NOTE: this article was featured in the Spring/Summer 2023 edition of BC Counsellor Magazine

Every week, I am inspired by my colleagues in education and mental health. This edition of BC Counsellor magazine is filled with inspiration, fresh perspectives, and new frontiers in our profession, which bridges both worlds.

• Tamara Fernandez invites us on a personal journey which shows how hope grows from our life experiences to inform our work.

• Kyla Lucas finds hope by reflecting on her five years teaching overseas, and the learning she has done during her master’s degree.

• Dr. Shirley Giroux shares her research and experience in building connections to inspire hope among school counsellors across BC.

• Dr. Rebecca Hudson Breen and Dr. Denise Larsen remind us that hope is a resource which may be utilised to enhance effectiveness.
  

In the past three years, two words have come up often in conversations with colleagues: "Busy" and "Burnout." Throughout this time, school counsellors have served their communities during an overdose emergency, a pandemic, concerning rises in youth mental illness and substance use, and so much grief. All the while, many families cannot access affordable services, the public services are overrun, and the student to school counsellor ratio in BC is 693 to one. No wonder we are so busy!

I also see hope: We are needed, and the services we provide are extremely valuable. School counsellors act to catch students before they fall into the river. We are the upstream service that can inspire hope in our students, our colleagues, and our communities that positive change is possible.

And so, I am hopeful for the next three years. Looking forward, I hope we can work together to advocate for local and provincial changes that will support the well-being of our students and all school counsellors in BC. What do you hope for?