If I Were A Counselor...

Since we were kids, they used to teach us that school is our second home, and teachers are our second family. I guess that when I grew up, I really understood what that meant. The school is the shelter for students that takes care of them and keeps them safe physically and emotionally. That’s why it should be a unified community that cooperates together to provide a secure and appropriate atmosphere for them.

It is very important for the school to take care of the educational program, how to enhance it, and what teaching methods to use in order to make learning a great experiment as possible for students. But it’s also essential for the school to take care of the students’ psychological needs in order to keep them stable, happy, normal in the process of their development, and fruitful in their classes. Such that, the psychological aspects a student has can make him suffer in his academic life thus he will not be able to focus and produce well according to his own potentials or in comparison with his peers’ performance.

Here comes the role of the counselor in a school that makes sure to follow up with students’ problems and guide them as much as needed in order to become better and get back on track. The counselor job is that of great importance because he/she works side by side with the teacher in order to teach and mold the characteristics of a healthy generation according to their emotional, physical, and mental awareness.

If I were a counselor, and one time a student came to me to tell me about his/her problem, first I would be careful with my reaction and feedback that I will deliver. For example, if a student came to me and said that he is so depressed, his friends don’t like him, he can’t communicate with them, he feels like an outsider in school and at his house, and he is thinking that maybe he should end his life to be relieved from his suffering, I will try my best to correct and guide his thoughts. I would say to him/her that it’s okay to have problems, each one of us has them in their life. I would also tell him/her that when I was his/her age I suffered from such kinds of problems, and I was able to defeat them by fighting, having hope, and never giving up, and that everything in life needs time in order for him/her to see that his problem is common and has a solution. I would praise the good qualities that he/she has, I would say that he/she is a great kid; he/she is so lovely and kind hearted. I will assure to him/her that he/she is loved and he/she needs to work on him/herself to let others see what he/she is made of. I would also tell the student that his/her parents love him/her, maybe he/she is facing problems at his house but his/her parents definitely love and wish him/her the best. I will seek his/her feedback to see if he/she is accepting my opinion and I will show him/her good gestures like maybe a tap on his/her back. I will finish by saying to him/her that he/she is special and I’m sure and confident about his/her abilities. Then I will assign him/her a new appointment.

The student didn’t show up the next time, neither after that. It’s my job as a counselor to stay in touch with each student’s case and never neglecting them. That’s why I would go to the administration and explain the case of the student, I would tell them that he/she is facing critical problems in self worth and might be objected to suicide thoughts. After showing the school how urgent the condition of the student is, I would ask them to get his/her contact information in order to speak with his/her parents and inform them about their kid’s situation in order to take the suitable steps. When I will talk to his parents, I would say to them that I need them to come to school in order to talk about their child. When I see them, I would give them a detailed report about their child’s thoughts and intentions and I would ask them for their cooperation after showing how serious the problem is. Then I will propose to them a list of psychiatrics in the area to improve their child’s condition. Since it is a critical problem like suicide, a counselor should advice the parents to make him/her see a psychiatric because it needs more attention from a person that is specialized with such cases. After that, it is my job to keep up with the development of the child’s condition by talking with the psychiatric responsible about him/her. And in school, it is my job to provide him/her with help when needed, observe him/her, ask teachers and friends about his/her behavior in order to avoid further complications and guarantee his/her healing process and enhancement. I should explain his/her situation for the teachers in order to make him/her experience success and positivity in the classroom thus boosting his/her motivation and confidence. I would also ask them to make him/her surrounded by the students in class to feel socially connected and emotionally stable.

The counselor can change a student’s life, be able to save him/her from dangerous situations, and spread light in the darkness he/she is living. A student’s problem might be simple and silly for adults, but for him/her they consider such problems the center of their live that’s why  the job of a counselor is to help him/her overcome them in order to stay on the right path and enjoy a healthy childhood that is the base for a very productive future.