School Counselors on How to Help Students Recover from Pandemic Stress

In a NYT survey of school counselors, they responded that students “missed crucial periods of social and emotional development” during the pandemic.

Although this has led to an increase in mental health issues, students are willingly seeking help. Eight things the counselors suggested to help students overcome the stress are:

1. Restart group activities so that students can interact with others.
2. Hire more staff (counselors, social workers, etc) to address students’ social and emotional needs.
3. Offer places to take a break where students can “reset” and stay calm.
4. Teach social and emotional skills.
5. Use therapy tools, like art or storytelling, to process their experiences of the pandemic.
6. Limit technology use so that students can engage during classes.
7. Support parents and teachers by providing resources on how to support their children.
8. Expand community mental health care so everyone can get the help they need.