[4 min. read—client resource]
I remember it like it was yesterday. I was a scrawny, big eyed, underperforming high school senior, from soon to be divorced parents, walking into my high school guidance office. I had made it into one of the top performing schools because I scored in the top 10% on my standardized test and I passed the entrance exam in the top 5%. I was with my best friend and since we were at a college preparatory school, I figured it was time I looked into where I would spend my next 4 or 5 years preparing to change the world……and play football. You see, I just knew that at 135 lbs, Florida State and USC (Trojans not gamecocks) were going to be clamoring for me to play WR for them on their next championship team. Just because I was a back up receiver on my small high school team, didn’t mean I wasn’t ready for the big time and I let my counselor know this with all the confidence built inside me. So I walked into Mr. nameless’ office and asked him about my college application roles and for information on my future schools. He simply replied, “hold on, let me print that for you”, on his matrix printer. This was the last time he and I spoke and I honestly don’t ever recall meeting with him again. There were no reality checks, no further questions of major financial impact or affordability questions. No concern for why my grades and test scores continued to reflect the distance between the east and the west. And certainly no concern or questions for my heart and my salvation.
LIFE IMPACTS
You see, my counselor hadn’t taken any time to get to know me, and therefore he knew nothing about the many ways I had Adverse Childhood Experiences. This is a rating scale of difficult childhood experiences that are more likely to have a long term impact on you. Also a pretty good tool to use in determining if counseling is right for you, IJS. He also had no idea that this was contributing to my continual downward spiral in academics and relationships. I needed help, but there wasn’t anyone around to help or shepherd me. I believe this single interaction has had a profound effect on my decision to become both a school and clinical therapist. I now see so many students who are battling spiritual forces and have identified diagnoses and I try diligently to make sure that they are seen and loved and heard. Unfortunately, I have also seen many students who aren’t clinically diagnosed but instead are seeking love and attention from an adult. Any adult who will just sit and listen to them and treat them like a person, not a thing to be dealt with. This is becoming increasingly difficult with some school counselors being burdened with caseloads of over 350:1. The American School Counselor Association recommends a 250:1 ratio.
With an overwhelming caseload and the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic becoming more apparent, the need for counseling to take a holistic approach between the school and private therapist is steadily increasing. ASCA recommends a comprehensive school counseling program that addresses social/emotional, career and academic needs. They also emphasize the importance of mental health.
HOW WE ARE DIFFERENT
The place where Bridgehaven can offer assistance in this path is our ability to understand that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12. While a public school counselor cannot speak to the Spiritual nature of our battles, they can coordinate with providers to build a plan that better identifies all of the places that students may find difficulties. Thus providing a 3 pronged approach, which includes parents, to mitigate the various challenges students face today. The mental health foundation and ASCA emphasizes the importance of early intervention in addressing mental health concerns, as 50% of mental health problems are established by age 14. All school systems have a document that allows them to speak with your Bridgehaven counselor(or any counselor) and provide a different perspective that can be incorporated into your child’s counseling plan. Your Bridgehaven counselor can also provide you and your students school counselor with insight and goals potentially that assist the student/client with finding a voice and support in both settings.
As I spoke with another school counselor leader for a school district, they highlighted the various ways stress and mental health concerns are displayed in students by level, with heightened anxiety about socially fitting in and developing friendships in middle school. High school students tend to have social concerns as well, especially with romantic relationships and status but they incorporate more academic concerns. Having multiple adult outlets available to them would lessen the dependency of one person to resolve some of these situations. It increases the exposure of these stressors to more adults, providing more opportunities for intervention and effective communication. But the importance of a Biblically sound and clinically focused adult to support growth cannot be understated. Reinforcing and modeling who God has created them to be while understanding the many facets of illusion, distraction and temptation they face are the advantages of connecting with a counselor at Bridgehaven. Please let us know if we can connect you with any of our counselors to support your student at home, church, school and all other social settings. Be Blessed.
Chauncey Hatcher II
Staff counselor/school counselor
chatcher@bridgehavencounseling.org
Resources:
American School Counselor Association
Mental Health Foundation
Biblegateway.com