Journal of Higher Education Research

In the contemporary higher education environment, student groups are facing multiple challenges: the information overload in the digital era has increased cognitive anxiety, the pressure of competition in the job market has reconstructed academic goals, and the collision of multiple cultures has impacted the value identity. As the key builder of campus ecology, the role of university counselors has shifted from traditional administrative management to the complex function of both emotional support and strategic guidance. Research has shown that counselors with the ability to cultivate mental toughness and integrate academic resources can significantly improve students' campus adaptation and self-efficacy. However, the ambiguity of the professional positioning of counselors in the existing education system has led to an urgent need to resolve the role tension between transactional work and strategic parenting. In this paper, we analyze the practice mechanism of counselors in well-being promotion and academic support, and try to reveal their deep value as "growth catalysts".