A school counsellor is a vital member of staff. Providing support to pupils in a range of areas, they are the key to a happy and successful educational facility. It is not just teachers who make a school work and function. Behind the scenes, a range of trained staff are labouring to keep students healthy and happy. One of the most vital is the school counsellor, who will aim to manage any issues students are experiencing. The US is crying out for more trained professionals, and it could be your next career move.
What Does a School Counsellor Do?
There is a wide range of issues facing students in the modern world. Age-old stories like home life, exam pressures and social stress sit alongside the trappings of the digital domain, mainly social media, and the isolation that can foster. Thus, a school counsellor has the task of assessing and helping pupils to deal with these issues, enhancing both personal happiness and academic success.
School counsellors end up spinning a lot of plates. They will assist with positive mental health, academic planning and social expectations. This will be done not only with pupils, but working in conjunction with other members of staff, parents and guardians. Crucially, they will work as part of a multi-staffed approach, liaising with local government social teams and boards.
Becoming a School Counsellor
To become a school counsellor in the United States, you will need to start with a bachelor’s degree. This will give you access to entry-level positions, and you can gain some experience working with counsellors in various disciplines at this time. Degrees in related fields such as psychology and childhood education are a great foundation for this.
Once you have a bachelor’s degree, you will need to move on to a school counseling masters degree. This is where you will really focus on the specific skills required to become a counsellor. A large part of this will be spent in the field, working in real schools and contexts. They will also prepare you for the licensed professional counsellor exam, which comes next.
The best courses may allow you to go one step further, possibly adding an Advanced Certificate in Clinical Mental Health Counselling. Make sure that the course is CACREP (Council for Accreditation of Counselling and Related Educational Programs) Accredited. Don’t think you have to go to a university either, and overhaul your current life. Many courses can be done online and part-time, so they can take place over a prolonged period alongside other duties, like family.
The Support Provided by School Counsellors
School counsellors will provide a range of support options to pupils. The most obvious of these is academic. They will be responsible for setting student goals, planning study schedules that cater to the pupils’ best learning needs, and monitoring progress. This will require reporting back and feedback, along with the provision of resources to get the best from the pupil.
Second to this is mental health support. A counsellor should be a person students can visit for emotional assistance, stress and its management. They may provide coping strategies and liaise with others in the school to help reduce or eliminate any issues. However, counsellors are not medical professionals, so they may have to communicate with wider mental health services.
This can also take the form of intervening when a crisis occurs. Pupils may have a serious illness or a bereavement. There could even be school-wide issues, such as the loss of a teacher or pupil. A counsellor must be prepared to take the bulk of this on, making special accommodations and providing guidance.
Finally, being a counsellor is not just about dealing with problems. They can help give career guidance and set pupils on the right academic path. This can be extremely rewarding and is also a huge part of their job.
The Impact of School Counselling
The impact of successful counselling is felt far and wide, reaching much further than the short-term period of education in which pupils exist. It can set someone up for life and make a school more efficient in the long term.
A study in the United Kingdom, known as the ETHOS study, spoke to 16 members of school staff from ten different facilities. The outcome was that “Long-term implementation of counselling in schools, integration into wider school mental health provision is crucial, including increasing contact between counsellors and students to instil trust, familiarity and encourage attendance for those who need it. Wider mental health interventions and education across the whole school can reduce the stigma surrounding mental health discussions.”
Thus, counselling in schools is in many ways just as vital as great teaching. Without them, pupils will not be able to concentrate on their goals, be they social or academic. Becoming a counsellor does take some work and can be a long path, but it will always be rewarding at the end.
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