WHAT DO SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS DO?

The role of the school psychologist is complex and diverse. All children and youth can face problems from time to time related to learning; social relationships; making difficult decisions; or managing emotions such as feeling depressed, anxious, worried, or isolated. School psychologists help students, families, educators, and members of the community understand and resolve both long-term, chronic problems and short-term issues that students may face. They are a ready resource in the effort to ensure that all children and youth thrive in school, at home, and in life.

To this end, school psychologists provide direct support and interventions to students; consult with teachers, families, and other school-employed mental health professionals (i.e., school counselors, school social workers) to improve support strategies; work with school administrators to improve school-wide practices and policies; and collaborate with community providers to coordinate needed services.

School psychologists also play a key role on Multidisciplinary Education Teams (METs); they conduct and coordinate comprehensive psychological evaluations for students suspected of having a disability as part of the process of determining eligibility for special education services. Their principle objective is the application of scientific values toward learning and behavior in order to improve school-related difficulties and to facilitate the learning and development of children.

Every school has access to the services of a school psychologist, although many school psychologists serve two or more schools so may not be at a particular school every day. Most often, school psychologists can be reached by inquiring at the school directly, the district's central office, or locating contact information on the school or district website.

School psychologists are guided in their practice by the National Association of School Psychologists' Principles for Professional Ethics. For more information about the practice of school psychology please visit either the National Association of School Psychologists or the Arizona Association of School Psychologists.

What Counseling Services May Look Like with School Psychologists:

Although school psychologists have always been concerned with the welfare of children and adolescents, counseling has never been the focal point of the profession. However, many school psychologists have developed an interest in counseling activities and have been able to incorporate counseling activities into their broader professional role and function.

For the school psychologist, counseling refers to the set of interventions designed to promote the social, emotional, and behavioral well-being of children and adolescents. Individual and group counseling sessions are the most direct way of addressing these areas of functioning, but they are certainly not the only ways that school psychologists can function as counselors. Of the broad, traditional roles of the school psychologist (assessment, intervention, and consultation), counseling would seem to fit squarely in the intervention role.

Counseling services are designed to meet specific, measurable goals and objectives. Clinical psychologists, clinical social workers, and counseling psychologists are also invested in achieving these goals and consequently overlap with school psychologists’ roles and functions. What differentiates school psychologists from some other mental health professionals is the context of the school and the emphasis on supporting the overall educational goals of students.

That being said, the school psychologist as counselor may use a wide range of techniques, methods, and activities to further counseling goals. These may include, but are not limited to, individual and group work (using a variety of theoretical orientations and techniques); assessment to determine a need for counseling and to monitor counseling progress; consultation with parents, teachers, and other professionals; crisis prevention and intervention; and social skills training.

In general, it is important to remember that a critical difference between the practice of school psychology relative to other disciplines is that school psychologists have many legally mandated responsibilities (e.g., strict timelines, meetings, reports, etc.) that require a majority of their time. In addition, school psychologists tend to address presenting issues as they pertain to learning and being successful in the classroom; as a result, there are many specific areas of difficulty that will likely fall outside the scope of competence for an educational psychologist, thus necessitating a referral to outside specialists. For these reasons, counseling/mentoring services implemented by a school psychologist will likely bear only a partial resemblance to the practice of independent psychologists. For instance, services may only be delivered on a closed-ended schedule (e.g., once a week for six weeks), days and times may be subject to a lot of variability, or a student's needs may be significant enough to warrant conjoint counseling services with an independent practitioner (i.e., wrap around services).

Adapted from: Plotts, C., & Lasser, J. (2013). The school psychologist as counselor: A practitioner’s handbook. Bethesda, MD: National Association of School Psychologists.