To Churn out full-time counsellors

National Board for Certified Counsellors-I 10 February, 2011 - School counsellors are considered vital members of an education system anywhere in the western societies.

They assist students towards better academic performance, career and personal development so they become productive citizens when they graduate in future.

Although our education system boasts of trained counsellors in most schools they do more of classroom teaching than counselling.

Paro college of education counsellor Nima said a counsellor in Bhutan shouldered dual responsibility of teaching most of the time and rarely counselling.

“Students identify us as a teacher more than a counsellor,” he said, adding students saw them more as an emphatic teacher than a solicitous counsellor.

Most of the 70 or so counsellors from various schools across the nation, including those from health and education ministry, attended the national counselling conference held in Thimphu, felt Bhutanese society considered the profession more as a disciplinary measure to maintain discipline in the school.

“It’s high time we make them understand the true meaning of counselling,” one of them said.

For this very reason, another counsellor said, the gap existed between students and counsellors in the schools today.

Many explained the need for some real counsellors instead of those who simply became one after attending a few training and workshops.

“Children have emotional, mental and health issues and other social issues that deter them from growing academically and as a person,” one of them said. “Only a full time counsellor would be in a position to help.”

Respect, Educate, Nurture, Empower, Women’s counsellor Tshering Dolkar said most Bhutanese counsellors only attended training and workshops, leaving only a few who really possessed degree certificates in the field.

“This doesn’t make them full-fledged counsellors,” she said. “One should be certified to be a real counsellor.”

A science teacher and counsellor Jigme Tenzin said most Bhutanese counsellors were trained in different area of counselling and mainly career counselling.

Defining the traits of a counsellor, mental health counsellor from National Board Certified Counsellor International, Kevin P Gallagher said they had to be strong and confident with a sense of self.

“They should be able to communicate, advocate and challenge others,” he said. “Above all they should be solution-focused thinking lot.”

He explained Bhutanese school counselling was still under pressure for need of specialised counselling in social, emotional and educative aspects.

“But this will take time to catch up in Bhutanese society,” he said.

Many participating counsellors, however, hope that with the launch of National Board of Certified Counsellors International (NBCC-I), the world’s premier counsellor credentialing body, would help churn out specialised counsellors in Bhutan in near future.

RENEW in collaboration with education and health ministries, Royal University of Bhutan and NBCC-I conducted the conference.