My name is Mrs. Greene Kegley and I am the school counselor at Lacey Spring Elementary School.
School counselors play a vital role to service the needs of all students and strive to support students with their academic achievement, personal and social development, and career goals (American School Counseling Association, 2019). Topics and aspects that school counselors address with students are character development, feelings, self-esteem, academic success skills, career exploration, goals, manners, friendship, conflict resolution, coping skills, bullying, resilience, mindfulness, consent, hygiene, drug and alcohol use prevention, and safety. The school counselors in Rockingham County Public Schools all cover responsibility, respect, caring, fairness, trustworthiness, and citizenship.
School counselors are no longer considered "guidance counselors" and are not trained to diagnose or serve as the principle intervention for complex mental health situations. As the school counselor at LSES, I teach lessons to all of our wonderful students as well as facilitate individual and small group counseling services.
Learn more about the role of school counselors here.
Confidentiality Disclosure:
Confidentiality is an ethical term referring to counseling practices and client privacy (American School Counseling Association, 2018). Any student who has a counseling relationship with the school counselor has the right to privacy and the promise of confidentiality. However, exceptions to confidentiality do exist in order to protect the well-being of students and others. If the student grants privilege, threatens to harm themselves, threatens to harm others, or is being harmed by someone else, the school counselor has the right and responsibility to contact parent/guardians, school personnel, and/or relevant community agencies and use information obtained in counseling to protect and serve the student.