Child Counselor
ROLE OF COUNSELLORS IN MENTAL HEALTH WELL BEING OF CHILDREN
- Children are the sweetest fruit of God’s garden, Music of the heavens & songs of grace, that enlighten the lives of one & all”
- We wish to see them bloom with accomplishments, contentment & virtues that contribute in their journey to Success & growth. These values come at a great price, even after a lot of affection & love, kids sometimes knowingly or unknowingly fall prey to issues that are mentally afflicting. Counseling / psychoanalysis plays a crucial role in a child’s life whenever they face any issue. Counseling is a professional & protectively concealed relationship between a counselor and the subject where the counselor helps the person to understand and learn to achieve their goals.
- Some of the issues which a counselor deals are anger, hatred, Ego, hyper-activity, adjustment issues, bullying, grief or death of a loved one, trauma, divorce of parents, family substance abuse or addiction, sexual or emotional or physical abuse etc. Counselors help children to overcome their issues and move forward in the future. The issues and the role of counselor are:-
- Adjustment issues- When a child shifts to a new school or a new place, he/she might face difficulty in adjusting to the new environment. In school, the child cries constantly during the class and as a result the whole class gets disturbed while some children may have very less friends or they find it hard to make new friends. Here, the counselors help the children by focusing on the positive aspects of their lives and step by step adjust to the new environment. The child at this stage needs not only security but also a sort of assurance of his comfort that is slowly and gradually filled in for the child to accept the environment and adjust himself / herself.
- Bullying- Bullying is also a major issues faced by young children. Teasing others, calling inappropriate nicknames/comments, making fun of others etc. are common among young children. Verbal bullying, physical bullying, cyber bullying and social bullying are the four types of bullying. For example, Meher was a 10 year old boy studying in class 5. He was a tall and obese boy. He was a bright student in school. His classmates constantly made fun of him because of his physique and felt sad and embarrassed. Such behavior by his peers affected him and he was unable to pay attention in studies. He started getting low grades in school and was later referred to the school counselor. After a few sessions, he was improving and was followed up regularly. A counselor teaches the coping skills for moving forward and sometimes by providing group counseling sessions where children who have been victims of bullying can support one another in healing.
- Grief and death of a loved one- Grief is a natural response to loss. Grief and loss are a part of our lives and it can come in various forms. Most of us are not well prepared to deal with the loss. There are five stages of grief. Difficulty in sleeping, loss of appetite, weight loss and weight gain, anger are some of the feelings associated with grief. When a child is affected by the loss of a loved one, the counselor helps the child adjust to the situation with the help of coping strategies and heal successfully. Color therapy, recognizing emotional triggers, writing journals or arranging grief support group can be therapeutic in this case.
- Trauma- If children are exposed to disturbing, negative or heartbreaking events such as depression, shock etc. it can lead to PTSD ( Post traumatic stress disorder) later in the future. Child counseling can help children to share their feelings, emotions and understand whatever happened with them. Child counselor provide relaxation techniques, stress management techniques and exercises for the children to help them deal with the trauma.
- Divorce of parents- Divorce in the family can be very distressing to the child. Children feel that they are unlovable and it becomes difficult for the child when it comes to choosing with whom they want to live with. They become confused and feel sad while making the decision. Counselors teach how to cope with such situations and help them manage stress, anxiety etc. Family substance abuse or addiction- Parental substance abuse affects a child academically and emotionally. Such children suffer from depression, anxiety, low self- esteem etc. Counselor helps such children and families with family therapy, one-to-one counseling or private counseling sessions where they can express their feelings in a safe and supportive environment.
- Sexual, emotional and /or physical abuse- Sexual activity which is forced on a particular child by an older person is known as sexual abuse. Children who have been victims of sexual abuse continue to suffer for months or years even after the abuse. Such children feel confused, guilty, angry, afraid, depressed, shameless, worthless, lack of interest in different activities etc. A counselor helps the child step by step in overcoming and handling the experience in an easy and better way and move forward in life. Similarly, in emotional and physical abuse, the counselor helps the child to deal with the experience without judging and move forward in life. Some of the different types of therapy provided by child counselors are Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), (CBT aims to help you deal with overwhelming problems in a more positive way by breaking them down into smaller parts, Examples of CBT techniques might include the following: Exposing yourself to situations that cause anxiety, like going into a crowded public space. Journaling about your thoughts throughout the day and recording your feelings about your thoughts.) Trauma- Focused Cognitive- Behavioral Therapy (TF- CBT) (The components of TF-CBT can be summarized by the acronym PRACTICE: Parenting and psychoeducation, Relaxation, Affect expression and modulation, Cognitive coping, Trauma narration and processing, Unlike other therapeutic modalities, trauma therapy delves deeper into a client’s memory of a painful experience in order to “release” it.) and some other therapies such as art therapy, music therapy, mindfulness, dance therapy, play therapy, exercises etc. I believe in this world of great stress and dehydrated thoughts, where little minds get lost in the cruelty of psychological issues, one needs to understand the gravity of these concerns & work accordingly. A School Counselor might be the tiny path to recognition yet the strongest influence towards this crucial phase! We might not always surrender to treatments that bring a swift speedy makeover, but sometimes, we just need a pacemaker towards the health and well being of those little ones, who have the right to dream, aspire, live and grow with assurance & confidence!
