School Counselor Question and Answer

¶ … school counselor/School psychologist in the school?

The role of the school counselor is multi-faceted. As a counselor, I support a student's social and emotional well-being. While people might assume I just help students feel better or help them deal with personal problems, I also aid students when it comes to their career development and academic success. By following the ASCA National Model, I have gained an excellent framework from which I can assist students. The first thing I do is set up monthly and annual calendars ensuring I prioritize my time as well as meet the needs of the students that come and see me. It can get very hectic as I tend to a case load of 250 students.

How are guidance services or psychological services provided in the district level and school level?

They are provided by first doing an initial assessment and partnering with a local community health organization. The school gets some of its funding for these kinds of services from the government and the HRSA Health Center Program. By partnering with a community health organization, medical professionals like nurses can come in and attend to student health problems.

C. What is your ideal role? How does the role differ from your ideal role?

My ideal role would be to do individual counseling more often than I do. I enjoy being able to help people on an individual basis. The problem is, group counseling can be just as helpful and students may not be willing to open up when it is just them and myself. Students sometimes feel more open to discuss their problems when they feel they are surrounded by their peers. It can be challenging doing group counseling as sometimes I have students that are not interested and want to not participate.

D. What is the educational preparation needed for the role within the school setting? (If the person needs clarification, ask them about the courses they have taken).

I have a Bachelors in counseling and a master's degree in school counseling. I also had to become licensed according to state requirements. I had to do a number of supervised hours if I recall, I took courses on group counseling and human growth and development. There was also a background check when I got the job.

E. What are the ethical challenges in the public schools?

Bullying is a major concern in public schools. I think the slew of school shootings, and the lawsuits that come from parents angered by lack of school intervention, have had a profound effect on how school policy is formed with regards to bullying. It is a challenge to try to help students without overstepping professional boundaries. When a student is suicidal or discusses being picked on, it is hard not to intervene in a personal way, but instead stick to protocol and try to discuss things with the principal or the student's parents. There is always a need to maintain an attitude of professionalism in order to keep things from falling apart and that is for me, a major ethical challenge.

I also think bullying is so hard to identify and with some public schools adopting a zero-tolerance policy on bullying, it may have negative effects on students and school staff. Students are not always in the right mindset and as they mature, they learn from their mistakes. For example, the other day a student brought a utility knife to school. While it was clear he had no intentions of harming anyone, it was taken from him and he had to endure disciplinary action. What seems like a harmless act now is taken as a serious matter.

F. How have you resolved ethical challenges in the public schools?

I stick to school policy. I also try to dedicate myself to continually researching best practices. Guidance lessons are of top priority. I visit each classroom about twice each month and instruct students on prevention. I try to gather information from that grade level and use evidence-based counseling curriculum. A good example of this is Too Good for Drugs. I try to do small groups and I schedule individual counseling as well. I also set a time to meet my district counseling team. It certainly is a lot to do, but it goes smoothly with proper scheduling.

G. What are the greatest challenges that students in public schools face on a daily basis?

For many, especially female students, the biggest one is body image. So many young girls want to fit into an ideal of beauty that they develop depression and eating disorders. Male students tend to feel isolated and angry. They do not have many outlets to express themselves and so feel like they do not have options.

H. How do professionals collaborate in the public schools?

They collaborate through research, district meetings, and partnerships with community health organizations.

I. What strategies do you use to communicate and work cooperatively with colleagues and families to improve educational experiences of all the students in the school?

Meetings help provide information and keep up-to-date with school policy. I also meet with parents when I feel a student needs further assistance. Newsletters help as well. I try to keep current on school activities and potential academic opportunities for any of the students I assist.

J. How do problem solving strategies such as Response to Interventions impact the public schools?

It helps school identify and support students with learning and behavioral problems. If identified early, these students can lead successful academic lives in the future. Thanks to Response to Interventions, students have options to learn instead of going the traditional route and facing increasing obstacles.

K. How does Response to Interventions impact your professional functioning?

It gives me additional training and insight on being able to identify and support early on, students with behavior and learning difficulties.

L. What is your role in threat assessment of students?

With individual counseling, I feel I get a better indicator of how well I am helping the student and addressing their concerns. However, considering I have such a large caseload each year, just doing individual counseling would be impossible. It is unfortunate because threat assessment is much better handled on an individual level. Instead, I try to gather data from best practices to help identify potential problems.

M. What is the school policy regarding threat assessment?

Research is important. Understanding behaviors that lead to attacks and how to identify these behaviors is crucial to threat assessment. The steps for threat assessment is to identify, assess, and manage.

N. What is your role in crisis intervention?

I would say my role is to deescalate a situation. I would try to get help from school security or other school personnel and try to keep things from getting too out of hand. I am only a counselor and am not trained to restrain anyone, but if I had no other option, for example in a school shooting, I would try my best to escort students out and provide a way to keep students from being harmed.