School-Based Counselling Services: Contemporary Challenges and Future Possibilities Childhood is a journey, not a race.

Children are the most important assets of any country and the most important human resource for overall development. Schools are among the settings outside the home where children can acquire new knowledge and skills to grow into productive and capable citizens who can engage, support, and help their communities grow and prosper. We have entered the new millennium, and as part of a rapidly changing society, we must appraise the psychosocial needs and influences on the child and adolescent who is carrying the baton of the human chain into the 21st Century. With nearly 10-12% of children in our country needing professional help and guidance for emotional and behavioural problems, the role of school counsellors for a positive school climate is indeed paramount. The need to work with schoolchildren with such problems was recognised as early as the beginning of the 20th century, especially in the USA. By the middle of this century, it had drawn the attention of several professionals – social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists and psychometrics. Each one is contributing towards the development of these services. It soon influenced educators and mental health professionals in our country as well. N.C.E.R.T. & C.B.S.E. have often highlighted the growing need for effective school-based counselling services. Wise to remember that the school plays a crucial role in the development of cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional and moral functions and competencies in a child. Schools have a profound influence on children, their families and the community. They can act as a safety net, protecting children from hazards that affect their learning, development and psychosocial well-being. In addition to the family, schools are crucial in building or undermining self-esteem and a sense of competence. School-based counselling programmes are effective in improving learning, mental well-being, and managing mental disorders. In the last decade, School mental health has expanded to address school violence, sexual harassment, bullying, substance abuse, discrimination and healthy discipline. School consultation focuses more on early identification and intervention at the individual and system levels to help attain immediate educational and behavioural goals and prevent long-term negative outcomes for children's overall personality. But despite this understanding, the reality is that the majority of the public schools have no counsellor or social worker, yet schools are being asked to deal with more of the mental health needs of their students. Due to this growing awareness of mental health issues in both children and adolescents on one hand and paucity of health professionals on the other, schools have to explore the potential to promote mental health both through curriculum and with the provision of supportive learning environments. There is a strong need to create an environment for School Counselling programs in every school, as they are collaborative efforts that benefit not only students but also parents, teachers, administrators, and the broader community. Therefore, school counselling programs should be an integral part of students’ daily educational environment, and school counsellors should be partners in student achievement.