CAMPUS: Counselor presents importance of counseling to students

By Carolina Marquez
Bridge Contributing Writer
Published Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024

Originally announced as an information event for Mental Health Awareness Week, a counselor’s presentation turned into a personal one.

Master of Arts licensed professional counselor Jonathan P. Serna spoke on Sept. 27 in the Texas A&M International University Student Center. Serna introduced the idea of counseling from a culture-rich environment perspective.

“We Hispanics, most times we don’t think of counseling,” Serna said. “This is not something that’s ingrained in our community. If we actually hesitate to go to the doctor, much less are we gonna go to a counselor.”

He said factors that delay a person from attending can include religious beliefs, lack of access, cost, vulnerability, misinformation, fear of change, skepticism and stigma. To emphasize its effectiveness, Serna brought up his past undocumented struggles, though he recently became a U.S. citizen.

“I [felt] like people could see through me, and they would start asking questions,” he recounted while giving examples. “Every time, I had to lie.”

In that period of his life, he was obliged to remain silent about his situation to remain safe. Even as Serna strived to secure a future, obstacles kept impeding his way.

“I applied for college,” he said, “and, of course, they said, ‘Nope, you’re not gonna receive any financial aid.’”

Even the scholarship he obtained was inapplicable because he had no U.S. citizenship at the time.

During a separate event, nursing major Ricardo Flores, who shared the same predicament, offered insight about the same troubles.

“Some of those difficulties [include] finding a proper job,” Flores said. “So, I can’t just go to Burger King or McDonald’s where they’re always hiring and always need people.”

Serna told the group of mainly students about his initial skepticism of needing counseling, as an upcoming counselor.

He volunteered to be a subject for counseling theories; through that, he received revelations about numerous aspects in his life, which led to a counseling session.

“There was a lot of anger, a lot of resentment, a lot of expectations that were not met and stuff,” Serna said. “I was also being very hard on myself, too. So, through counseling I had to confront myself.”

Stephanie Hernandez, a Master in Arts licensed professional counselor, noted something about folks who seek out the service.

“It’s voluntary,” Hernandez said. “Like they’re coming because they want to. They’re coming because they have something they want to work toward.”

Serna added, “At first, it’s expected that they’re going to feel nervous. They’re going to feel a little bit, like, defensive.

“But as they go along, if they still decide to stay through the counseling, I think they’re probably going to feel more confident … and sometimes, they want to go back because they do feel like the support that [they need] is there.”

Hernandez pointed out a crucial detail contributing to the sessions.

“Usually by working on that main goal, other things … that they probably had will slowly kinda start to resolve themselves,” she said, “… because we are addressing … the root of the situation.”

Flores said psychology was primitive before, but it developed with newer discoveries through the years.

“In the past, counseling was not very common,” Serna said. “Now it’s been more common. Some people are still against it, and some people are now opening more.”

Hernandez further added to Serna’s point.

“We’ve been actually having waitlists mostly every semester since like … 2019,” she recalled from her time at TAMIU. “If not, maybe before. And to me, that shows that students are more forthcoming [in] wanting to seek services. Counseling is not so much a taboo topic.”

While accepted by individuals of diverse age ranges, it is highly prevalent with newer generations.

“I feel like the students that we have been having throughout the years have just been more open to that, and they’re seeing it as something normal,” Hernandez said. “They’re aware that if they want to break that cycle of maybe not acting like how their parents act, they have to do something about it; they have to do something different to break the cycle.”