Empowering school counsellors to tackle youth mental health crisis

 

FOR years, school counselling was seen as a place for “troubled” students. In response to worrying numbers on youth mental health and cases of school violence, the Ministry of Education (MOE) recently announced the appointment of over 500 new guidance and counselling teachers nationwide.

As the child of two teachers and mental health advocate who works closely with DUN Kampung Tunku’s schools, education reform is rarely straightforward.

While writing this article, I found multiple definitions of school counsellors (called “guru bimbingan dan kaunseling” or “GBK”). A 2012 MOE guidebook outlines four focus areas for school counselling:

• Encouraging students’ personal development
• Improving students’ self-discipline
• Providing career advice
• Psychosocial and mental wellbeing

It also prescribes the current counsellor-to-student ratio: 1:500 for secondary schools, and 1:350–850 for primary schools, far from MOE’s target of 1:250.

Who can be a school counsellor?

First, MOE appoints full-time school counsellors (“GBK Sepenuh Masa – GBKSM”). GBKSM must have:

• A bachelor’s degree in counselling/psychology/related field, or
• A bachelor’s in any field and a master’s in counselling/psychology/related field, or
• Completed a professional course in guidance and counselling.

The first two categories must register with the Board of Counsellors (Malaysia) (LKM). To renew their practising certificates, they must earn Continuous Professional Development (CPD) points by completing LKM’s training modules.

GBKSM are exempt from teaching subjects and holding important co-curricular roles. They can act as substitute teachers up to eight periods per week, but only teach guidance and counselling modules.

Schools can appoint counsellors from among teaching staff (“GBK Lantikan Dalaman – GBKLD”). GBKLD juggle teaching and co-curricular duties, and usually do not have qualifications or formal training in counselling. This makes it challenging for them to offer sustained psychosocial support.

Occasionally, school counsellors work with counsellors from the Ministry of Health (MOH) or the Social Welfare Department (JKM). This list isn’t exhaustive, but unpacking the system’s complexity is a start towards reform.

Plugging resource and reporting gaps

MOE’s pending national school safety audit is an opportunity to destigmatise school counselling and shift from crisis response to consistent, accessible care. To plug resource and reporting gaps, the audit should provide accurate data on the types, qualifications and pay grades of school counsellors for three purposes:

1. Identify current and future manpower and service needs
2. Encourage GBKSM with relevant degrees to register with LKM and obtain continuous training
3. Incentivise GBKLD to pursue professional qualifications to increase the pool of GBKSM.

The audit should also transparently detail how competency and efficacy of school counselling services are measured and report these outcomes to instil confidence among stakeholders.

Several studies found that school counsellors only feel moderately competent in their role. A 2017 Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) study emphasised that not everyone is suited to be a school counsellor.

As such, selection of school counsellor trainees should look beyond academics: capacity for empathy, openness to feedback, and mastery learning are essential traits. Another study of 541 school counsellors found that access to training was positively associated with a sense of competency.

Both studies found that supervisor support of training significantly increased school counsellors’ confidence and self-efficacy. This, in turn, improved student wellbeing outcomes.

As Gen Z and Gen Alpha’s mental health challenges evolve, supporting school counsellors who pursue training and upskilling is critical. The blurring of online and offline identities, the use of AI for emotional support, and a social climate where “likes” and “shares” trump empathy and care demand expertise in:

• Intersectional counselling practices
• Digital risks: cyberbullying, body dysmorphia, deepfakes, etc.
• Recognising neurodivergence and potential mental health issues amid viral pseudo-health content promoting self-diagnosis.

Caring for the caregivers

Even the best school counsellors experience compassion fatigue or burnout. That’s why mental health support for counsellors, coupled with clear referral pathways and close collaboration with clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, and other professionals, is essential.

With these links in place, school-based interventions become part of a wider, systematic treatment plan that ensures continuity of care for students and their families – in short, building the village to raise the child.

The stronger and kinder our village is, the better our chances of improving youth mental health. 

Lim Yi Wei is the Kampung Tunku State Assemblyman (ADUN).

The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of  MMKtT.

- Focus Malaysia.

This article has been reviewed by clinical psychologist Dr. Chua Sook Ning, PhD (McGill University), MPH (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health)