High School Guidance Counselors' Perspectives on Supporting Grieving Students

Abstract

The career of a high guidance counselor can range from topics of teenage drama, college decisions, and the annual class selection meeting; however, what are they to do when gun violence is currently the number 1 cause of death for children 1-19 (Everytown, 2022). Legally, students are expected to spend 49% or 180 days of the year within the walls of a school for at least 6 hours, in turn, the institution of schools has become a place for making friends, connections, and experiences, whether they be good or bad (Pew, 2023). When gun violence plagues the walls of a school, support generally falls to counselors to help students navigate their emotions and grief. However, schools and counselors do not necessarily have the resources or training to provide that support. Particularly in under-resourced urban neighborhoods, counselors may already be spread too thin in their responsibilities, worsening the effects of gun violence and unresolved grief. Further, some counselors cannot understand their students' lived experiences because the differences in their racial, financial, and geographical upbringing promote a culture of misunderstanding and inability to solve root issues with cultural competency (Englert-Copeland, 2019). In this study, we aim to examine how schools and counselors support students impacted by gun violence, focusing on two major metropolitan areas on the East Coast: Boston and Philadelphia. The problem the project is addressing is the way schools situate themselves in helping students’ grief, given the increase in adolescent gun violence throughout the United States. Philadelphia has seen a particular increase in gun violence over the past decade (Philadelphia Police Department, 2022). Per the Philadelphia Office of the Controller, they found that 10.9% of all gun deaths within the city were people under 19 years of age for the 2023 year to date (2023). Everytown Research found that in “Massachusetts, the rate of gun deaths increased 16% from 2010 to 2019, compared to a 17% increase nationwide; gun homicides increased 26%, compared to a 13% increase and 26% increase nationwide, respectively” (Everytown, 2021). On the other hand, the city of Boston has seen a decrease in the gun violence rate over the past few years (Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 2022) While Boston does have one of the lowest gun violence rates in the world, students there experience grief over losing loved ones from neighborhood gun violence. The state noted that gun violence deaths are the 3rd-leading cause of death among children and teens in Massachusetts (2021). Through the research, we hope to identify best practices and strategies for schools and counselors to better support students impacted by gun violence and reduce the negative effects of unresolved grief. By examining the experiences of students in these two urban areas, we believe that we can contribute to the broader conversation about how to address this critical issue in schools and communities across the country.