Guidance counsellors spread thin

With the continued prevalence of violent crime, including multiple murders and gun-related incidents, primary school administrators say there is a desperate need for more guidance counsellors and social workers at institutions to help buttress students’ psychological support.

In addition, educators stress the importance of creating therapeutic spaces within schools to help children manage their emotions triggered by the trauma from these incidents, some of which occur at or near school.

Financial resources and donations are also needed, particularly to fund excursions for students who have never had the opportunity to leave their communities.

For these students, many of whom face poverty, violence, and a lack of educational opportunities, these harsh realities have become the norm, limiting their prospects and threatening their dreams, the professionals argue.

“They (schools) need more guidance counsellors and more school social workers. The children need more play therapy, different ways to find out what is going on in their heads. But at the same time, the guidance counsellors are the disciplinarians; they are supposed to be the teachers, the chaplains; and when they are playing several roles, they can’t really focus on the children, per se,” noted Rhionnans Spence, a student social worker at the Norman Gardens Primary School in Kingston.

“I’ve been here and if a child misbehaves, the first thing is to send that child to the guidance counsellor; so it is as if they are also the deans of discipline. Ultimately, the focus on dealing with certain guidance counselling – certain social issues – is not there,” said Spence, speaking after several students of Norman Gardens were left traumatised by the murders of five people in Rockfort last month.

Fundamentally, guidance counsellors are tasked with supporting students’ academic, career, and personal development.

According to the Ministry of Education, there are 1,047 counsellors employed within the public school system, with others working in private institutions. Their core duties include advising students on academic pathways, career choices, and addressing social issues that hinder their development. Those core responsibilities, however, have become much broader, owing to crime and its many spin-off social challenges within communities, counsellors have noted.

NOT ENOUGH MAPOWER TO ADDRESS NEED

“In addition to guidance counsellors, we need permanent social workers at schools because general guidance counsellors will not cover the need. If you look at the parents, they don’t understand the effects of exposing their own children to violence,” veteran guidance counsellor Janet E. Williams. Williams told The Sunday Gleaner, argued that removing students, if even temporarily from their troubled communities, would significantly help in reaching them, but that the resources to do so in any meaningful and sustained way are simply not available.

Rochina Anderson, president of the Jamaica Association of Guidance Counsellors in Education, echoed this concern, saying the need for social workers in schools is critical.

She highlighted the long-standing issue of some schools – particularly those with small student populations – lacking guidance counsellors altogether, while others rely on a single counsellor to serve multiple schools. This cluster-based approach, Anderson argued, is ineffective and places unsustainable pressure on the few counsellors available. One counsellor serving multiple schools, she reasoned, cannot provide the depth of support that each student needs.

“As an association, we do not believe this (clustering) is an effective approach as it can be very challenging for the guidance counsellors to extend themselves in service to three separate schools, dealing with three different environments. It really takes a toll on that individual,” Anderson told The Sunday Gleane r.

Anderson also pointed out the increase in maladaptive behaviours in students, including gambling and the effects of trauma from adverse childhood experiences. She noted that these behaviours are often rooted in violent community cultures, which are increasingly being brought into the school environment.

“All guidance counsellors need a therapeutic room at their school with resources such as fountains, punching bags, play therapy items, calming music, art and craft items. We need spaces that will contribute positively to the counselling process that looks different, feels different and boosts the comfort of the client to engage,” continued Anderson, calling for better safety protocols for guidance counsellors who are often working in challenging environments.

For several years, RISE Life Management Services has been working with school administrators and students on a study and guidebook aimed at reaching those involved in underage gambling. Those initiatives are awaiting approval on ethics before they are rolled out.

Richard Henry, head of gambling counselling and support services at RISE Life, said that in the meantime, the focus is primarily aimed at the primary school level, where the habit usually takes root, particularly among students who are nearing their matriculation into high school.

“We believe that the earlier we can get this information to young people about the consequences of underage gambling, how they can avoid these and make better choices, the earlier we can increase the likelihood that they won’t gamble when they go into high school,” he said.

“So we want to target prevention very early, and right now we are going as far as to grade three. The landscape in Jamaica, in terms of gambling, has grown, so we have to make sure the prevention messages and education grows with it.”

corey.robinson@gleanerjm.com