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The Counsellor: An Overall Wellness Navigator

The Indian culture has instilled the traditions of joint families, strong family bonds and warm community feelings in our society. These strong family bonds have been an icon of support system to deal with various psychological issues in the past. This may be one of the reasons for the minimal existence of counsellors in Indian schools. Due to the increasing pressure to perform well and stress, there is a rising need for counsellors in schools. Moreover, with students from various backgrounds, it has become necessary to hire school counsellors to manage and help them better. The counsellor can help them to refine their social communication, maintain their emotional balance and much more because of the absence of support from other resources.

The school counsellors provide guidance, supervision and counselling to help in improving the environment of the institution for better performance of the students and teachers. They are vital members of the education team. The social, emotional and motivational aid provided by them helps students to enhance their academic achievements and resiliency. They are of immense help to people experiencing grief or disappointment due to unexpected happenings.


The aids provided by the counsellors to the students:

  • The counsellors play a vital role in teaching the students soft skills such as planning, compromising and negotiating that are required to lead their lives successfully. These soft skills enhance students’ ability to work in groups, to take risks, to manage changes, to build teams efficiently and to improve leadership qualities.

  • They help the students recognise their academic strengths and weaknesses while choosing their subjects or courses for further education.

  • The counsellors help the students in various circumstances including peer relation problems, building of self-esteem, self-confidence and retaining them, developing and perceiving their self-image effectively, personal adjustment that is the extent to which the student or teacher is capable of dealing with life’s demands from him/her.

  • They also help the students to stand up for themselves against bullying or any other ill treatments.

  • They help students to refine their problem solving and decision making skills as well as guide them through academic development.

  • They help students with interpersonal concerns, family issues, behaviour modification for their betterment and other social, behavioural and emotional concerns.

  • The counsellors develop strong and powerful relationships with students because they validate their feelings, respect them and give them the space that they require.

  • The counsellors manage various roles but a disciplinarian is not one of them and this is the reason why students feel no fear to confide in them, as they do not have to panic about being punished or judged.

  • Another reason that persuades students to confide in the counsellors is that they listen more than they talk. This allows the counsellors to understand the student and help his or her teachers and parents to understand them too.

The aids provided by the counsellors to the parents:

  • There are many teachers who are parents. The counsellors help the parents to clarify and resolve their concerns related to understanding their child’s growth, behaviour and developments. Due to this the parents can facilitate their child’s emotional wellness and personal growth.

  • They also help them to broaden their thinking process and encourage their child’s abilities, progress in school and learning styles.

  • When parents are confused or want advice on what they need to do about their child’s career or aspirations, a counsellor can be a good person to approach.

The aids provided by the counsellors to the teacher:

  • The counsellors consult the teachers, collaborate with them and provide classroom guidance lessons.

  • They help them in devising class activities to keeping the students engaged.

  • They gather and share resources with the teachers to help them develop their effective teaching skills and classroom management skills.

  • The counsellors and teachers can also take a class together to help the students understand better. This might help the students who are shy to approach the teachers or counsellors for advice and guidance for the problems they might be facing.

  • They also help the teachers understand the students’ personalities and their behaviours in a better manner, especially when issues such as misbehaviour and low grades are concerned.

  • The counsellors provide professional advice to the teachers, assist them in reducing stress levels while helping them to tackle problems related to academics, personal issues, social issues and much more.

With all the above mentioned aids provided by the counsellors, a deep thought must be given to hiring one in schools to install a positive aura in the environment. This will ensure the students and teachers social as well as emotional wellness. Therefore, the knowledge distribution and collection by teachers and students respectively, will be more effective. Since the counsellors provide aid in such divergent manners to various people, it will contribute to increase in the number of students continuing education in India.

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