Jadess Lorraine Z.

Fusio

An essay on - The relevance of guidance counselors in the recent pandemic

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is a major health crisis affecting several
countries, including the Philippines. In January 2020, the World Health Organization
(WHO) announced that this new coronavirus outbreak has become a public health
emergency of international concern. To date, the Department of Health (DOH) reported
over 283,000 confirmed cases and nearly 5,000 deaths attributed to this disease have been
reported in the Philippines. Such an outbreak is causing widespread concern associated with
adverse mental health consequences such as fear, stress, and anxiety, which are reactions to
the uncertain and changing situation everyone finds themselves in. Various existing
literature on the COVID-19 outbreak pertinent to mental health propose that symptoms of
anxiety and depression (16–28%) and self-reported stress (8%) which may also be
associated with disturbed sleep are common psychological reactions to the COVID-19
pandemic (Rajkumar 2020). During times like this, guidance counselors play a crucial role
in sharing accurate public information, and in helping clients maintain perspective while
providing methods of coping and continuing their wellness strategies.

Three papers from Chinese centers in China developed an approach to address the mental
health of their staff during this time of pandemic (Chen et al. 2020). One approach
facilitated in the Chinese centers includes a periodic visit of a counselor to the rest areas of
health workers. This counseling approach then contributed to greater satisfaction among
those health workers involved.

The counseling takes place in the context of a helping relationship in which the guidance
counselor and the client work together to resolve a problem, change behavior, or foster
personal growth and awareness (Kabir 2017). A guidance counselor must attempt to
facilitate a client to solve his/her problems, and demonstrate a genuine concern and
compassion for the clients’ dilemmas. Feelings of isolation, depression, anxiety, and other
emotional or financial stresses are known to raise the risk of suicide. People may be more
likely to experience these feelings during a crisis like a pandemic (CDC 2020). Thus, a
guidance counselor first individualizes interaction depending on the client’s personality
type. For example, does the client seem more introverted or extroverted and does the client
seem more cautious? Initially, the counselor can listen and, at appropriate times, reflect by
restating or rephrasing what the client had expressed. This serves two purposes; first, it
allows the client to feel he or she is being heard; secondly, it allows for any
misunderstandings to be identified and corrected. When a counselor feels he understands
what the client is communicating, then counselor can proceed with questions that pertain to
feelings, beliefs, thoughts, past experiences, or other details relating to the issue. The
guidance counselor and the client may want to explore the ultimate objective behind a
specific goal the client may wish to achieve—may it be goals to achieve during this
pandemic or goals to set for this new normal. In conclusion, the ultimate goal of a guidance
counselor is to help others understand themselves and their existence so they may live to
fully experience what is to be human and be a well-functioning individual despite this
challenging time.

References
1. Rajkumar, R.V. COVID-19 and mental health: a review of the existing literature.
Asian J Psychiatr. 2020 Aug; 52:102066, accessed 20 September 2020,
a. <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/>
2. Chen Q., Liang M., Li Y., Guo J., Fei D., Wang L., He L., Sheng C., Cai Y., Li X.,
Wang J., Zhang Z. Mental health care for medical staff in China during the COVID-
19 outbreak. Lancet Psychiatry. 2020;7(4):e15–e16.
3. Kabir, S.M.S. Introduction to counseling. In book: Essentials of counseling (pp. 21-
44). 2017; ResearchGate, accessed 20 September 2020, <researchgate.net>
4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health & Human
Services, accessed 20 September 2020,<https://www.cdc.gov/>