By Dr. Robert Pincus and Dr. Erik M. Hines
The Florida Department of Education has proposed new statewide standards that eliminate Osceola County school counselors from providing most mental health services that they are currently delivering. While the new standards emphasize the importance academic and career counseling, they eliminate the mental health wellness roles of school counselors.
Florida statute (1011.62-(13) (b) 1) regarding mental health services in schools listed school counselors as one of the mental health service providers in schools, yet the new Florida school counseling standards do not define school counselors as a mental health services provider —in direct contradiction to the state statute.
Students will be at a disadvantage if we do not incorporate mental health services facilitated by school counselors given their expertise and training in this area. School counselor training incorporates many of the same classes as clinical mental health professionals. Oftentimes, school counselors are the only mental health professional in the school building equipped to work with students experiencing anxiety attacks, depression and daily issues that impact their mental health and wellness.
Changing the role of school counselors to work with students on resilience will limit the range and scope of their duties. While resilience is an important aspect of a school counselors’ roles, resilience does not address how to support students’ mental health issues in schools through resources such as short-term individual counseling and group counseling, which all certified school counselors are qualified and trained to facilitate. Additionally, school counselors assist parents by making referrals to community agencies for long-term therapeutic support as needed.
Another concern is suggesting use of Resiliency Coaches and School Counselor Apprentices in schools. Resiliency coaches will be parents and members of the community trained to do the job of school counselors. Our concern is that these groups will not have the intensive mental health training that school counselors receive before working with students. For example, from the recent school shootings to students experiencing the loss of friends and family, school counselors can close the gap between mental health and health and helping students cope with feelings of grief and loss.
Support for school counselors is needed now, more than ever. It is imperative to have school counselors who can provide mental health services for our students – particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic. In the last decade, the suicide rate of Florida students has increased threefold. This is not a time to diminish the role of a school counselor – it is the time to support school counselors to in their work with students who have minor mental health needs using short-term counseling sessions. Parents want their children to be safe in schools, and requisite for this is supporting the mental health of students. We do not need more students enduring traumatic events such as suicides or school shootings with limited or no access to a school counselor for assistance and support around their mental health needs.
The school counseling profession was solidified when the federal government mandated school counselors to identify the best and brightest students to enter the science and engineering careers to be a competitive nation in the space race. Currently, the role of school counselors has evolved for them to see EVERY student as the best and brightest, work tirelessly to ensure their academic success, preparation for careers and college opportunities, and provide resources for optimum mental health and wellness.
In conclusion, If you want to see school counselors be allowed to fulfill their mental health wellness roles in schools, please comment on the state website against these new standards at https://web02.fldoe.org/rules/Default.
Drs. Pincus and Hines are Florida counselor educators.