Counselors play a critical role in promoting academic careers and developing a conducive environment through which students can advance their professionalism. Such tasks have personal and social impacts on individuals pursuing a career in counseling as they can be nurtured positively on how to deal with the various aspects they experience within their immediate environment. Such aspects are outlined in the article “School Counselor Roles and Opportunities in Promoting EcoWellness: Integrating Nature Connection in K–12 Settings” that Reese, Webster, and Biles published in 2019. According to the article, nature is critical in impacting the wellness and learning process of K-12 students. Although the phenomenon is not effectively-researched, it is perceived that counselors are better positioned to champion the development of a connection to promote positive learning outcomes and wellness within the school community. The concept of Eco wellness is mostly taught through the comprehensive counseling program and provides counselors with the skills and knowledge to promote a conducive learning environment.
Also, it is the duty of counselors to promote peer Mentoring and Mediating. In the article “Self-Esteem and School Belongingness: A Cross-Lagged Panel Study Among Urban Youth, ” Perry & Lavins-Merillat, (2018) explain how counselors act as agents of change within various educational environments. The case study shows various past research explaining how counselors have played a critical role in the development of meditative and mentoring programs that have created a sense of belongingness among youths who felt isolated and ignored, especially in the urban setting (Perry & Lavins-Merillat, 2018). Counselors have effortlessly participated in creating mentoring programs, social groups, and events in urban schools that have enhanced the youths’ self-esteem and developed a feeling of belongingness within their learning environments. Through the article, I have learned about counselors’ critical role in developing programs that enhance peer mentoring and meditation within society. The article has enlightened me on how counselors are important people in the community although their efforts go unnoticed most of the time. As agents of self-esteem, the study provides life skills like perseverance, the ability to adapt to ever-changing environments, and coping skills, especially in the critical stages of human life, like adolescence.
Counselors are also tasked with promoting developmental and environmental problems among individuals. The article “Development and Psychometric Evaluation of a Brief Measure of School and Community Mental Health Supports and Services” effectively addresses such aspects, where the author examines the prevalence of such challenges in society. According to Marraccini et al. (2022), over 42 million children and adolescents in the United States suffer from a mental health disorder. Such a number is quite huge considering that it covers only a single group of the population which means that the number is larger if the study considered the entire population of the country. The article states that counselors are placed within schools to provide interventions addressing the students’ mental health needs. In this case, they are considered champions of mental health programs and wellness in the academic world through the provision of mental health screening, counseling, and promotion of mental health needs. Such knowledge is important in my professional career as it enhances my understanding of the importance of counselors in society.
References
Marraccini, M., Vanderburg, J., Martinez, R., Knotek, S., Pittleman, C., & Neshkes, R. (2022). Development and Psychometric Evaluation of a Brief Measure of School and Community Mental Health Supports and Services. Professional School Counseling, 26(1), 2156759X2210876. Web.
Perry, J., & Lavins-Merillat, B. (2018). Self-Esteem and School Belongingness: A Cross-Lagged Panel Study Among Urban Youth. Professional School Counseling, 22(1), 2156759X1982657. Web.
Reese, R., Webster, L., & Biles, K. (2018). School Counselor Roles and Opportunities in Promoting EcoWellness: Integrating Nature Connection in K–12 Settings. Professional School Counseling, 22(1), 2156759X1983965. Web.