Chapman Big Ideas

Effective collaboration involves working cooperatively with others, often in groups or teams, to effect positive change for pupils.  Collaborative workgroups and group projects are an important part of CSP coursework.  To the extent possible, groups represent different disciplines (teaching, counseling, and school psychology), providing students with the experience of working in multidisciplinary teams.

Counseling also requires well-developed oral communication skills.  School counselors have many opportunities to speak articulately and convincingly in front of diverse groups and in various situations (one-to-one with teachers, students, and parents; team meetings and formal in-service presentations).  Class activities such as role-plays and oral presentations are designed to provide students with practice and training with their oral communication skills.  Students learn to conduct effective oral presentations and are given specific feedback on their performances. 

Reflection is the ability to step back and make explicit the logic underlying one’s actions.  Effective reflection implies going beyond the application of technique and is critical to being able to improvise when confronted with complex or puzzling situations.  Students in the Counseling Programs self-evaluate and deconstruct their actions to better understand their underlying logic and behaviors.  School counselors are also often faced with complex and ambiguous situations where there is no clear answer.  Tolerance for complexity and ambiguity allows students to be patient during the problem-solving process and not rush to act before they fully understand a situation. 

School counselors are first advocates for the students they serve.  To advocate for someone or something means to support or promote their interests.  In counseling and school psychology, we promote the interests of the children we serve by giving voice to their best interests, especially when they cannot speak for themselves.  

We believe that effective solutions to a problem involve building on an understanding of children’s strengths and resources as well as understanding their problems and needs.  

Children are embedded in multiple systems, including families, schools, classrooms, and communities.  School counselors help children be more successful in school and life by helping these systems become more competent. 

School counseling is a complex and demanding career that requires practitioners to manage multiple projects at multiple sites.  In order to be successful, practitioners must have a good understanding of such skills as how to break projects into doable sub-tasks, setting priorities, and managing calendars at multiple sites.