Working with Students to Overcome Substance Abuse

Statistically, substance abuse continues to be a consistent issue our young adults face. Young people are exposed to an unceasing flow of new drugs and persistent rediscovery of old drugs. The 2017 National Survey Results on Adolescent Drug Use looked at grades 8, 10 and 12 and reported that “between 2001 and 2007 all three grades showed declines (in substance abuse), but the annual use rates in all three grades then rose some through 2012. It then declined gradually to 47% in 2009, and has remained between 48% and 50% since 2011.” Although students’ largest influence can be their social media-infused peer group and they face constant pressures during this critical time, school counselors can be a positive, dynamic influence in the lives of students who struggle with substance abuse issues.
 
An effective school counselor intentionally builds a relationship with individual students. A strong, trusting relationship allows school counselors to learn about a student’s risk factors, and their academic needs, barriers, and college and career goals that may impact their ability to reinforce protective factors to overcome substance abuse. Student risk factors may involve not feeling content with life, little or no parental support, peer influence involving substance abuse, substance abuse within the student’s home, parent’s education level and involvement in the student’s academic progress, and many more. School counselors can also work with students to encourage or facilitate difficult and open conversations with parents to establish a proactive plan for addressing substance abuse and reinforce existing protective factors. Relational counseling allows the student to feel that an adult is available to disclose and discuss difficulties as they emerge and understand that they have an advocate to support, guide and counsel them along the path to academic and social/emotional development.
 
Next, school counselors must involve parents. In “The School Counselor’s Role With Students At-Risk for Substance Abuse,” Natoya Haskins states, “It is imperative that school counselors involve parents in the students’ prevention plans. Parents are vital to students’ success; consequently, school counselors can also coordinate increased parent training as well as parent involvement at the building level.” The parental involvement in removing barriers can involve determining what short-term and goal-focused counseling in the academic setting would work best for the student while allowing the school counselor to assist in seeking longer term resources in the community. Academic transition plans while the student attends in-patient treatment facilities can also be developed with the school counselor facilitating the creation of an individualized academic plan collaborating with student, parent, teachers, administrators and school staff. Consistent follow-up with all stakeholders must be a priority to monitor student progress and determine if the plan is working or needs modification.
 
Last, effective school counselors also use data specific to individual school culture to develop and implement appropriate and specific instruction available to all students. Haskins also states, “School counselors can collaborate with teachers, administration, and available community resources to team teach, provide planned activities or directly instruct the student population. For students who are at risk for substance abuse, research indicates that school, home, and community aspects of students’ lives need to be addressed and prevention cannot be a one shot approach; school counselors can address all aspects of the students’ lives (e.g., school, home, and public activities) by collaborating with community agencies, parents, teachers, and other stakeholders and connecting students and parents with community supports to provide the necessary support for these students.”
 
Striving to be an effective school counselor can be daunting and overwhelming when working with today’s youth. School counselors are uniquely trained educators and more families are turning to school counselors for support, counsel, and guidance in order to make educated decisions when striving to support their children in order to make a positive impact. When it comes to substance abuse, school counselors are integral in providing a collaborative, strategic and proactive plan essential to removing barriers critical for academic and overall social/emotional development.