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School counselors educated on mental health issues in students
This year’s Counselors’ Conference touched base on the possible causes of mental health issues in the youth today and how to deal with them.
During Friday’s 10th Annual Counselors’ Conference at the Northern Marianas College, the focus was more on prevention before intervention.
Various topics were discussed like bullying in schools, substance abuse prevention, and wellness services offered for students in need of further assistance.
One of the main topics discussed was bullying because it is not only prevalent in the United States, but in the Commonwealth as well and is considered one of the major underlying causes of mental health issues in teens today.
According to Community Guidance Center clinical services officer Dr. Glenda George, bullying has reached epidemic levels.
“Many kids deal with that [bullying] on a daily basis and the problem is that they don’t speak about it,” she said. In many bullying cases, teens tend to keep to themselves when they are bullied and don’t reach out to anyone for the help that they need.
Last Friday, counselors were taught how to recognize the signs given by a student who is a victim of bullying and how to talk them into seeking the assistance needed to overcome it.
According to NMC Learning Support Services director Christine Inos, the event’s purpose was to equip school counselors with the knowledge needed to face the issues that their students are currently facing.
“With all the tragic events happening in high schools, our pre-meetings…really centered around not just suicide, but the underlying process of it,” she said.
The conference lasted a whole day, from 8am to 4:30pm, at the Pacific Islands Club’s Charley’s Cabaret.
The first half of the conference consisted of panelists who discussed topics related to mental health.
The second half of the conference consisted of team building exercises, work sessions, group discussions, and self-care exercises.
