Studies show that one in five children suffer from a mental health concern, such as depression or anxiety. These can lead to family crises and school disruption. Early intervention can improve mental and physical well-being, decrease family stress, and promote school success. There is a lot of overlap in services provided in school counseling and outpatient therapy, but there are several significant differences. Here’s a quick guide to help you understand the differences and what may be most effective for your child:
The primary purpose of guidance and counseling services is to foster academic, social, and emotional growth. We encourage students to better understand their relationships, make wise choices regarding social and emotional issues they must confront, begin to explore the world of work while assessing realistic options, and grow as productive, contributing members of their families, school and community.
School social workers build on the work of school counselors and meet with students individually or in a group for the purpose of helping them overcome social and emotional obstacles to school success. Meetings generally occur weekly or biweekly.
Therapists work directly with the child and caregiver. In the case of serious emotional struggles, a caregiver's response is crucial to understanding and helping the child. In-school counseling is most effective when students and families are working with outside professionals as well.
School counselors work at a systems level to support students and to help create learning environments that are safe and supportive. Focus is most often on helping students function more effectively in the classroom and with their peers. The counselor and student may work to identify and problem-solve around behaviors and feelings that are interfering with learning or school relationships.
School social workers provide counseling, rather than psychotherapy. Generally, counseling is a short-term service delivered to students in order to increase their adaptive functioning. School social workers also provide crisis counseling and assessment and work with students who have individualized education plans.
Psychotherapy outside of school can be long or short term, and can treat issues that are more serious, such as depression, suicidal ideation, and eating disorders. Therapists will hear concerns, obtain thorough histories, work directly with students, and seek to identify and alter behavior patterns in the family that may serve to reinforce unwanted behavior. Parent involvement is crucial in issues of motivation and limit-setting.
Students with diagnosed mental health disorders who are participating in outside therapy may also be supported by school-based professionals. For example, a student may see a psychotherapist for an anxiety disorder but still work with a school counselor or social worker on strategies to use in order to address academic and social issues that are impacted by anxiety symptoms.
You should seek outpatient therapy if your child is endangering themselves or others or threatening to harm themselves or others, if your child’s behavior is interfering with their daily life or the family’s functioning, if disagreements about how to handle a child’s problems put a strain on your marriage or partnership.
Communication between outside therapists, school counselors, and school social workers can be used to reinforce language used in therapy during the school day and to apply strategies developed in therapy in the school environment. School-based professionals can work with students to develop strategies to help themselves in the classroom when students are motivated, but shifts in functioning are much more likely to help the child as a whole when an outside therapist and family are involved in treatment.