Stress management : Counseling in schools

What is stress ?
y Stress is the pressure under which you are placed by

daily life. y It can be positive and spur you into action to meet a deadline. (deadlines, bills and errands etc) y but too much stress can put your health at risk and leave you unable to function.(bereavement, divorce, new job, house move and marriage)

Stress is an individual problem what debilitates one person will be invigorating to another. 1)EUSTRESS Eustress or positive stress occurs when your level of stress is high enough to motivate you to move into action to get things accomplished. 2)DISTRESS Distress or negative stress occurs when your level of stress is either too high or too low and your body and/or mind begin to respond negatively to the stressors.

SECONDARY RESEARCH

y As providers and caretakers, adults tend to view the

world of children as happy and carefree.

y Plenty! Even very young children have worries and feel

stress to some degree.

y Stress is a function of the demands placed on us and

our ability to meet them. These demands often come from outside sources, such as family, jobs, friends, or school. But it also can come from within, often related to what we think we should be doing versus what we're actually able to do.
y So stress can affect anyone who feels overwhelmed

even kids.

What causes stress among children?

Things that cause stress are called stressors. For example: y going to a new school y divorce or separation of parents y winning an award y taking a test y death of a relative y being sick y world news y etc

Some signs of Stress

Physical (body) Headaches Nervousness Rashes Stomachaches Fast heartbeat Perspiration Increased urination Mental (mind) Lack of Concentration Forgetfulness Drop in school performance Unable to study Carelessness Bored Anger outbursts Nightmares Sad/depressed Scared Withdrawn Fighting Emotional (feelings)

A study
y A 2004 survey conducted by The Office for National

y y y y y

Statistics found that approximately one in ten children and young people aged 5 16 had a clinically diagnosed mental disorder. 4% : emotional disorder (anxiety of depression) 6% had a conduct disorder (behavioural problem), 2% had a hyperkinetic disorder (such as ADHD), 1%had a less common disorder (such as autism, eating disorder or mutism) and around 2% were found to have more than one type of disorder2.

y y y y y y

The survey also found that there were certain sociodemographic groups in which mental health problems were more prevalent, such as: Single parent families Reconstituted families In families were there were lots of siblings Where parents had no higher educational qualification Where neither parent was working Where there was low income

y Mental health problems range from the worries we all

experience as part of everyday life to serious long-term conditions.

y Mental health problems will usually bring about a

complex set of emotions which even adults have difficulty understanding let alone a child. Children suffering from mental distress may be unable to understand what they are experiencing and why they are feeling the way they do, often keeping their thoughts and feelings hidden away as they are unaware of the help available to them.

Counseling
y Definition: Counselling is a process that focuses on

enhancing the psychological well-being of the client, such that the client is then able to reach their full potential. This is achieved by the counsellor facilitating your personal growth, development, and self-understanding, which in turn empowers you to adopt more constructive life practices.

y Counselling can identify a person s particular

triggers for stress and help to re-assess the value system, which may have prevented them from adequate self-protection. y Individual Counselling can address issues of low self-esteem and allow the sufferer to be more realistic about her or his abilities and can help them to be more assertive.

Why is it important in schools?

y Children are extremely vulnerable to mental disorders

and unlike adults who have the ability to identify, understand and seek help for a problem, a child may be confused and upset by what is happening to them. y To prevent and take measures when stress affects children negatively like substance abuse, self harm, binge eating, Attention Deficit hyperactivity disorder, decrease in performance etc counselors play a very important role.

School counselor
y A school counselor is a counselor and an educator who works in

elementary, middle, and high schools to provide academic, career, college access, and personal/social competencies to K-12 students. The interventions used include developmental school counseling curriculum lessons and annual planning for every student, and group and individual counseling.

y In some countries, school counseling is provided by educational

specialists (for example, Botswana, China, Finland, Israel, Malta, Nigeria, Romania, Taiwan, Turkey, United States).

y In other cases, school counseling is provided by classroom teachers

who either have such duties added to their typical teaching load or teach only a limited load that also includes school counseling activities (for example- India, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Zambia)

Examples
y In California , counseling is mandatory from grades 7 to 12. y In Maine, counseling is not only mandatory from K-12 but

there is also a Mandated School Counselor-to-student ratio: K-8 (1:350) 9-12 (1:250)
y CBSE schools have also included periodic counseling services

in the curriculum because of observing this need that exercises in building self-concept, self-image, acceptability, ability to withstand pressures, sense of enterprises, sportsmanship etc. have to be part of the learning process

PRIMARY RESEARCH

Methodology
For the primary research we conducted interviews with, y Children (aged 5 to 16) y Teachers y School counselor y Friends

Children ( 5 to 16 )
y Rachna:

My dad is in the army and he keeps getting posted to different places within 2 to 3 years. I get very scared about how I will make new friends in my new school.

Teachers
Mrs. (Air Force School, Pune) y Counselling was included in our school. Every Friday we would have a professional counselor come over and kids could go and talk to her. Now that the new principal has become in charge , we do not have these professional counselors anymore. y It is a teacher s role to observe kids and if a child is stressed or there is a drop in his/her performance we get to know very soon.

We try talking to the child to identify why he is worried or distracted. Giving the child attention and getting him in confidence is important. y We encourage participation in class and we also tell the other kids in absence of the stressed child not to make fun of his/her answers and also do positive reinforcement. y After trying for sometime we involve parents to help the child sort out and deal with whatever is bothering him. y Usually it is family problems and also exams.
y

School counselor
Ms. Prerna ( MGPS, Jaipur) I have studied at MGPS and after I passed school my principal offered me a job as the school counselor. A lot of students come to me with their problems, whether they are being bullied, made fun of or sometimes just want someone to talk to, show their drawings, paintings etc. My Job is to help them , talk them through it and just be there for them. If I have to involve the child s parents I have to carefully otherwise the child may react badly.

I ve had cases where a child stood up to the bullies and I ve had cases where the child was too disturbed to be helped. y There was this girl, she had just come to me for one session. After a couple of days she called me and said she wanted to meet me before the next scheduled session. I told her ok but she committed suicide. y Sometimes it haunts me , I wish I could help her . I know I could have stopped her and helped her.
y

Friends
y Shweta* (name changed)

As a child I had a lot of problems. I am the middle child. I felt as if my parents didn t love me as much as they loved my siblings. I felt unwanted and the way they behaved made me feel like I was the extra one . I used to make up stories to seek sympathy from everyone else. I told my servant that my mom is not my real mom and that I m adopted. I started ignoring family meetings and didn t talk to my siblings.

y There was no counselor. No one to talk to as such.

Teachers I could have spoken to but I chose to goto friends.

y In std 10 I did think of dying. I went close to a rope,

pills but never had the courage, thank god.

y Prerna was a big help. She told her mom about how

stressed I was and asked her mom to talk to my mom.

y Now at 22 it may sound foolish but it wasn t for me. I

was troubled. A counselor would have helped. All I needed was attention then.

y OUR personal experiences

CONCLUSION

Conclusion
y Counselling has currently become an integral aspect in

our life. y We have heard of counselling for marriage, counselling for jobs, counselling for addiction etc., but of late, counselling in schools have also become prevalent. y However, not all schools in India find this an important issue but considering the problems the students, teachers and parents are facing, it is essential that counselling is taken a little more seriously

Conclusion
y Children often do not know what s happening to them

and why they feel the pressures they do. If there is counseling they will at least be aware of the help that they can get. y In the building years of life, it is essential the child has someone to talk to because everyone is not candid with their parents. y Counseling plays a vital role in holistic development of an individual.

RECOMMENDATIONS

It is very important to have counsellors in schools that could bridge the gap between the students, parents and teachers since they are professionals with an unbiased approach who would identify the problem and offer solution to overcome the obstacles faced. 2. Counseling should be made compulsory for all the schools. 3. If the school cannot afford a professional counselor all the time then periodic counseling should be included.
1.

Teachers take initiative or also be the counselor for the school. 5. Spread awareness about counseling and its benefits to the children in schools. 6. Stress on counseling being for positive outlet of discussion rather than for troubled kids only.
4.

THANK YOU