School counselor roles and techniques with elementary students

Counseling

Guidance and Counseling

Role of the Counselor

Counseling Techniques

Confidentiality

Group vs. Individual Counseling

Role of the Counselor

The counselor interviewed became a school counselor because she loves children and feels a strong sense of purpose to give back to society by helping children. She works with children between the ages of about eight and twelve. The counselor started with a degree in educational psychology and chose to be a school counselor over other options such as a private counselor or family counselor. One of the main goals that the counselor described is careful listening. Listening is an important skill that allows children feel more comfortable with sharing their true feelings or problems. She also listed empathy as a critical skill towards the same end. When you empathize with children they are also far more likely to be more open and honest about the challenges they are experiencing.

The role of the counselor obviously depends on the individual perspective and professional identity that the counselor has developed. The professional identity process is dynamic and develops over time. One qualitative study focused on the development of this professional identity and found that conflict resolution was one of the most salient factors that influence the development of a professional identity (Brott & Myers, 2011). From the interview conducted, this seemed to fit the counselor's career development as well. She had learned many strategies through her background and her experience to help children feel more comfortable so that she could get as close as possible to whatever conflict they were experiencing in their lives.

Another role of school counseling that was identified in the literature was for the counselor to help students become self-regulator learners. Although this wasn't covered in the interview, self-regulating learning can empower students toward greater academic performances (Lapan, Kardash, & Turner, 2002). However, there are different levels of conflict that students face and focusing on learning strategies is often at a low priority than other more critical conflicts.

Counseling Techniques

The counselor interviewed stated that they had a great deal of freedom to develop their own techniques in their work setting with a few exceptions. Furthermore, they saw their role as a mediator between the schools administration and the children's parents. There are also a set of school policies that govern the counselors role but these are not too constricting. The counselor stated that they faced issues being involved with counseling in Lebanon because in the Middle East the culture does not fully embrace the profession of counseling. For example, when parents are asked to be involved in a session they often respond by saying something to the effect of "that there kid is not crazy or sick and does not need counseling" which is a common response. However, some parents are more responsive and it is entirely dependent on the unique situation and the parents.

The counselor interview mainly uses play theory and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) however mentioned that play theory is generally more effective in making children feel more comfortable. Furthermore, in her experience the counselor stated that it generally took about the sittings before the child would open up to them. The efficacy of play therapy as a psychological intervention has been heavily debated in the literature however there is some evidence that suggest that it has positive effects for humanistic treatments which would support the counselor's experience (Bratton, Ray, Rhine, & Jones, 2005).

Group vs. Individual Counseling

The counselor stated that she typically performs individual counseling. In her experience, she has found that children are able to talk more freely about their problems when they are alone in session. Furthermore, she stated that children in the age ranges she deals with have a lot of energy and are pretty hyper. Therefore when more than one student is together they have the tendency to play and carry on. Another issue with group sessions at this age is that children might not respect the confidentiality of other students. Therefore, because of all these reasons, all of the sessions are generally one on one with the counselor and the students.