School counselors might be playing the most versatile role within the entire educational system. They are at once academic advisors, educators, and mental health professionals, all working with a single goal in mind: providing students with what they need, whatever that might entail.
Too many people have the understanding that high school counselors are there just to assist students with their college applications. While this might be the most universal aspect of their skill set, the actual responsibilities are considerably more versatile.
In this article, we take a look at what school counselors actually do to contribute to a student’s psychological development.
Age Matters
The age of the student population will have a considerable impact on what the guidance counselor is actually doing, or what the school counselor is actually doing. At the elementary level, for example, the role will look very different than it does for the high school level.
Younger students are still developing their emotional vocabulary and establishing their identity. High school-level students, on the other hand, are solidifying that identity and seeking guidance for the future.
Counselor interventions are developmentally staged to ensure that recommendations and activities are appropriate to the age level. That said, there remains overlap.
The core responsibility, no matter how old the student is, involves recognizing what the child needs and developing intervention strategies to give it to them.
Core Psychological Contributions
Now that we understand what the basic toolkit guidance counselors are working with, let’s take a look at what they actually do from a psychological perspective.
It’s all about emotional regulation skill building. This is an ability needed universally within schools, and it’s one that guidance counselors may even step into classrooms and teach to the general student body. This could involve working on naming feelings.
It may also include self-soothing skills, like breathing techniques, grounding exercises, cognitive reframing, and more. In some school settings, guidance counselors will even lead small group sessions where kids can get together to talk about feelings and strategies that help them work through them.
Not only does this help establish repetition for skill building, but it also has the benefit of demonstrating concretely to children that no matter what they’re dealing with, they’re not alone in their feelings.
It’s not all academically focused, however. In fact, school counselors may also work actively on helping students to understand their identity as individuals outside of their family or academic life.
If you think about it, this aspect of their work fits very squarely into the college or career development space that they’re already broadly associated with. But the application of this communication goes beyond just helping students identify jobs.
It’s more about helping them identify areas of interest and satisfaction, regardless of economic value.
Providing Stability
This application of the school counselor’s job is admittedly both an extension and byproduct of the things we’ve been describing to this point. Guidance counselors provide students with stability, consistency, and support.
In many cases they are students’ first point of contact when they have a problem that requires adult intervention. If a classroom problem with a student arises, they’re often sent to the school counselor to discuss the issue, and when interventions are necessary, develop an appropriate plan of response.
In other cases, the student may seek the counselor out personally, because they’ve already established trust with them. Whatever the case, the relationship that the school counselor has with the student body is just as important as any specific skill they teach or decision they help a student make.
It’s through this trust that many students feel comfortable enough to disclose difficult situations to their counselors in a way that will help them secure an intervention.
Peer Relationship Coaching
In the case of conflict within the student body, it’s often the school counselor who steps in to teach conflict resolution skills and peer relationship management abilities.
This could involve instilling communication and de-escalation behaviors, but it could also focus on anti-bullying or even restorative justice campaigns that target the entire student population.
Academic Growth
Last but not least, counselors, of course, assist students with their academics. They may intervene in situations where a student’s grade has swung wildly.
They may also help students find support in the form of a tutor or even possible accommodations that may make their time in the classroom easier.
How These Services Are Administered
Now that you know what a school counselor does, the question becomes how they do it. Unlike traditional counseling, the support school counselors provide is designed to be short-term. Therapy, in the usual context, can last for years. In the school setting, the job happens in a much more compressed time frame.
If there is a problem, the counselor will work to identify it and then develop a solution as quickly as possible. Sometimes this means handing the student off to a professional who is capable of delivering longer-term support.
As mentioned earlier, they may dip into classrooms to provide proactive universal education. Often, they will also meet with students individually.
It’s important to understand, however, that they are not a replacement for other forms of professional support. They do not take the role of a psychologist or psychiatrist but often serve instead as a bridge to these services.
It’s a genuinely important and impactful role that can provide life-changing support to the right person. If you are interested in a career in education, understand that you have more options available than simply becoming a teacher.
While this is a noble ambition, it’s arguably true that counselors will end up touching more lives. Teachers work with classrooms of 15 to 20, while counselors address the needs of the entire student body.