What does the school counselor do?
The role of the school counselor is to support all students. School counselors achieve this providing individual counseling, small group counseling, classroom lessons, and responsive services. Here is a snapshot of each service the school counselor provides:
Individual Counseling
Students can see the counselor at any time throughout the school day. Most students come by teacher referral, self referral, or school counselor referral. Parents also make referrals or requests for their child to see the counselor. *Please note that the school counselor does not perform traditional therapy. However, please feel free to reach out to me if you'd like a list of referrals for outside counseling.
Small Group Counseling
Throughout the year, I will provide small group counseling to students to help students learn specific skills. Parent permission is requested for a student to join a small group. Groups are usually made up of 3-6 students and meet 4-6 times.
Classroom Lessons
Students see the counselor for classroom lessons on a weekly basis. The school counselor covers three domains as per the American School Counselor Association: academic, social/emotional, and career. Lessons include topics on empathy, setting goals, gratitude, behavior expectations, career exploration, responsibility, and conflict management. I will teach lessons to each class every week through a variety of methods - books, games, crafts, etc.
Responsive Services
Responsive services includes responses to crises or school counseling interventions for immediate conflicts/problems. Family loss, school attendance, physical/emotional/mental abuse and neglect as well as suicide fall into responsive services.
