Toilets – where many students go to cry to relieve stress – have become the place to replace psychological counseling offices in schools in the US.
On a typical day at the Miami Lakes Education Center, while friends ran in and out of the classroom and other children gathered to eat and drink in the cafeteria, 18-year-old Gabriella Fuster went to the bathroom. I entered a room, closed the door, cried. “I was hiding there for about 10-15 minutes,” Fuster said.
As most students return to face-to-face classes after Covid-19, spending a few minutes crying in the restroom has become the norm for students at their school, Fuster said.
When the students entered the classroom with tears still intact, the teacher immediately understood what had happened. “The teachers all know that it’s not like we just got into a fight somewhere,” he said.
The restroom has become an alternative to the psychological counseling office. Fuster commented, in part because his school, like many schools across the US, is having trouble hiring enough psychologists to help students.
Shortages of school counselors have been a problem since before the pandemic, according to mental health experts. This has worsened in recent years, as students deal with the psychological trauma caused by Covid-19.
Gabriella Fuster, 11th grader at the Miami Lakes Education Center, says teachers know when a student’s mental health is bad. Image: USA Today
“We clearly see students across the country being more stressed and anxious,” said Tinisha Parker, executive director of the student services center at Gwinnett County Public Schools in Georgia.
State authorities have tried to help by allocating millions of dollars in funding to hire mental health counselors, but schools still face many difficulties.
For places with a shortage of staff, finding enough consultants is always a challenge. The American Association of School Counselors recommends that schools have no more than 250 students per counselor. But only 4.2% of schools located in the city center met this expectation. Suburban schools have twice the recommended number of students, according to a report from the University of New Hampshire Carsey.
Employment in mental health counseling is expected to grow 23% over the next decade, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. But the number of graduates is not enough to meet the growing demand, in part because of the wide range of training requirements and the need for a variety of degrees and certifications to become a counselor. Additionally, many programs require students to complete one year of unpaid training, which is an economic barrier for many.
Along with the shortage of counselors, Kent Butler, a professor of counseling education at the University of Central Florida, said counselors now face many obstacles in their work. School counselors are typically divided into three groups, according to Butler. Some help students with their daily studies, some are in charge of college applications and scholarship matters, some are in charge of student life. The final group is called a guidance counselor and can help with mental health, family or addiction issues.
But Butler said advisers are generally not allowed to get involved in other areas. For example, academic counselors may not discuss family or legal issues with students. He also said many schools are using advisors for administrative work.
To address the staffing shortage, Butler says schools need to allow academic counselors to provide mental health counseling, provided they are professionally qualified. To overcome the obstacles facing school counseling, many districts across the United States are forced to get creative.
The school district in Broward County, Florida has begun its own mentoring training program. Using $2 million in federal funding, the district trained 20 social workers and mental health counselors to work at the school in the past year. In Gwinnett County, Georgia, schools are emphasizing the benefits of social and emotional literacy education. This program teaches students and teachers the basics of mental health and how to identify issues that require consultation with a counselor.
Some school districts in the US consider giving students a “mental health day” as a leave of absence. This has been applied in Oregon, Illinois and parts of Maryland, and has attracted the interest of many schools throughout the pandemic. In Maryland, some school districts encourage students to advise each other.
All of these efforts may one day ameliorate the shortfall in access to mental health services, but for now, students say they are yet to see results. Fuster, a student at the Miami Lakes School, said he finds his classmates struggling constantly. I try to help you when I can, but am also aware that I am not a qualified therapist. So Fuster hopes students at the school, and others, get the help they need as soon as possible.
“A lot of people at school suffer from anxiety and stress,” she said. “And when I feel like crying in the bathroom, I hope that instead I can go to the counseling office and feel safe and protected and cry there.”
Mai Huyen (According to USA Today)
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