A Place of Rescue
School is a stressful place. Homework, classes, social life, and especially the tests, can cause stress that can get overwhelming sometimes. Although you have your peers and parents to talk to, sometimes it can be awkward to speak to them about your problems, whether it’s school-related or personal.
If you’re thinking, “I can just get a therapist,” you have to remember that therapists are very expensive and sometimes have long waiting lists. Luckily, there’s a great alternative to all of those options: school counselors.
If you’ve never talked to a school counselor, you might not know how helpful they are for social and emotional health. Some of you might even think of them as having “easy jobs.” Luckily, ICSA’s very own school counselors Mrs. McGlamery and Mr. Kalua can help bring light to these unsung heroes of education.
It’s Not an Easy Job
Counselors have a lot of work on a daily basis. For starters, it takes a minimum of three to five years just to become a licensed counselor, including the time it takes to get a master’s degree, complete an internship, and post-degree supervised experience. Of course, the requirements may be different depending on your country.
Additionally, not only do you need to have a specific education, but you also need to have a specific set of personality traits. You need to be “good at juggling multiple people and be ready for anything. You also need to be empathic and accepting, willing to listen to whoever comes to your door, ” according to Ms. McGlamery.
Once you finally get your degree, the work doesn’t stop. Counselors have to handle hundreds of students, helping each of them with their problems, no matter the magnitude of the problem.
“I have friends in the counseling world who have over 700 students. how can you handle that? You’re just putting out fires all the time!”
Susannah McGlamory, ICSA counselor
Ms. McGlamery’s work isn’t only individual counseling. She also has a lot of meetings where she advocates for students’ social emotional wellbeing, as well as workshops where she teaches teachers to be considerate of student’s needs.
Luckily, she has gotten some weight off her shoulders, as this year there was the addition of our middle school counselor, Mr. Kalua, and Mrs. McGlamery did not hesitate to say how much he has helped. She happily said that “this year, was a lot more manageable.”
Work/Life Balance
It’s not easy to escape such a heavy and important workload, but it has to be done.
Mr. Kalua loves being able to help kids with their struggles, but states that he keeps a very strong boundary between his work and life.
“Once I leave school, I am done. Work is work, and when it’s over, it’s over.”
Mr. Kalua, MS counselor
Boundaries like this are essential to cultivate a fulfilling personal life, which in turn can enrich the therapeutic relationships with students. Mr. Kalua has been counseling for 18 years, so this boundary has been going strong and allowing him to get well deserved relaxation.
Additionally, both Mrs.McGlamery and Mr. Kalua said that they have someone to talk to about the things they go through. “Yeah, I have a therapist, and it really helps a lot,” says Mrs. McGlamery. This self care allows them to “sleep at night.”
Counselors work everyday to better the life of their students. Mrs. McGlamery and Mr. Kalua might not personally know all of the students they talk to, but they still listen to them and give them advice. They truly care. They deserve appreciation, as they have been the unsung heroes to many students.