Is your child struggling with distance learning? Here's how school counselors can help

Tribune - 10/1/2020

Oct. 1--The onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic brought a new challenge for school mental health and academic success counselors as San Luis Obispo County districts transitioned to distance learning.

School counselors saw firsthand how many students found the switch to online classes traumatic and emotionally draining as school -- some kids' only safe space -- was taken away from them.

"It was like instant isolation," said Heather Senecal, a counselor at San Luis Obispo High School.

More often than usual, students are reporting feeling overwhelmed, stressed, tired and anxious over classwork and the state of the world, counselors said.

Additionally, counselors can no longer meet students in their offices. Now, they must conduct counseling sessions on video chat platforms, over the phone or through email -- making confidentiality an issue.

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"We had to really make sure that they were in the right place to start counseling -- like making sure that they were alone and they were in a safe spot," said Justine Lowry, a student support counselor who works for the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department. "We just had to kind of try and recreate that sense of safety that I once had in my office."

School counselors: More students are stressed during coronavirus

When the COVID-19 pandemic caused school campuses around San Luis Obispo County to close, it resulted in a plethora of different reactions from students, local counselors said.

Some students loved the online environment and finally felt confident enough to interact in class, according to counselors. Others felt the immediate effects of social isolation and the forced physical distance between them, their friends and their teachers.

Meanwhile, other students were forced out of the one safe space in their life: the classroom.

Home is not always a place of security for students, said Alysia Hendry, suicide prevention coordinator for the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Department, so stress levels may have dramatically increased in kids who now must try to do classwork while in an unstable environment.

Kids who would normally need counseling sessions now need them more than ever, and those who would have never thought about walking into a counselor's office are now seeking out services, counselors said.

"Since the start of this new school year, my demand has increased probably tenfold," said Lowry, who works with students at Cappy Culver Elementary School in Paso Robles and Coast Union High School in Cambria.

"Our teachers are working so, so hard to maintain some semblance of normalcy with our students," she said, "and when anything doesn't look or sound or feel right, they are very, very quick to reach out to me."

Many students seem more overwhelmed and stressed than before COVID-19, Lowry said.

Laura Ortiz, a school counselor at Central Coast New Tech High School in Nipomo, said the pandemic put the connection between children's mental health and their ability to do their schoolwork in the limelight.

"It's not been an ideal situation for most people, (who are) feeling isolated, disconnected," she said. "So all of those things ... could be triggers for anxiety, depression and other mental health issues."

In California, there is an average of one counselor per 612 students, according to the most recent data published by the American School Counselor Association. For the United States, that average is one counselor per 430 students.

In an effort to bring more counselors into San Luis Obispo County schools, the county Behavioral Health Department won a $4 million grant under the state Mental Health Student Services Act, Hendry said.

The grant allowed the county to expand mental health services into six additional middle school campuses for the next four years. Now, the county has school support counselors in 12 of the 14 middle schools in the county.

"We were not anticipating a global pandemic, but the grant came at such a good time where we know that kids really need the support," Hendry said.

How are counselors working with students during distance learning?

Half of a school counselor's job is done outside of their office -- holding small check-ins with students while passing them in the hallway, chatting with kids during lunch hours and participating in school events and assemblies.

The coronavirus pandemic has taken away all of those small, personal and spontaneous connections, counselors said, and replaced them with a heavy reliance on technology for all communication.

Communicating with students through email, phone calls or video chat sessions isn't the same, counselors said, and it lacks the security that an office with a door provides.

"Kids know, when they come to our space, it's literally a space where no one else is and we're the only ones listening to them," said San Luis Obispo High School counselor Chris Inman. "It's a lot more difficult with the technology to feel that, especially if you're in your own house and your siblings are there or your parents are there."

Plus, for some students, home is not a safe place where they can speak freely with counselors about their challenges.

Regardless, counselors said that their sessions through Zoom or Google Hangouts, phone calls or email must continue to get students the mental health help that they need to maintain their focus on their studies.

Students aren't the only ones feeling isolated and disconnected. The counselors are experiencing those feelings too.

"We're doing this because we love kids, and we really want to help them in this time and feel connected to them," said San Luis Obispo school counselor Kerry Ingles. "They're just as important to us as we are to them."

How can school counselors help kids?

So, what's the best way for school counselors to help kids? They're working to create structured, obtainable to-do lists, validate students' concerns and lend an empathetic ear.

"When kids miss one thing in online school, it turns red. And if you ignore it, the red builds up -- it gets really scary and overwhelming," Lowry said. "I'm the same way. If I look at my email inbox and there's 100 emails in it, I get overwhelmed too."

"So I work on really teaching my kids to break everything down into bite-sized, approachable, palatable bites to not only decrease their anxiety, but also increase their longevity," Lowry continued. "If you are in an anxious state of mind all day, every day, of course you're going to be tired."

Many schools have developed special class periods around mental health check-ins, and surveyed surveys.

Since school started in August, San Luis Coastal Unified School District has sent students from two high schools two surveys at to gauge how they are feeling about online learning, and whether the counselors are helping them with managing stress and anxiety.

"I think that the school and counselors are all doing the best they can in this difficult situation," one student wrote in response to the survey. "Obviously, online school is not perfect, but there is no good option right now. Thank you for everything you do for us and for always trying to help us out!"

"I like the Google Classroom access to counselors," another student responded. "I think some people have trouble taking the initiative to go talk to the counselors right now because it is a little less accessible than going at lunch or break. I really appreciate the work that they do though because they still are there for students even if there isn't online school."

Schools counselors said they are there to listen to students' concerns, and then build a plan that will help them continue to be successful in school while keeping mentally healthy.

It is a vital job, Lowry said, adding that normalizing talking to counselors about mental health is important.

"I think everyone can remember how insane they were in middle school -- their bodies were changing, they were at battle with their little bodies and brains every day, and they felt crazy," she said. "And now they're coming in to our offices, and I'm like, 'No, I did that, too. I can guarantee you half your class feels that same way.'

"We need to really normalize talking about stress, anxiety, depression, suicide, and that none of those make you a bad or lesser person."

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