As the lack of employees to fill the roles of mental health workers in school, kids’ well being is at risk. The shortage of mental health workers in school started around 2016 and has been increasing until today. People might argue that it started during the 2019-2022 (COVID years) but studies from the ASCA (American school counselor association) says otherwise.

 You might not think this is a big issue and that other students don’t need a counselor, but other students at your school might. In the article “ the best defense: school counselors” by Kevin L. Ensor it states “20% of our nation’s teenagers either have or had a seriously debilitating mental disorder”. 

Nearly 1 in 5 students, roughly 8 million children do not have access to a counselor outside of school and nearly 3 million students don’t have access to a counselor or or psychologist at all at their school. In the article “School Counselor Shortages” by the ASCA it states  “ In December 2022, ASCA surveyed state coordinators and district directors of the school counseling to gather further insights about the school counseling job market. Among school counseling district directors 68% indicated there were not enough school counselors to fill available positions in their state, and 55% said there weren’t enough in their district.”. This is a big issue

Other factors are signs of aggression, anger, confusion with kids not having a counselor to talk to. Counselors teach kindness and anger management.

I interviewed one of the counselors at my school, Mrs. Wetzel and she stated that each counselor  is responsible for 300 kids which is 50 students over the ASCA recommended ratio. She said “it can be frustrating to try to be able to help everyone when you don’t have enough time”.i also asked, “Do you think we need more counselors? Or is everything okay where it is right now. What other solutions do you have? And she responded with “more counselors would be great!”, smaller caseloads, more support for students.” It’s not easy to find time between emailing a student or talking to them in person.

In conclusion this is a nationwide issue and it is not recognized and doesn’t get the attention it needs. Kids all around the world are struggling from mental health issues, Check up on your friends. You never know what they might be going through.