About Counseling Services
What can you expect from your school counselor?
School counselors provide counseling sessions in individual or small-group settings that:
School counselors provide counseling sessions in individual or small-group settings that:
- help students overcome issues impeding achievement or success
- help students identify problems, causes, alternatives and possible consequences so they can make decisions and take appropriate action
- are planned, goal-focused, and are short-termed in nature
Available Services
Direct Services: Academic/Personal/Social/College and Career, Advisement, Individual Counseling, Small Groups and Classroom.
Indirect Services: Consultation, Collaboration, Referrals and Testing.
What happens in individual counseling? The main goal of short-term individual counseling is for students to learn the skills necessary to manage situations on their own. The number of sessions typically range to no more than six or eight so that we are able to serve as many students as possible. Confidentiality and its limitations in the context of school counseling are explained to students before counseling begins: What is shared with the counselor remains confidential and will not be disclosed without the student's consent UNLESS there is reason to suspect that the student may be at risk for harming themselves or others.
What happens in a Group? Research shows that groups are an efficient, effective, and positive way to support students with academic, career, and social/emotional developmental and situational concerns, enabling us to meet a greater number of student needs at once. Groups typically involve approximately six to eight students working towards addressing shared concerns and developing supportive relationships within the group setting. We typically meet weekly for about six to eight weeks depending on the curriculum. The types of groups are based on the individual student, school, and community needs. Participants are selected for participation through a referral process or analysis of school data. The school counselor will screen potential group members and address informed consent, the purpose of the group, goals, limits to confidentiality, and voluntary participation. As a best practice, we require parental consent and student agreement to participate.
What is Classroom Guidance? Classroom guidance is a whole-class approach in which the school counselor meets with students to teach them things that will promote success in and out of school. Preventive in nature, lessons are designed to foster academic, personal, emotional, and social development.
Distance Counseling - how does that work? In the event that school is cancelled for a prolonged period of time, Distance Counseling, via a FERPA compliant video conferencing platform, may be implemented for brief check-ins with students. Some things to keep in mind:
Confidentiality
The rules of confidentiality still apply in distance (audio or video) counseling with students. If there is a reason to believe that a student may be at risk of harm to themselves or others, I am required by law to notify the parent/guardian and make appropriate referrals to ensure the safety and well-being of the student. My goal is ALWAYS to act in the best interest of the student.
Distance Counseling Considerations & Limitations
Whether by phone or videoconference, some forms of distance counseling present limitations as compared to in-person visits.
Length/Number of sessions
Generally, the broad range of school counselor responsibilities limits individual support to short-term, brief counseling sessions. School counselors do not provide ongoing clinical mental health services, per se. I will provide referral information to parents/guardians of students who are in need of more in-depth, longer-term counseling support.
Indirect Services: Consultation, Collaboration, Referrals and Testing.
What happens in individual counseling? The main goal of short-term individual counseling is for students to learn the skills necessary to manage situations on their own. The number of sessions typically range to no more than six or eight so that we are able to serve as many students as possible. Confidentiality and its limitations in the context of school counseling are explained to students before counseling begins: What is shared with the counselor remains confidential and will not be disclosed without the student's consent UNLESS there is reason to suspect that the student may be at risk for harming themselves or others.
What happens in a Group? Research shows that groups are an efficient, effective, and positive way to support students with academic, career, and social/emotional developmental and situational concerns, enabling us to meet a greater number of student needs at once. Groups typically involve approximately six to eight students working towards addressing shared concerns and developing supportive relationships within the group setting. We typically meet weekly for about six to eight weeks depending on the curriculum. The types of groups are based on the individual student, school, and community needs. Participants are selected for participation through a referral process or analysis of school data. The school counselor will screen potential group members and address informed consent, the purpose of the group, goals, limits to confidentiality, and voluntary participation. As a best practice, we require parental consent and student agreement to participate.
What is Classroom Guidance? Classroom guidance is a whole-class approach in which the school counselor meets with students to teach them things that will promote success in and out of school. Preventive in nature, lessons are designed to foster academic, personal, emotional, and social development.
Distance Counseling - how does that work? In the event that school is cancelled for a prolonged period of time, Distance Counseling, via a FERPA compliant video conferencing platform, may be implemented for brief check-ins with students. Some things to keep in mind:
Confidentiality
The rules of confidentiality still apply in distance (audio or video) counseling with students. If there is a reason to believe that a student may be at risk of harm to themselves or others, I am required by law to notify the parent/guardian and make appropriate referrals to ensure the safety and well-being of the student. My goal is ALWAYS to act in the best interest of the student.
Distance Counseling Considerations & Limitations
Whether by phone or videoconference, some forms of distance counseling present limitations as compared to in-person visits.
- What to expect: My counseling approach remains the same as it would be if we were meeting in-person at school— person-centered, short-term, solution-focused brief therapy. I just won't be wearing makeup :-)
- Phone/Email/Chat: Namely, the absence of or not easily discernible verbal or nonverbal cues. Verbal and nonverbal interactions help me measure what the person is feeling, as well as identify any inconsistencies between what they are saying and doing. As a counselor, I rely heavily on both verbal and nonverbal cues in my conversations with students to help me gain insight into the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors related to their concern(s). Email, chat, and phone conversations do not give an indication of such characteristics as voice tone (except for phone), facial expression, body language, and eye contact.
- Video Conference: With respect to interpreting verbal and non-verbal cues, video conferencing is the next best thing to in-person counseling. However, there are limits to confidentiality with respect to controlling who is in the room or nearby on your end. I will be participating in an enclosed office space but it is not sound-proof. As such, students are encouraged to wear headphones/ear buds so that anyone who may happen to be nearby does not overhear what is being shared.
Length/Number of sessions
Generally, the broad range of school counselor responsibilities limits individual support to short-term, brief counseling sessions. School counselors do not provide ongoing clinical mental health services, per se. I will provide referral information to parents/guardians of students who are in need of more in-depth, longer-term counseling support.