Blog #13

           The “Emerging Issues for Schools and Students” chapter is very close to my heart.  My literature review focused on the importance of including some education about depression and social anxiety into a Comprehensive School Counseling Program.  However, I believe that it is important to focus on mental health awareness for students throughout the entire school year.  It is clear that this issue of mental health in students is not going to go away.  It is irresponsible for anyone to think that this some sort of secondary issue within our schools.  “One in every five children or adolescents in the U.S. manifests a diagnosable mental health or addictive disorder” (Cauce & Srebnik, 2003).  Those are just the cases that are diagnosed.  Can you imagine how many students never get diagnosed but are suffering just as much, if not more?

            I know that we were in a recession, which required many school districts to make some very difficult decisions about the budget, what positions to cut, etc…Knowing how rapidly the mental health disorder statistics in students are growing, why would any district think it is a good idea to cut school counselors, school psychologists, etc?  The country goes ballistic when we have a mass school shooting (ie. Sandy Hook), and yet the focus is on guns and gun control?  How about the fact that we need more professionals in schools that can help diagnose and focus more on students that are suffering from a mental health disorder?  I just don’t understand why this is not a focus in our country.  Everyone talks about how important it is, yet very little people truly advocate for it.  I know that it will be my job as a counselor to educate people within my school and community about the importance of mental health awareness.  I take that responsibility very seriously, and after writing this blog, I realize how passionate I am about it.

            To switch gears, after reading the chapter and hearing the second counseling panel speak, I keep thinking about the important role that technology plays in school counseling and how little I am currently working with it.  I think that it would be extremely beneficial to have some sort of technology educational piece within the counseling graduate program at Millersville (maybe included in this Guidance Program class).  Maybe have us actually practice with some of the programs.  For example, we could create a fake counseling Twitter page.  I know that we have so much to cover in this program already, but it would be really cool to have at least an overview of what is available, what people are using, how they are using it, etc.  Just a thought!  I know how much technology changes, and that can make it difficult, but it just seems like such an important part of a successful counseling program today.

Dollarhide, C.T., & Saginak, K.A. (2012). Comprehensive school counseling programs (2nd Ed.). New York: Pearson, Inc.