A month ago, at one of the schools I serve in East New York, I found myself in a challenging situation that highlighted the misconceptions surrounding the role of school mental health professionals.
A teacher, visibly frustrated, approached me after struggling with a student in her class. Despite my three counseling sessions with the student, she said she saw no discernible changes and was disappointed.
The teacher’s anger was palpable, and her words stung. This encounter was a poignant reminder of the prevailing narrative that school support staff, including mental health professionals like me, are “fixers” tasked with resolving all student issues. But students do not require “fixing”; they need guidance and support.
This mistaken narrative often portrays school social workers, counselors and psychologists as unsung heroes who are perfect at de-escalating volatile situations and can magically transform student behavior.
While the sentiment of the narrative is well-intentioned, it perpetuates unrealistic expectations and undermines the complexity of our roles as professionals — providing social and emotional support to students and helping them navigate challenges and foster healthy relationships.
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The teacher’s outburst prompted me to reflect on the broader implications of such perceptions. The pressure to “fix” students can inadvertently pathologize normal developmental behaviors, such as emotional regulation and impulse control issues.
Labeling students as broken or in need of fixing can undermine their sense of self-worth and exacerbate feelings of inadequacy and isolation. Instead of positioning ourselves as fixers, school support staff should advocate for creating a nurturing environment, one that allows students to heal at their own pace.
By reframing our role as facilitators rather than fixers, we can provide tailored tools and resources to support their emotional growth and well-being. Every student, regardless of their background or personal circumstances, deserves access to the kind of compassionate, personalized support that acknowledges their unique needs and strengths.
However, many public schools struggle to provide sufficient mental health student support. School counselors, social workers and psychologists often face overwhelming workloads due to high demands and limited resources.
Students should not receive our support only when they exhibit challenging behaviors, and support should not be viewed as a punitive measure. Rather, getting support to foster growth, resilience and well-being should be recognized as a fundamental right.
As facilitators, we can focus on celebrating the growth and strengths of our students, cultivating open and respectful communication and embracing the diverse perspectives and experiences of students and staff.
It is crucial to engage in open, honest conversations with educators, administrators, parents and students about the realities of our roles. By redefining the expectations placed on us, we can create collaborative relationships that prioritize students’ collective well-being.
Related: Mental health: Is that a job for schools?
Returning to the interaction with the teacher, it became evident that her frustration stemmed from a lack of understanding about what I could actually accomplish with the student during counseling sessions.
I took the opportunity to clarify the nature of my role. We discussed how I seek to create a supportive environment for students. That means equipping them with coping strategies, monitoring their progress and acknowledging the boundaries and limitations of our sessions.
I emphasized that change is a gradual process, and that meaningful transformation requires time, patience and collaboration.
After that challenging initial conversation, I was able to foster mutual understanding. The teacher’s initial skepticism gradually gave way to curiosity and a willingness to work with me and help support the student.
This experience reminded me that we can support students, but we can’t always fix what is wrong. So let us embrace a more compassionate, humanizing approach that helps students to navigate their challenges with confidence, resilience and dignity, rather than making them feel like they need fixing.
Clementina Jose designs sustainable social and emotional learning professional development programs for over 10 schools, providing clinical support to students in collaboration with teachers and assistant teachers.
This story about school mental health professionals was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for Hechinger’s newsletter.
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