Students in distress: How can pressures be eased so they don’t feel ‘boxed in’?

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Students in distress: How can pressures be eased and then they don't feel 'boxed in'?

Pedagogy Minister Chan Chun Sing outlined in Parliament a plan to ramp upward counsellors in schools. But there are a few tricky things to overcome, say guests on this calendar week'due south Center of the Matter podcast.

Ms Lena Teo helping youth sympathise impact of mental health and how to manage their stressors, in a photograph that was taken before the COVID-xix pandemic. (Photo: Lena Teo)

07 Aug 2022 06:14AM (Updated: 07 Aug 2022 xi:11AM)

SINGAPORE: Quite ofttimes when immature clients come to Bettina Yeap, principal counsellor at Care Corner, their outset concern is whether their parents need to know.

Many don't want to involve mums or dads - considering "they wouldn't understand", or they don't want to "burden" them, she says.

Speaking on CNA'due south Eye of the Matter podcast on Th (Aug 5), Ms Yeap recounted what some clients told her: "I told my mum and dad, and they are similar, why don't you just talk to me, why do you take to get to a mental health professional person?"

"They would say, 'What depression, what feet? Yous're just being lazy.'"

On Jul 19, a thirteen-yr-erstwhile was killed at River Valley High School and a 16-year-old was arrested. A week later, Minister of Educational activity Chan Chun Sing addressed the incident in Parliament and spoke virtually the pressures young people face and how schools tin support those facing mental health challenges.

Ms Yeap, Minister of State for Teaching Lord's day Xueling and parent of iv, Adrian Tan were on CNA'southward Heart of the Affair podcast to discuss whether relieving the stresses ailing Singapore youths required deeper structural and mindset shifts.

While stress can come from sources other than schoolhouse, Ms Yeap raised the critical role parents play. Knowing their child has a mental health issue can be a shock, denial can set in before guilt, which makes being supportive hard.

Mind to Minister of State Sun Xueling, counsellor Bettina Yeap and parent of iv, Adrian Tan discuss school and stress:

This is especially so for teenagers nether 18. If they cull to seek assistance outside the school system – they need parental consent.

Looking out for signs of distress instead of dismissing their children'south concerns altogether is disquisitional. "Maybe my child is talking less, talking more usual or becoming more than withdrawn," she explains, calculation how drastic changes in appetite, sleep and motivation levels are other fundamental signals.

GIVING YOUTHS MESSAGES OF HOPE

Agreeing, Ms Sun shared her own journeying when she was a immature student.

"What Bettina (Yeap) said about losing slumber, losing weight – it is all very, very real … when you are depressed yous can sleep a lot, but it is never enough. You feel tired when you lot wake up and realise, wow, it's another 24-hour interval you have to go through. You lot merely experience in that location's a lack of meaning … For a immature person what yous want is for someone to heed to you lot,'' she said.

Parents should be the first port of call, only this isn't ever the example. "If the relationship isn't a strong i, if it isn't a warm 1, then you lot may feel you've no ane to go to, you lot may seek out friends," she says.

On Jul 26, Ms Sun had posted on her Facebook page an account of her struggle in junior college where she didn't fit in and thought of "finally (getting) some residual". Having been through that, she wrote about how equally a parent, she would never place academics higher up her girl'due south well-being.

Asked what got her past that rough patch, Ms Sunday said: "I read, listened to music … Some people are more open and want to talk to others. There are others who are very quiet … the silent ones. We expect perfectly okay from the exterior and find individual ways.

"Y'all'll be amazed, yous can come beyond a quote, a picture show of a lighthouse, nosotros can await up the color of the heaven, it's different for dissimilar people.

"Sometimes y'all run into something, like a affiche on the wall. And that thing you lot saw on that road on that day, gives yous confidence to live on Monday. It sounds very weird. But it'due south admittedly true."

"That'south why I recall that it is so of import for all of us as a society to try our very best to create those letters of hope for young people. And you never know, the young person may watch that video. And that might be the source of strength to become that young person through," she said.

DEPLOYMENT OF More than Teacher-COUNSELLORS COME WITH CHALLENGES

Would the deployment of more than 1,000 teacher-counsellors in the side by side few years, upward from a current 700, announced by Mr Chan make a departure in mental health support for students?

How do counsellors handle confidentiality, and could there be scenarios where patient privilege must be broken to notify guardians, parents, or teachers? "If there is a risk of self-harm or damage to others, if there's a crime, nosotros are obliged to alienation confidentiality. That'due south professional ethics in terms of counselling," Ms Yeap said, pointing out these are made clear to patients.

What if parents disagree with the communication of teacher-counsellors when it comes to academic choices like taking a subject at a less advanced level when parents may have a completely unlike idea of what is best for their kid?

"I will definitely seek a second or third opinion … and assemble feedback from (my child) whether it's something he wants to do, knowing information technology's very hard for him to make a firm decision correct (abroad)," Mr Tan, who was on the same podcast, said.

"Actually, my experience was the opposite, considering they wanted him to maintain (his advanced subject) and I wanted him to drib it considering I felt it may be better for him", Mr Tan quipped. "Merely the schoolhouse wins."

MOVING BEYOND SCHOOL COUNSELLING TO TACKLE STRESS

Despite these challenges, the MOE has to work on giving students more options should they need assistance. Teacher-counsellors in schoolhouse should work similar "first-aid" stations, said Ms Sun. Still, she accepts that non all students will get to them.

"Bearding hotlines work for these students. There's nothing wrong with that,'' she added.

Would increasing instructor-counsellor numbers place an boosted, even unfair brunt on teachers? Ms Lord's day pointed out that it was non just a question of what MOE wants, but what teachers can handle – not everyone wants to or tin can practice counselling, and preparation is critical, she explains.

Ultimately, selection matters greatly. "People look for help in different means … when we piece of work with partners and create these channels outside the formal school system, these aid channels are available to all in the gild,'' she said.

But putting aside assist avenues, how much farther would MOE push on reducing stress off students? In his statement, Mr Chan announced the dropping of Common Concluding Topics (CLT) to ease the pressure level on students taking major exams this year in view of how disruptive COVID-nineteen has been.

Merely does this mean the curriculum is potentially overloaded and students tin be allowed to exercise less and spend time on other activities similar sports or arts? Would MOE consider doing away with standardised testing like the PSLE exams or allow students to start schoolhouse afterwards to reduce stress.

Listen: "Y'all just desire for someone to listen to you and not judge": Sun Xueling on feeling "depressed" during her junior college days.

Those are very large decisions and MOE is taking "infant steps", Ms Sun said. It has started by tweaking the organisation, taking away the arms race for every marker in the new PSLE organisation, she added, highlighting the shift away from the PSLE scoring organisation. "The idea is to take more flexibility in the system,'' she said.

Mr Tan however raised the upshot of peer pressure - whether we like it or not, high-stakes exams like PSLE does have a toll on parents and students, he said.

There's just no time for students to do annihilation else – between school, enrichment, tuition, CCA and actress classes. Sharing that he tried to be a relaxed parent at first, he eventually succumbed – because he did not want his children to autumn too far behind.

Ms Sun said the current organisation allows every student to learn at their step. The problem arises when parents or students feel "boxed in".

"What we are trying to get at … is (for) every pupil to able to acquire at the level he is comfortable with, but nosotros don't desire that to prejudice the outcome for him,'' said Sun. However, this is not something the MOE can dictate. Everyone from parents, students and employers accept a function to play, she added.

How optimistic can Singapore be for those needed mindset shifts to take root? Ms Yeap pointed out how they were already underway: "We're trying to shift some of the focus abroad, that you're not your grades and there are other important things in life to pursue."

"Cultural change takes a while … but we can shift over fourth dimension. The academic aspect has ever been an important office of achievement and identity in Singapore and so we can't run away from that," Ms Yeap concluded.

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Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/singapore-school-stress-mental-health-counselling-285611