Guidance Counselors | Department of Education

Registered Guidance Counselors

In the modern era, Guidance and Counseling have escalated needs because of multiple problems that the individual faces in essential domains of life. Guidance and Counseling assist in establishing an awareness of one’s strengths and aptitudes, an optimistic viewpoint for removing negative tendencies, and the resourcefulness and self-discipline needed to adjust to social changes. Supporting students’ intellectual, social, emotional, and personal growth is the primary goal of guidance and counseling services (Dhami, 2020).

One of the Key Result Areas (KRAs) of Registered Guidance Counselors is to implement Prevention and Wellness programs including suicide prevention and promotion of positive mental health. In the study of Suicide among the Youth and School-based Suicide Prevention: Exemplar and Reflections from the Philippines, suicide was noted as the fourth leading cause of death among individuals 15–29-year-olds across the globe and in the Philippines, the rate of suicide was 2.5 per 100,000 population in 2019 (Department of Health, 2019). Early identification and management have been recommended by the WHO (2021) and UNICEF et al. (2022) as a cornerstone for responsive care to people affected by suicidal behaviors.

Guidance and Counseling is an integral program implemented by the Department of Education. It plays an essential role in the educational system and holistic development of learners. The student’s needs, issues, and problems will be properly handled and eventually solved using the Guidance and Counseling program (Aguilar-Ramat, 2022). As Guidance Counselors play a crucial role in ensuring that students undergo positive educational experiences, they need to be equipped with appropriate competencies to perform assigned tasks and support the learners’ well-being.

NEAP, as the training arm of DepEd will conduct a Capacity Building for Registered Guidance Counselors (RGCs) to become effective gatekeepers in the school setting to address mental health issues and promote well-being of students, teachers, and school leaders. To provide a competency-based professional development program, NEAP-Professional Development and Delivery Division (PDDD) conducted a Professional Development Needs Assessment (PDNA) to 193 DepEd Guidance Counselors, last July 04, 2023 results showed that DepEd Guidance Counselors need to be capacitated in terms of managing cases related to suicide attempts, Teenage Pregnancy, violence to children and other mental health related cases. Career Guidance and Counseling arise also as one of the PD needs of DepEd RGCs.