School counseling in new normal: Improving cognitive flexibility and self-regulation in students

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused the world to undergo rapid and fundamental changes. Notions of normalcy, stability, and certainty have been crushed by rising levels of anxiety and stress around the world. It is thought that its effects will continue for a while by changing many social norms. A new concept which was called the "new normal" has emerged. In the new normal which was dominated by uncertainty, it is thought that crises will continue, and it will be important for individuals' mental health to adapt quickly to crises and take actions to solve the crisis. In addition, it is important for students to have self-regulation skills in the education system where new teaching methods such as online education and distance education are emerging. Thus, self-regulation and cognitive flexibility appear to be important factors in protecting individuals' mental health. Therefore, the goal of this paper was to understand the role of school counseling services in crisis times and to improve the level of cognitive flexibility and self-regulation of students.