental health issues.

While it’s great to provide your services as a counselor, ensuring your students have the resources and coping strategies is vital. Being able to manage themselves is more important than relying on others. Here are some ways to ensure your students are equipped to become more independent.

As a counselor, you should provide your details, but at some point, the students will graduate and might need other resources. Connecting students with helpful contacts like crisis hotlines or counselling centers can make them aware of other options. You should hand out flyers at your meetings or promote these institutions on social media. Having an understanding of how these resources would help too, so you can guide students on what they need.

Teaching skills like deep breathing, journaling and positive self-talk can make a massive difference to your student’s long-term outcomes. These simple strategies are not only great for mental health, but can also give physical health benefits too, like increased relaxation and improved body function. Also, time management and social skills can help when students need to cope with busy working environments or group setting in school.

Another great way to help support students is to connect with families and the community for increased support. When it comes to mental health issues, nothing is in isolation, so if we can create a more comprehensive support system for mental health awareness it will further aid overall outcomes.

You should chat with families regularly and update them on their student’s progress. It can also be valuable to keep these forms of communication open just in case parents see signs of any issues occurring. They might also be open to education for other ideas to help the student in their home environment.

Get in close contact with other professionals who can aid in the overall betterment of the community. They can give you tips and advice as to how best to deal with students, as well as refer students to others for specific treatments. Mental health isn’t one-sided and often, many aspects come into play when treating conditions.

Most towns have local community groups centered around the overall improvement of the community. This might mean events, local partnerships or support groups for all individuals. You should check out any programs or resources for students. Looking for confident community leaders may also help support students as these individuals can often be the catalyst for new initiatives and funding within the community.

So hopefully, you’ve taken some key ways that you can help student mental health as a school counselor. It is a big responsibility, and you have the chance to potentially change the trajectory of student’s lives through caring, standing up for them and teaching. If you gather all resources, research the best way to do things and make strange connections you will be equipped to serve students the best way you can. So keep on moving forward because today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders.