School Councilors in the Oforikrom Municipality are adopting a student-led approach to support students suffering a range of depressing conditions collectively termed cognitive disorders.
These cognitive disorders include negative mindsets, unfounded beliefs, unhealthy emotions, and discouraging thought patterns that make them look down on themselves and feel unaccepted, inadequate, and incapable of successfully making it in life.
Opening a day’s training for selected peer counselors, the Oforikrom Municipal Education Director Dorothy Opare Baidoo expressed concern that many students have resigned themselves to failure and antisocial habits as a result of harboring these cognitive disorders.
She was however confident forming student support groups to peer-counsel other students, providing a better avenue for students, to share their challenges and find support among their coequals.
“These support systems can serve as safe places where learners can express their feelings; challenge negative thoughts and build confidence together. I am optimistic that together, we will be able to embark on a journey that seeks to empower our learners with the tools they need to recognize and combat these distortions,” she indicated.
The Oforikrom Municipal guidance and counseling coordinator Bridgettta Theresa Akordor took the students through the various manifestations of cognitive disorders and how they could help themselves and their colleagues who exhibit any of the disorders in their various schools.
Outlining some indicators, she related to students who over generalized failure; exaggerate common challenges; students who constantly focus on the negative, blame themselves for everything and esteem themselves as inferior and misfits in their learning communities.
She pointed out that some other students held overly ambitious targets and expectations of themselves driving them to declare themselves failures, refusing to see any positives again if they fell short of their objectives.
Speaking to Ultimate FM’s Loretta Boama on the sidelines of the training; Bridgetta Akordor cautioned that many young students who had acquired or imposed negative perceptions about themselves stand the risk of joining unhealthy groups to seek help.
“We think that by doing this, we have empowered students to be able to identify any irrational behavior or thought patterns and to know the measures they can take to counter such behavioral patterns,” she emphasized.
She disclosed that unlike previous years when several schools didn’t have properly trained and designated School Counsellors, each school in the Oforikrom Municipality now has counsellors who will offer the necessary guidance and support to the student led peer-support counselling groups.
A guidance and counseling coordinator who moderated the peer support session, Akosua Boaduwaa Senya encouraged schools to institute and mainstream peer counselling sessions in the academic calendar.
“Each school should have peer support groups. It should be something that is part of school activities where they know they are meeting particular number of times in a week,” she admonished.
As part of the training, different groups of students brainstormed difficulties students face learning and passing ins subjects like math and science with other groups tackling factors affecting the positive socialization and self-esteem of their peers.
A general Art Student of the KNUST Senior High School who joined the Shyness Group identified teasing and the lack of opportunity for public speaking and participation in motivational conferences as cardinal causes of low self-image among students.
“Participating in student conferences, engaging in counseling sessions in schools, engagement in public speaking activities and group works are measures that can minimize shyness and low self-esteem,” he recommended.
Students who joined the Math and Science Phobia Groups recommended that teachers find better methods of practically teaching science and math in schools.
Gambit Halimatu Sadia, a student of Kotei Roman Catholic School pleaded with the government to provide science laboratories to facilitate practical teaching in schools.
The training held on the theme ‘Empowering learners to create learning support groups to combat cognitive distortion’ formed part of month long activities, to commemorate International Day to Protect Education from Attack, marked annually on September 9th.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Loretta Boama
