By Workplace staff

South Africa needs the youth to perform well academically. But are we giving our young people the emotional support they need to shine at school? According to the SA College of Applied Psychology (SACAP) high school learners in our country face extreme pressures. They, however, often have few, if any, resources for support.

“Today’s teens face pressures that their parents didn’t have to deal with when they were at that age,” explains Shannon Pluke, counsellor at Norman Henshilwood High School in Cape Town, a SACAP graduate who earned her Diploma in Counselling and Communication with distinction. “Parents can thus hardly keep pace with the trends of adolescents. This causes conflict in the home which invariably spills over into the teen’s school and social life.”

Pluke points to cyber-bullying as an example. “It’s a big pressure for youngsters with the widespread use of social media such as MXIT and Facebook,” she says. “Social media makes teens vulnerable in any situation. Their status is constantly watched, recorded, commented on and judged.”

Add to this peer pressure, academic pressure, parents’ unrealistic expectations, past traumatic experiences not dealt with, divorce, conflict or poor communication in the home, escapism through substance and alcohol abuse, and various forms of bullying.

Today’s adolescents sometimes need to turn to someone for help even though talking about their problems isn’t easy for them as they find it difficult to voice their worries and to find the ‘right’ person to talk to.

“Teenagers are tight-lipped about their lives,” explains Pluke. “They are experiencing a phase where they are slowly removing themselves from their parents, a necessary part to their growth in becoming independent adults.”

There are two factors essential for teens to share their problems: rapport and confidentiality.

“Teens are seldom heard by parents or other authority figures, so the skill of listening becomes extremely important,” says Pluke. “In the counselling room they can vent without any limitations. A good counsellor won’t speak from the ‘parent voice’. When a counsellor can’t relate to a teen, or doesn’t have their trust, the therapeutic relationship will end.”

However, counselling for teens is in short supply at our schools.

“In SA the constitution has only really begun to fully recognise the needs of children. This may have come too late. The number of children in need, in relation to the resources available, means waiting for months before that child is attended to,” Pluke points out. “If the teen is fortunate to have greater financial access, then yes, various private counselling resources are available almost immediately. But, for most teens, there’s only the school counsellor.”

She notes that youngsters sometimes approach family members, but this isn’t always effective as the family member isn’t trained to deal with teens’ issues. There are also hotlines that offer support in case of physical or sexual abuse. Depending on the problem’s severity, the case may be referred to social services where there’s a huge queuing system.

“In light of this, counselling at high school is even more crucial,” says Pluke.

She explains the teens she counsels are equally distributed between those seeking help on their own and those referred by others for support.

“Teens who seek help on their own have come to a point where they are so desperate that they are willing to do almost anything to seek relief,” says Pluke. “Those who don’t seek help are referred by a concerned teacher. A minority of desperate parents also ask the school counsellor to assist their child.”

Being available and accessible to school learners is essential to providing an effective counselling service at high school level. “My colleague and I regularly pitch to the learners during assemblies and orientation, reminding them that we are available at any time. This has definitely increased the number of learners who feel they can approach us.”

Pluke’s own experience as a mother inspired her to work with teens: “Through the years of raising my own children and experiencing their teen-hoods, I found that I loved this phase of their lives. It wasn’t always easy, but I realised I could get through their tough layers by being non-judgmental, hearing what they had to say and not criticising their decisions. When I did this, I found they were far more receptive to the boundaries I set for them to have a balanced upbringing. I knew that if I could learn the skills of counselling in conjunction with this technique, I could facilitate other teens with their journeys.”

SACAP offers a diploma and an advanced certificate in counselling and communication for those pursuing vocations in counselling or coaching.

It also offers a higher certificate in counselling and communication skills – an entry-level qualification to develop foundational knowledge and skills. Both are available at its Cape Town and Johannesburg campuses. The Diploma also has a distance education study option. SACAP is a fully accredited higher education institution open to matriculants, mature and postgraduate students.

For more information on The South African College of Applied Psychology (SACAP), please visit http://www.sacap.edu.za, phone 0860 77 11 11 or e-mail info@sacap.edu.za.