THE Board of Counsellors Malaysia’s requirement for students to put in in-person counselling hours to graduate is frustrating the students and could delay their careers.

Counselling and guidance degree students said they would graduate and join the job market later as a result of the decision. This could result in a lack of such services at a time when mental health issues are on the rise, especially due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

As the professional body that regulates the registration and licensing of counsellors, LKM’s decision means students cannot complete the requisite 92 hours of practical work via online sessions.

Students said the ruling has been effective since the first movement-control order (MCO) in March last year, and that the universities have appealed to LKM to recognise and count virtual sessions as work for practicum students, but to no avail.

A student in Petaling Jaya, who wished to be known as YH, said she has met all the requirements to graduate except for face-to-face counselling hours.

The 27-year-old said virtual sessions should count as work, especially during a Covid crisis when physical distancing is mandatory.

“I am supposed to graduate this July but now it seems like the earliest I can graduate is July next year,” she said.

Coming from a middle-income family, YH said she is under pressure to graduate and get a job.

“Both my parents have retired but they’re still supporting my sister and me, who are still studying. I feel really guilty and helpless,” she said.

“And because there are few to no part-time jobs for unregistered counselling students such as myself, I’m seriously re-considering whether I should apply for jobs in my field in this current situation when I graduate,” she said.

Another student, Susan, 25, is also in the midst of her practicum but has found a lack of internship opportunities for counselling students at private counselling centres and with civil society groups.

Although she has managed to log the required hours of in-person counselling, Susan said she is worried about her health safety and that of others around her.

“I have friends on the same course who have had to drop the practicum unit entirely because they are immuno-compromised or they have people in their family who are,” she said.

While Susan agrees that online sessions “make more sense” at this time, she finds them demotivating and exhausting as they do not make it into practicum hours, which then hampers progress in her studies.

“Personally, I still put in the same effort and time to have online sessions for some of my clients and it’s been very demotivating and tiring to not be able to progress. 

“I do the same things with clients in-person and online, and I really do not understand why it can’t be counted as direct hours,” she said.

Susan also felt LKM’s directive was unfair to those needing counselling, who went to student counsellors as they cannot afford more expensive professional services.

Some clients are immuno-compromised, have family members in high-risk groups or are under quarantine and cannot afford to go for face-to-face sessions whether for health or financial reasons.

“By not recognising online hours put in by counselling students, it also denies clients access to counselling especially if they can’t afford to pay the usual rates to see a licensed therapist,” Susan said.

Counselling students are expected to fulfill 98 direct hours of practicum, which is on-campus practice. Until they do so, they will not be able to move to their internship, which will require them to fulfill 192 hours.

Like Susan, student Nala Ratnam, 23, also doubts she will be able to graduate this July.

She began her practicum unit in November but so far has only collected four hours of in-person counselling sessions.

The thought of not being able to graduate and work in the career she wanted has stressed her out.

“I have been so frustrated and my anxiety has just increased drastically. It’s funny how we are learning to help others with their mental challenges but the process we have to go through is costing our mental health.

She also finds it “infuriating” that LKM does not seem to appreciate that online counselling might be the norm in the future given the pandemic situation, and that it expects counselling students to still come to university and meet clients there.

“I’m high risk as I have asthma and the fact that I’m required to risk myself to graduate is ridiculous,” Nala said.

“I also cannot comprehend why LKM can’t be bothered to help students, and what more with the country in lockdown, people are needing mental health support more than ever, and counselling students can help.

“LKM says there is a lack of counsellors and mental health practitioners here, yet there is no action from their side to solve this,” Nala added.

LKM’s ruling has also resulted in counselling students competing for clients willing to meet in -person, says a graduate who wanted to be named as Vincent.

“With the movement controls in in place for so long, there are now more students than there are clients willing to meet in person.

“And now the number of daily Covid-19 cases is much higher, compared to the first MCO last year. How many clients are willing to risk getting Covid-19 to meet in person?”

Vincent said LKM was violating a basic principle of counselling, which is to do no harm.

The students are calling upon LKM to allow online counselling sessions to be counted into their practicum hours. The Malaysian Insight has contacted LKM for a response and is still waiting at press time.

All the students interviewed did not want to give their full names for fear of repercussions, especially for those who have not graduated.

Another student who wanted to be known as Y joined a civil society group and a school hoping to complete her practicum hours.

She had managed to get up only 6.5 hours at the school when it was ordered to close following a surge in Covid-19 cases.

At the civil society group, she is able to record no more than three hours per week and has so far collected about 30 hours.

“The non-recognition of online counselling hours is affecting us especially with the Covid situation getting worse.”

To make things worse, the group where she is interning is planning to close down.

“I’ve tried to find alternatives like hospital settings, other schools, but now with the hard lockdown, there are no more options.”

Y said her situation, the prospect of not being able to graduate and the inability to help others with her counselling skills has been giving her insomnia and feelings of hopelessness.

“I go between feeling hopeless and depressed to anxious and needing to do something for myself and others,” she said. – June 4, 2021.