Mental Health
e-Msingi-Psychosocial pillar: Whole School Approach to Mental Health
e-Msingi-Psychosocial pillar held a webinar on 26th June 2025, titled “A Whole School Approach to Mental Health: Building an Effective Guidance and Counselling (G&C) Strategy for Your School.” Participants joined from across the country, including guidance and counselling teachers, school heads and deputy heads, school counsellors, and social workers.
The session, led by e-Msingi Director Dr Alfred Kitawi, Psychosocial Pillar Lead Victoria Mwema, and Nancy from the e-Msingi project, provided comprehensive insights into developing robust guidance and counselling strategies tailored to the unique context of individual schools.
The session began with the insistence that the success of any strategy is pegged on leadership and organisational commitment. This commitment begins with leadership being on board and facilitated by other team members. Participants explored how macro-level factors, such as government policies and broader societal conditions, as well as micro-level school environments, impact mental health and counselling effectiveness.
Furthermore, the webinar emphasised the operationalisation of school-specific strategies, highlighting the importance of clearly defined roles for all stakeholders, including principals, teachers, counsellors, parents, learners, and support communities. Through interactive discussions, attendees participated in a practical exercise where they were divided into groups to examine drafts of guidance and counselling strategies in a bid to evaluate missing aspects to further strengthen their own skills in formulating guidance and counseling strategies for their own institutions.
The session also underscored the importance of consistent monitoring and evaluation of mental health support in schools, to ensure the ongoing effectiveness and responsiveness of guidance and counselling interventions. The session concluded with an openness to support these institutions in setting up their own strategies. The community of guidance and counseling practitioners and enthusiasts continues to grow.
For more information please visit: https://emsingi.org/index.php/psychosocial-support/.
Contact information: communications@emsingi.org