New Policies Help Counselors Assist Struggling Students

Schools across the Upper Cumberland are using new standards this school year to better equip guidance counselors who come across students with mental health issues.

Jennifer Murphy is a counselor at White County High School and a School Counselor Coach for the State of Tennessee. She said the new policies implemented will allow counselors across the region to identify signs and help students more consistently.

“As far as what resources are available and individual personalities that different counselors brings to the table, that’s up to each individual school,” Murphy said. “[Each school] has its own culture and its own set of resources. What works for White County may not work for Putnam County, or DeKalb or Cumberland County.”

Murphy said school counselors typically aren’t fully able to treat students, they are still able to screen and notice early signs of mental illness and help point them in the right direction.

“We don’t have time to be able to give the intensive help that a child needs nor are we trained to be able to do that,” Murphy said. “But we basically act as a ‘screener’ for kids who are in different types of situations, whether that be suffering from depression, or anxiety, or a relational problem, or just a coping skill. We see a myriad of different things pop up. You never know what can walk through your door.”

Murphy said it’s “extremely important” for school faculty and staff to recognize and help students cope if they are dealing with a mental illness.

“I think coping skills, coping with life, and coping with what the daily stresses of life can throw at you and knowing how to deal with those ups and downs is so very significant,” Murphy said. “I think if you don’t have those coping skills or know where to find those coping skills and resources, it kind of leaves you floating out on an island and it makes you believe that you’re the only person going through that.”

Despite the new policies, Murphy said the schools and individual counselors will ultimately help the students.