School Counselors are master’s level practitioners that help students by removing barriers to academic achievement, supporting social/emotional development, and guiding college and career readiness. School counselors use the following tools to help students: small-group counseling, individual counseling, and school counseling core curriculum lessons. School counselors can provide a number of services such as:
Student academic planning
Counseling with frequently absent students
Assisting students in exploring future careers
Counseling students with academic or social concerns
School counseling core curriculum lessons
Consulting with teachers about classroom management
Helping school principals identify and address student needs
Counseling students in crisis
Leading small counseling groups with students with shared concerns
Advocating for students
Analyzing school wide data to understand student needs
Organizing state testing
Working with parents to help them best support their child.
Providing outside referrals when necessary
http://counseling.uncc.edu/school-counseling-program/definition-school-counseling
Everything discussed in the counseling office remains confidential. However, there are three exceptions in which we will have to involve outside resources; if a child is harming themselves, if someone is harming them, or if they are harming someone else.
Various small groups are run throughout the year based on need. Some examples may include a social skills group, an organization or study skills group, an anxiety group etc.
Rainbows Small Group: Rainbows for All God's Children is a grief and loss group that is run every year. This group addresses grief and divorce. Anyone who has recently experienced a loss is welcome to join. Rainbows gives students an outlet to discuss these things with their peers that have experienced similar losses.
Students can meet with the counselor on an individual basis at any time to discuss different issues and concerns. Examples: behavior, anxiety, peer issues, or family concerns.
The counselors go into each classroom bi-weekly to discuss different skills and ideas that address academic, personal/social, and career needs with the students.