Undiagnosed or untreated mental health symptoms can have a profound impact on youth. Since students spend a large portion of their time in educational settings, schools offer a valuable opportunity to detect these issues early and connect them with resources to help them heal.
Empowering Students to Support Each Other
Students who are experiencing mental health problems should be aware that they are not by themselves. They need support and guidance from school counselors who are dedicated to helping them overcome obstacles, whether it be institutional oppression, like poverty and racism, or personal circumstances, like domestic violence, bullying, and community barriers.
A school counselor degree online can provide the skills you need to help students overcome these challenges. An online M.Ed. school counseling program can also help you earn your degree while balancing your full-time job and family responsibilities.
Providing Resources for Parents
The role of school counselors is to provide resources to parents and students. This can include counseling support for families with issues such as poverty, substance abuse, and domestic violence. Counselors can also help parents navigate the college and career planning process and provide financial aid workshops and other community service opportunities.
You can get ready for a fulfilling future in school counseling with an online master’s degree in the subject. This program teaches you to address the most pressing challenges facing schools today, including the impact of social and emotional trauma on student success. The curriculum is informed by established methods and emerging research in education, child and adolescent development, and multicultural counseling.
Creating a Positive School Culture
In addition to fostering social-emotional learning and development, school counselors also play a critical role in creating positive schools by helping students build trusting relationships with their peers. This can reduce feelings of isolation and encourage the understanding that everyone has different experiences.
Identifying High-Risk Students
School counselors are uniquely positioned to recognize students who have unmet mental health needs. They are often trained to utilize screening tools, such as a depression inventory or the suicide risk assessment, to help their clients identify and address their unique concerns.
As students return to school, the potential for social isolation due to COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, the inability to attend gatherings with friends and family, loss of regular activities, and uncertainty around future events could lead to behavioral issues and a lack of motivation and academic achievement.
The non-licensure online master’s in school counseling program prepares individuals to work as counselors in ethnically, geographically, and socioeconomically diverse K-12 educational settings. With a strong emphasis on practical experience, the curriculum offers an online 100-hour practicum and 600-hour internship opportunities, which enable graduate students to develop professional skills in their field of study.
