Page 52 - MASALA Magazine Vol.15 Issue 7 | October - November 2024

More

than Just a

MENTOR

These Thai-Indian school counsellors are shaping student well-being
in big and small ways.

B Y AYU SH MADAN

It’s okay to not be okay

s a teenager in high school, I struggled with As we start to accept just how crucial early support is, we
a turbulent home environment. When my now understand that children’s minds are like wet cement
grades and attendance were declining, my – what they experience now, good or bad, leaves a deep
school counsellor, Mrs. Raney, noticed something was impression. School counsellors are often the first to step
wrong. Even though I never explicitly told her what was in, guiding students through anxiety, depression, trauma,
happening, she saw me and understood the burden on my and the weight of modern pressures. They play a crucial
shoulders. She did something so simple, yet unforgettable: role, not just through addressing academic struggles, but
she gave me two hugs. Those small moments of kindness also by helping children navigate emotional challenges.
have stuck with me, serving as a powerful reminder of how
much just one person’s care can impact a life. In this Cover Story, Masala spoke with four Thai-Indian
school counsellors, Aarti Arora Madarasmi, Roshni
Mental health is no longer a hidden conversation – it’s now Sachdev Curtain, Rubani Sethi, and Roslin Srikuruwal
at the forefront of discussions about well-being, especially about the evolving role of counselling in schools. They
for our children. More parents in the desi community share how they’re working to ensure our children are not
are recognising this need, and the stigma around seeking just safe, but emotionally strong. View our panel discussion
help is fading. The pandemic forced us to rethink mental on the state of counselling in Thailand with the video
health, and even movies like Inside Out 2 (2024) have linked in the QR code, and read on to hear their stories.
opened space for these important conversations.

52 | MASALA MAGAZINE OCT-NOV 2024