PETALING JAYA: School counsellors need to adopt a public health approach to address their students’ mental health problems, especially in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, said child psychologist Prof Datin Dr Mariani Md Nor.
Referring to the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2019 that revealed 424,000 students in the country suffered from mental health problems, Mariani said school counsellors played a significant role in handling the problems faced by children.
“The post-pandemic environment will affect students physically, mentally, socially and emotionally as they tend to develop anxiety. This happens when there is a constraint on social interaction.
“Even post-pandemic, we are well aware that students are not supposed to have close contact or near-distance socialisation when they meet their friends at school. Some parents also advise children not to be near friends without a face mask.”
Mariani said such situations affect the mental health of students as they tend to fear many things in their minds, adding that they form various doubts and queries about things that take place in school, the classroom and other places due to the new normal.
She said the most important thing when dealing with students is proper psychological therapy, which is a key component to improving mental health, depending on the type and severity of the problem.
“The school community, including teachers and staff, need to be together with counsellors to solve these problems by having appropriate counselling measures in schools and particularly, in the classroom.
“They may include promoting mental health for all children, which would then create awareness for parents as well, providing preventive intervention to children at risk and providing treatment for students with identified disorders.”
Mariani said having a safe space is important not only for students but also for teachers and staff, adding that having just one or two school counsellors may not be realistic to ensure students are free of mental stress or to reduce it.
She said parents and older siblings could provide advice and motivation to children and inculcate a positive attitude and enthusiasm.
Clinical psychologist Dr Joel Low concurred with Mariani and said confidentiality is one of the hallmarks of counselling.
“Whatever children share with their counsellor should be held in the strictest confidence as otherwise, the students would not open up with their issues ever again.”
He also said standard therapy approaches would be more than sufficient to deal with the majority of issues that students have.
“It is a question of bolstering the number of counsellors that we have, with practitioners who are well trained and able to add to the existing numbers.
“The key is for the authorities to clarify and properly define the roles and responsibilities of school counsellors, standardise training procedures and increase the resources available to these schools,” he added.
