(1) Examine in detail the FOUR key roles played by guidance and counselling services

within the school setting.

The primary objectives of guidance and counseling services in schools are to support
students in meeting their fundamental physiological requirements, gaining self-awareness,
establishing relationships with peers, maintaining a balance between permissiveness and
regulation within the school environment, achieving success, and acquiring opportunities for
independence. As a result, the purpose of guidance and counseling services emphasizes
and enhances educational programs.
First, the key roles played by guidance and counselling services is to assist children with
developmental challenges. Even pupils who have selected a suitable educational course of
study may encounter obstacles that necessitate assistance. Occasionally, a teacher may
need to devote between 20% to 33% of their time to a few students who require extensive
support, which deprives the remainder of the class of the instructor's undivided attention to
their needs. By aiding these young individuals in resolving their difficulties, the counsellor
enables the classroom teacher to utilize their time more effectively
Next, to ensure that students can fully realize their potential. The school aims to facilitate the
fulfillment of students' potential by providing a diverse range of academic and extracurricular
options. One of the fundamental objectives of education is to aid students in recognizing and
cultivating their abilities. The counselor's responsibility is to aid students in allocating their
efforts among the numerous learning opportunities accessible to them. Each student
necessitates guidance in developing their primary course of study and extracurricular plan.
After that, to assist teachers with technical support. Many teacher training institutions lack
comprehensive instruction in the technical aspects of guidance work. Consequently, most
schools require support for crucial guidance and counselling functions within their
educational programs. Specifically, guidance counsellors are equipped to aid teachers in
tasks such as test selection, administration, and interpretation, choosing and utilizing
different records, suggesting counselling techniques for teachers to implement with their
students, and leading professional development sessions on guidance functions.
Last but not least, to facilitate the coordination and adaptation between students and the
educational institution. The task of guidance involves creating and sustaining a collaborative
bond between the school and the students. It is important for both teachers/counsellors and
students to be aware of each other's needs. Students also have a responsibility to contribute
to the school by utilizing its resources and striving for achievements. This collaboration
between students and the school can be improved by suggesting ways to enhance the
programs, conducting research to improve education, providing counselling for student
adjustment, and promoting positive attitudes between the school and home.

(1) Explore the ways in which guidance and counselling services can contribute to the
mental health and overall well-being of school students in Malaysia. Provide a
 comprehensive discussion on the strategies, interventions, and approaches
employed to support students' mental health within the context of guidance and
counselling.

The mental health of youth has been a concern since the late 1990s, and issues such as
COVID-19 and ongoing climate change, war, energy crisis, and socioeconomic stress are
now thought to exacerbate the situation. To target preventive and therapeutic interventions,
identifying and defining each factor, such as climate change, war, and pandemics, is
necessary to understand how they can impact mental health individually and collectively. To
develop focused interventions for prevention, it is important to differentiate these factors.
Conducting research and analyzing existing data to determine the specific impact of each
risk factor on mental health is a prerequisite.
A child’s development is influenced by various environments, including the family, school,
and community. While families are vital in supporting children’s mental health during periods
of crisis, schools play a complementary and indispensable role in promoting mental well-
being. To ensure comprehensive support, it is essential to address mental health issues
across all contexts. Schools, as primary environments where children spend a significant
amount of time, have a unique opportunity to contribute to this support system.
A counsellor must always be aware of the relationships between his client’s thoughts and
feelings, and his actions or behaviour. The counsellor’s role is to stimulate his client’s
thought process so that his ability to solve problems will increase and becomes more
creative. Creative mental activity is the guide to a person’s quality of life. Other than that,
school counselling programs must provide emotional support to students who may be
dealing with a range of issues such as anxiety, depression, or stress. A counsellor can help
students understand manage their emotions, and develop coping strategies for challenging
situations.
Through counseling sessions, students can develop selfawareness, build self-esteem, and
learn to set and achieve personal goals. School counselors can also provide guidance on
decision-making, problem-solving, and resilience, helping students develop the skills they
need to navigate the challenges of life. A child’s development is influenced by various
environments, including the family, school, and community. While families are vital in
supporting children’s mental health during periods of crisis, schools play a complementary
and indispensable role in promoting mental well-being. To ensure comprehensive support, it
is essential to address mental health issues across all contexts. Schools, as primary
environments where children spend a significant amount of time, have a unique opportunity
to contribute to this support system.
Finally, when schools prioritize mental health, they contribute to healthier communities
overall. Schools are the primary setting for social interaction and relationship-building among
peers. They play a critical role in fostering healthy social skills, empathy, and emotional
intelligence, which are essential for mental well-being. Mentally healthy pupils and educators
are more likely to engage in positive relationships, participate in community activities, and
contribute to society’s well-being.
A strong bond is crucial to the success of counselling and psychotherapy. It can be especially
valuable to clients who may have struggled to form relationships in their past, and those who
experienced traumatic events in their early years, leading them to find it difficult to form
relationships in adulthood. Therapy allows clients the chance to explore their relational
attachments, bonds and experiences through their relationship with their therapist, which is
why this relationship is so important.

The therapeutic relationship is unique in that for many clients, it may be one of the first times
they have formed an intimate connection with another person, where the feelings, thoughts or
ideas have been allowed to be heard, understood and valued, and where they have not had to
censor themselves. A therapist and client may be two very different people from different
walks of life, but in this relationship evolves the ability to understand sharing experiences and
to find new knowledge emerging. This joint learning and creative experience can make
therapy so rewarding for both the client and the therapist. It is this mutual meeting and
exchanging of experiences that increase the power of talking therapies.

This unique nature of the therapeutic relationship means that it is unlike those relationships
we form and maintain in the real world. It is a relationship that is impartial, not based on the
past or does not carry the judgements, feelings or dynamics that can be associated with our
external relationships.

As stated above, without a therapeutic relationship there can be no therapy. Therefore, we

know that this is a crucial part of therapy. In some ways, you could say that the relationship is
the therapy. How the client and therapist engage matters in defining the successes of therapy
and counselling. This relationship is essential to establishing and promoting the willingness
of the client to share and engage within the therapeutic space. The relationship will hopefully
allow the client to move toward more open behaviours and an increased level of self-
awareness.

REFRENCES
Wiedermann, C. J., Barbieri, V., Plagg, B., Marino, P., Piccoliori, G., & Engl, A.
(2023). Fortifying the Foundations: A Comprehensive Approach to Enhancing Mental
Health Support in Educational Policies Amidst Crises. Healthcare (Basel,
Switzerland), 11(10), 1423. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11101423