ROLE OF SCHOOL COUNSELLORS IN CURBING THE MENACE OF SUICIDAL IDEATION AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The incidence of suicidal ideation among university students has pose a great concern to school counsellors in various universities in Nigeria. School counsellors are in good position to curb the menace of suicidal ideation among students in school. However, students are vulnerable to the problem of suicidal ideation due to frequent occurrence of academic conflicts, low academic performance, anxiety, sexual harassment, substance abuse, financial problems, hostility, anger and others. Therefore, the paper intends to examine the role of school counsellors in curbing the menace of suicidal ideation among university students in Nigeria. The paper also highlights the concept of suicidal ideation, types of suicidal ideation, warning signs of suicidal ideation, prevalence of suicidal ideation, and strategies for reducing the menace ofsuicidal ideation. Based on the suggestions made in this paper; government and education stakeholders should help in the training and retraining of school counsellors in tackling the menace of suicidal ideation among university students; University based-mental health services should be established in various universities in Nigeria and these services should aim at finding out and taking care of those with mental health illness and prevent the incidents of suicidal ideation.