essay about counselor in school

What Is School Counseling? 14 Roles & Goals of Counselors

From trauma and learning disabilities to bullying and course selection, life can be difficult for students. A school counselor is there to help.

The basic role of a school counselor is to support students in their psychological, academic, and social development (Heled & Davidovitch, 2020; Popov & Spasenovic, 2020).

However, the breadth of school counseling is expansive. One minute, the school counselor may provide a social-emotional lesson to a first-grade class, and the next, they collaborate with the administrative team on a new school-wide behavioral intervention system.

Let’s look at this diverse role and what the ultimate aim is for all school counselors.

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This Article Contains:

What is school counseling, job description: 8 roles of a school counselor, school counselor vs school psychologist, 6 goals of a school counseling program, a word on ethical boundaries, positive education & counseling, positivepsychology.com’s tools, a take-home message.

School counseling addresses issues that may affect students’ academic performance, which includes psychosocial and behavioral challenges (Gachenia & Mwenje, 2020). School counseling services are delivered by the school counselor.

A school counselor’s role addresses students’ mental, emotional, social, and academic development (Heled & Davidovitch, 2020; Popov & Spasenovic, 2020). Schools systems in different parts of the world have varying titles for school counselors (Popov & Spasenovic, 2020):

• Australia – student or education counselor
• Bulgaria – pedagogical counselor
• Denmark – pedagogical-psychological counselor
• Russia – pedagogue-psychologist
• Croatia, North Macedonia, and Serbia – expert associate
• Malta, Slovenia, UK, USA – school counselor
• Ireland – guidance counselor

For more information on this important role in the United States, please refer to the American Counseling Association’s The Role of the School Counselor .

A 2020 study by Popov and Spasenovic showed that although the title or role of the school counselor differs somewhat, the key elements of school counseling can be summarized as:

• Supporting the psychological, academic, and social development of students
• Resolving conflicts between all actors in school life
• Helping students face personal problems
• Consulting with students, parents, teachers, and principals
• Coordinating various school activities.

These are just a few roles this multifunctional position may fill. It is important to note that the dominant functions of school counseling may also vary across countries. Let’s explore a few of these in depth.

Counselors help students identify their abilities, capacities, and interests, preventing dropout (Popov & Spasenovic, 2020).

The counselor may also act as a coordinator who advises students about their career orientation and decisions. In doing so, counselors may help students prepare for higher education and college admissions (Karunanayake, Chandrapala, & Vimukthi, 2020).

In Australia and Ireland, the role of the school counselor relies heavily on academic and career guidance and counseling (Popov & Spasenovic, 2020).

There can be many tricky situations within the school setting, and the counselor may act as an advocate who guides and negotiates by diplomatic means.

For example, a student may feel that they are being treated unfairly by their teacher. The counselor may also act as a mediator between students who have just had a physical altercation. Prevention is the focus for school counselors in Russia (Popov & Spasenovic, 2020), and a school counselor may be able to prevent unfavorable situations with pre-teaching social skills lessons and counseling.

Social skills teacher

In teaching social skills, a counselor can act as a researcher, specialist, expert, leader, and consultant (Karunanayake et al., 2020; Popov & Spasenovic, 2020).

The counselor must first seek a research-based social skills curriculum suited for their school demographic, deliver the content, and assist the general education teachers in utilizing the curriculum.

Sometimes all a student needs is a friend, and the school counselor can be there for the student in a professional capacity. With this professional friendship comes confidentiality and privacy.

Like a friend, the counselor may act as a mentor, supporter, advisor, listener, and believer.

Supporting students in their personal development and learning is the main role for school counselors in Denmark, Ireland, and the UK (Popov & Spasenovic, 2020).

Disciplinarian

In some schools, the counselor may be the frontline point person for students who misbehave. When a teacher sends a student out of the classroom, the student may be required to see the school counselor to address their behavior. The counselor may then decide on the next course of action or consult the administrators.

Counselors may also have to address attendance issues by communicating with students or parents (Karunanayake et al., 2020).

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In many cases, the school counselor may act as a school psychologist while delivering counseling sessions. School counselors may sometimes have to address student trauma or remedy situations involving bullying.

In the United Kingdom, mental healthcare is also a big focus (Popov & Spasenovic, 2020).

School counselors may also be found in the classroom. They may assist the classroom teacher, provide consultation, or deliver lessons about social skills or emotional learning.

Just as the classroom teacher prepares lessons, the school counselor must also create and deliver engaging lessons while having good classroom management skills. Formatively assessing students’ knowledge during and after the lesson helps counselors to adjust the teaching or future content.

Collaborating with school staff and supporting the school organization and the teaching/learning process are also roles of the school counselor. The counselor must create and deliver a robust research-based school counseling program using data and student needs (Dimmitt & Zyromski, 2020).

Improving the overall functioning of the school, teaching, and school work is the main focus for school counseling in Croatia, Slovenia, and Serbia (Popov & Spasenovic, 2020).

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The roles of the school counselor and school psychologist are similar in that they aim to provide all students with meaningful access to the school curriculum. The biggest differences between these two professions could be the preparation/education and licensing.

Although both roles may differ between countries, states, or school districts, here are a few of the common similarities and differences.

A school psychologist is tasked with the responsibility of helping students succeed academically, socially, and emotionally. This differs from the role of a school counselor in terms of their daily tasks and scope of support.

Regarding interventions, as an example, a school counselor may be responsible for the implementation of interventions, while the school psychologist’s duty includes administering, scoring, and interpreting psychoeducational assessments that help students qualify for specific services such as special education.

A school counselor is not licensed to perform such activities. In the United States, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act mandates that a school psychologist is required as an individualized education program (IEP) team member to interpret the instructional implications of evaluation results.

Watkins, Crosby, and Pearson (2001) found that many psychologists would prefer to administer fewer assessments and instead conduct more activities that mirror the school counselor’s role. Indeed, in addition to psychometrics, many school psychologists work with students and the school in the areas of positive behavior or conflict-resolution and bullying (National Association of School Psychologists, n.d.).

As much as a school psychologist may wish to spend more time directly with students, the school counselor will likely be providing individual, small group, class, and counseling sessions to students. In such instances, students are more likely to be referred to school psychologists only when in-depth mental health interventions are required (Wake Forest University, n.d.).

Both school psychologists and counselors may provide training to teachers to help them meet students’ diverse needs and engage with families, helping to connect them to community service providers or other crisis prevention and intervention services.

The graph below is by no means an exhaustive list, but demonstrates some of the differences and similarities between school counselors and school psychologists.

• Fulfill lives School counselors help students live more fulfilling lives by addressing problematic issues (Gachenia & Mwenje, 2020). An example of a problematic issue may be a learning disability.

In collaboration with the general education teacher, the school counselor may be able to suggest strategies, implement interventions, or start the special education referral process.

• Assist students with challenges Students face a plethora of challenges. If a student has an issue with a particular teacher, the school counselor may speak with the teacher or act as a mediator to remedy the situation.
• Adjustment School counseling programs aim to help students attain self-awareness and adjust emotionally, socially, and psychologically (Gachenia & Mwenje, 2020).

A school counselor may create a “buddy” program that pairs a returning student with a new student to make them feel welcome. Additionally, a school counselor may prepare a student for a post-high school job, technical school, or college.

• Promote a positive school life According to a study conducted by Gachenia and Mwenje (2020), 87% of the students who participated in counseling sessions felt more positive about their school life.

A counselor is there to help students through difficult situations both in and outside school.

• Generating or supporting school-wide interventions In most schools, school counselors are tasked with the responsibility to support, if not entirely create, a school-wide intervention program. Constant evaluation must also accompany this systematic change to determine if the interventions are being implemented and if they are effective (Dimmitt & Zyromski, 2020).
• Mental health and social-emotional learning School counseling addresses mental health via school-wide lessons, social-emotional learning or individual counseling sessions. Counselors may address these needs through class, group, or individual lessons and counseling sessions (Dimmitt & Zyromski, 2020).

In sum, by addressing these goals, a school counseling program aims to improve students’ academic performance and social skills (Gachenia & Mwenje, 2020).

As a school counselor, it is important to be aware of legal and ethical ramifications of your actions (Herlihy, Gray, & McCollum, 2002).

For example, imagine a student confides that they thinking about hurting themselves. They urge you to promise not to tell anyone. While you want to practice confidentiality, ethical guidelines steer you in a different direction. Here are a few important points:

• Counseling relationship First, it is essential that the school counselor avoid harm at all costs. The counselor must know their own values and beliefs and ensure that they do not result in bias (American Counseling Association, 2014). Furthermore, it is the counselor’s duty to be mindful of cultural differences that may affect the counseling relationship.
• Confidentiality It is crucial that a school counselor can create a rapport with students and earn their trust. A counselor must respect the privacy of the students and provide a safe space to divulge sensitive information; however, it is also important to follow local laws.

Duty of care must be taken into consideration, and the counselor will need to notify the appropriate authority if a student is being harmed or plans to do harm (American Counseling Association, 2014; McGinnis & Jenkins, 2006).

• Maintaining boundaries As with many relationships within the school setting, it is crucial to maintain boundaries .

A counselor must not enter a nonprofessional relationship with a student or former student (American Counseling Association, 2014). Boundary Issues in Counseling: Multiple Roles and Responsibilities by Herlihy and Corey (2014) is an extremely good book to explore many ethical situations and solutions.

How school counselors’ roles have evolved – The Boston Globe

Positive education is the combination of best-practice teaching and positive psychology. With the supreme benefits of positive psychology, it comes as no surprise that positive education and positive counseling would be just as transformational.

Uluyos and Sezgin (2021) examined the effects of positive psychology-based group counseling and found that this type of counseling reduced students’ tendency to lie.

Using the PERMA model , Martin Seligman’s intent is to educate students while fostering happiness and wellbeing.

15 Best Positive Education Books and Positive Discipline Practices is an excellent resource to learn more about the art and benefits of positive education.

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The Top 28 Counseling Books for Practitioners and Beginners is an excellent source to explore books relevant to the field of school counseling. Beginning counselors may wish to review the “Best Books for Beginners” section, and experienced school counselors would benefit by investigating the “For Counseling Children” section, which includes three excellent sources for working with students.

Considering resiliency within the classroom, a school counselor can explore Teaching Resilience in School and Fostering Resilient Learners . This comprehensive article contains 100 activities for teaching resilience and specific programs used for teaching students this important concept.

Here are a few of the many worksheets available at PositivePsychology.com that may be helpful in your school counseling practice:

• Inside and Outside helps students describe how they feel when experiencing an emotion.
• Self-Control Spotting is an interactive worksheet where students determine if an action shows self-control or a lack of self-control.
• The Self-Assessment Worksheet for Older Children contains seven questions that help students examine their strengths, favorite activities, successes, and hardships.
• Showing Responsibility is an excellent tool to explore what responsibility is and determine how to be more responsible.

If you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others enhance their wellbeing, this signature collection contains 17 validated positive psychology tools for practitioners. Use them to help others flourish and thrive.

School counseling is a multi-faceted, challenging, and rewarding position in the school system.

If you are empathetic and goal driven, enjoy working with students, and wish to help them be the best they can be in their academic career and as responsible citizens, consider a career as a school counselor.

Whether you enjoy working with students or young adults, in a classroom or in your own office, collaboratively or independently, with successful students or students with challenges, school counseling may be the profession for you.

If you encompass these qualities, you could be the one to make a positive change in a student’s life!

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Positive Psychology Exercises for free .

• American Counseling Association. (2014). ACA code of ethics . Retrieved June 20, 2021, from http://www.counseling.org/docs/ethics/2014-aca-code-of-ethics.pdf?sfvrsn=4
• Dimmitt, C., & Zyromski, B. (2020). Evidence-based school counseling: Expanding the existing paradigm. Professional School Counseling , 23 , 1–5.
• Gachenia, L., & Mwenje, M. (2020). Effectiveness of school counseling programs on academic achievement of secondary school students in Kiambu County, Kenya.  International Journal of Education, Psychology and Counselling (IJEPC) , 5 (35), 58–64. Retrieved June 21, 2021, from http://dspace.pacuniversity.ac.ke:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/2927
• Heled, E., & Davidovitch, N. (2020). An occupation in search of identity—What is school counseling? Journal of Education and Learning , 9 (5).
• Herlihy, B., & Corey, G. (2014). Boundary issues in counseling: Multiple roles and responsibilities . John Wiley & Sons.
• Herlihy, B., Gray, N., & McCollum, V. (2002). Legal and ethical issues in school counselor supervision. Professional School Counseling , 6 , 55–60.
• Karunanayake, D., Chandrapala, K. M. N. S., & Vimukthi, N. D. U. (2020). Students’ attitudes about school counseling. Asian Research Journal of Arts & Social Sciences , 12 (2), 21–31.
• McGinnis, S., & Jenkins, P. (Eds.). (2006). Good practice for guidance counselling in schools (4th ed.). British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. Retrieved June 21, 2021, from http://youthcounsellinghull.co.uk/resources/BACP%20School%20Counselling%20Good%20Practice.pdf
• National Association of School Psychologists. (n.d.). Who are school psychologists? Retrieved November 21, 2021 from https://www.nasponline.org/about-school-psychology/who-are-school-psychologists
• Popov, N., & Spasenovic, V. (2020). School counseling: A comparative study in 12 countries. Bulgarian Comparative Education Society , 18 , 34–41.
• Uluyos, M. A., & Sezgin, O. (2021). Examination of the effect of positive psychology-based group counseling on lying tendencies. Spiritual Psychology and Counseling , 6 (1), 29–46.
• Wake Forest University. (n.d.). What’s the difference: School counselor vs. school psychologist? Retrieved November 21, 2021 from https://counseling.online.wfu.edu/blog/whats-difference-school-counselor-vs-school-psychologist/
• Watkins, M. W., Crosby, E. G., & Pearson, J. L. (2001). Role of the school psychologist: Perceptions of school staff. School Psychology International , 22 (1), 64–73.

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What our readers think.

Your description of what a school psychologist does is terribly narrow. For example, many school psychologists provide direct counseling services but by putting this article out there you are perpetuating misinformation which ultimately results in confusion and students not getting the services they need.

Hi Dr. Timmons,

Thank you for your feedback — it’s helpful as we’re really committed to providing the most accurate information we can here. We’ve now revised our description about the school psychologist’s responsibilities and included more references to support this.

– Nicole | Community Manager

content was very useful

I thank the team of Positive Psychology for the work that you are doing. Every communication is very helpful in aiding the work that I am doing. As I am tasked with career guidance and workplace counselling, your tools are very useful and I just want to commend you for the good work that you are doing. Thank you

It is really an important information that guides more deeply towards the insight of counseling process. Thanking you Also I need above mentioned worksheets. That Wil be your kindness

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The Vital Role of School Counselors: Primary Guides for Student Success

School counselors play an integral role in students’ educational journey, acting as key navigators to guide them toward success. Their impact extends beyond academic achievement, touching on every aspect of a learner's personal and social development. 

Read on for a closer look at the importance of school counselors, the challenges they face, and the best practices that can empower them to fulfill their mission more effectively.

Recognizing the Critical Role of School Counselors

School counselors provide a multifaceted support system within schools, offering guidance that encompasses academic, career, and personal development. Their role is pivotal in helping students navigate the complexities of their educational journey; not to mention life outside of school . 

School counselors generally take a comprehensive approach to student support, so that every learner receives the attention and resources they need to thrive. But what exactly does a school counselor do? Their range of core responsibilities include:

• Providing personalized academic guidance to promote student outcomes.
• Offering emotional support and guidance for personal challenges.
• Assisting students with career planning and exploration.
• Supporting students through the college application process.
• Providing immediate support and intervention during crises.
• Advocating for students' needs within the school community.
• Building partnerships with community resources for student support.

What Are the Goals of Professional School Counselors?

Key goals of school counselors extend beyond academic achievement to include fostering social-emotional learning, promoting mental health, and preparing students for post-secondary options. Let’s take a closer look at the objectives of counselors today:

• Promoting Academic Success: Ensuring that all students achieve their academic potential by providing guidance and support tailored to their individual needs.
• Supporting Social and Emotional Well-being: Fostering a positive school climate where students feel emotionally supported and equipped with coping skills to navigate personal challenges effectively.
• Facilitating Career Planning: Assisting students in exploring their interests, strengths, and career options, and guiding educational pathways and career opportunities.
• Ensuring College and Career Readiness: Helping students navigate the college application process, providing information on admissions requirements, scholarships, and financial aid. That way, current students feel fully prepared for post-secondary education or vocational pursuits.
• Providing Crisis Intervention and Support: Prepared to respond to crises and offer immediate support and intervention to students experiencing personal, academic, or emotional crises.

School counselors are invaluable to educational institutions, creating an environment where students can thrive academically. At the same time, they help learners develop the interpersonal skills necessary for life beyond school.  

The Challenges of School Counselors in Promoting Student Success

Unfortunately, middle and high school counselors face several challenges in their efforts to effectively support students. These include:

A Nationwide Shortage of School Counselors

Schools across the country are grappling with a persistent shortage of school counselors, which greatly impacts their ability to offer personalized attention and support. The American School Counselor Association suggests a ratio of 250 students per counselor; however, the national average stands at 385-to-1 . Additionally, the Department of Education reports that 17% of high schools lack a school counselor altogether, leaving approximately 653,700 high school students without this essential support. This challenge is even more pronounced in resource-limited schools, where counselors frequently assume extra duties — further limiting their ability to adequately address all student needs.

Rising Mental Health Needs

Mental health challenges among students have become increasingly more prevalent, demanding more of school counselors' time and expertise. The National Center for Education Statistics reveals that 69% of public schools reported an increase in the percentage of their students seeking mental health services at school in recent years. Moreover, 76% of schools also reported an uptick in staff voicing concerns about their students exhibiting symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and trauma. 

The rise of technology and social media has only introduced new dimensions to these challenges, affecting students' social skills, self-esteem, and overall well-being. School counselors are at the forefront of addressing these issues, requiring them to stay informed about the latest trends and interventions in mental health support.

Navigating Legal Requirements

Counselors must balance confidentiality with the need to report certain issues, all while adhering to professional standards and legal requirements. This includes complying with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act , anti-discrimination laws, and more. Such a delicate balance requires a deep understanding of ethical guidelines and a commitment to student welfare.

Resource Limitations 

The impact of resource limitations extends beyond staffing issues, affecting the availability of funds, programs, and interventions that can support student success. School counselors often have to be creative in leveraging existing resources and advocating for additional support to meet the diverse needs of their students.

5 Best Practices for Empowering School Counselors’ Goals

Schools can consider the following strategies to support school counselors in their vital role: 

1. Foster a Positive School Culture

Encouraging collaboration among school staff and fostering a community that values mental health and academic support can significantly enhance the effectiveness of school counselors. Consider organizing regular meetings or workshops where these professionals can share their expertise and collaborate with teachers and administrators. And be sure to recognize counselors' contributions through school-wide announcements, appreciation events, or awards to underscore their importance in the school community. This creates an environment where everyone can recognize that counselors are integral to student success and support their contributions.

2. Advocate for Resources

Advocating for resources might include securing funding for additional staff, training, and materials that enable counselors to implement effective programs. To do this, schools can:

• Work with school administrators, parent-teacher associations, and community stakeholders to raise awareness of the importance of comprehensive school counseling programs. 
• Present data and success stories demonstrating the impact of counseling services on student outcomes to garner support for increased resources.

School counseling programs, endorsed by the American School Counselor Association, provide a framework for delivering a balanced approach to academic, career, and personal/social development. Schools that invest in these programs demonstrate a commitment to the holistic development of their students.

3. Provide Ongoing Training Opportunities

Continuous training opportunities allow counselors to stay current with best practices in all aspects of counseling, mental health, and educational technology. consider hosting professional development workshops, webinars, or conferences focusing on topics relevant to counselors' roles and responsibilities. Leveraging technology can streamline administrative tasks , facilitate communication with students and parents, and provide access to a wider range of resources and interventions. This is key to enhancing the efficiency and impact of school counselors in the long run. 

4. Establish Peer Support Networks

Peer support networks provide a platform for counselors to share experiences, strategies, and resources — fostering a sense of community and collaboration. You might facilitate regular meetings or online forums where counselors can discuss challenges or seek advice. Or, encourage senior counselors to mentor newer colleagues. Through peer support, this educational leadership can find encouragement and innovative ideas to enhance their practice and better serve students.

5. Work With Trusted Partners

Collaborate with trusted partners, like Education Advanced, to enhance school counseling efforts. Explore tools and solutions such as Pathways that support counselors in managing caseloads, tracking student progress, and implementing interventions. It also helps to establish partnerships with community organizations, mental health professionals, and local agencies to expand the support network available to counselors and ensure holistic student care. Be sure to regularly evaluate and adjust your partnerships based on the evolving needs of students and the school community.

The Transformative Impact of Improved Processes in School Counseling

Implementing best practices in school counseling can lead to significant improvements in student support and outcomes. By adopting a comprehensive approach to counseling, schools can ensure that students receive the guidance they need to navigate academic challenges, explore colleges and career paths , and develop essential interpersonal skills.

Enhanced processes in school counseling also contribute to a positive school climate where students feel valued, understood, and supported. And a strong counseling program helps build a sense of community and belonging among students. This can reduce incidents of bullying and improve overall student satisfaction. Furthermore, professional networks established among school counselors can lead to shared strategies and resources, amplifying the impact of counseling services across the board.

It’s important to note that continuous learning and awareness of current trends in education and mental health are critical for counselors. As students’ needs evolve, so must the approaches taken by guidance counselors. Staying informed about new research, technologies, and methodologies ensures that these professionals can effectively address the diverse needs of students and contribute to a culture of ongoing improvement.

Partner With Education Advanced for Enhanced School Counseling

As key navigators of student achievement and well-being, school counselors’ contributions are essential to creating a supportive and inclusive educational environment. To further empower school counselors and enhance their ability to meet student needs, partnering with organizations like Education Advanced can provide valuable support and resources.

Education Advanced offers a suite of solutions specifically designed to support the goals of school counselors. Tools like Pathways help these school leaders more efficiently manage their caseloads, track student progress, and implement effective interventions. By leveraging the resources, schools can ensure that their counselors have the support they need to make a meaningful difference in the lives of their students.

Explore the full capabilities of Pathways from Education Advanced or contact us to get started today. 

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Why I Became a School Counselor

Jennifer diaz, ed.s., lpc is a school counselor at white oak elementary school in buford, georgia and a finalist for the american school counseling association’s 2015 school counselor of the year..

With all the focus on college and career readiness that our educational world is feeling, I consider myself lucky.  In fact, I’ve always considered myself lucky to have had a direction from a young age.  When I talk to my students about preparing for their future career, I like to tell them that I once wanted to be a volcanologist.  You see, when I was about eight years old I saw a picture on the cover of a National Geographic Magazine of a man with a silver suit walking around hot lava scooping it up to conduct tests on it.  I thought that was the coolest job ever!  I loved learning about volcanoes and loved the excitement.  When thinking about career development, at that age it’s all about exposure to the world of work and possibilities.  Then you get older and figure out what you like AND what you’re good at.  Then, you have to really go for it.  Make a decision about your direction and shoot for the moon.

As I grew up, I knew in my heart that I wanted to work with children that needed help.  After getting my bachelors degree in psychology, I knew I had to continue on into graduate school if I ever hoped to get a job that actually paid a salary enabling me to support myself.  Trying to figure out which graduate degree would be worth the student loans, someone suggested school counseling.  When I looked into it, I was struck with the light bulb moment of ‘This is It!’.  One of the coolest things about school counselors is that we work with all students in the areas of academic success, career development, AND in the personal/social realm.  We work in intervention and prevention .  So, I get to do what I’ve always wanted by helping kids that are going through rough times.  But I also help children develop resiliency skills so that they are better prepared when they hit those rough times.

I love what I do and truly believe it is the best job in the world… for me.  What I wish for so many young people (and lots of older ones too) is that they find something they are passionate about and that makes them want to work for it with the belief that they can achieve it.

This is the best  prevention and intervention tool for all sorts of risk factors.

Children in poverty that see a way out work harder in school to make their dreams come true.  Children faced with peer pressure to drink or do drugs will back away if they know it will affect their chances of pursuing those dreams.  As a parent, I am working hard to expose my children to a vast array of possibilities and tell them every day that they can do whatever they set their minds to.  As a school counselor, I get to do the same thing for hundreds of children.  Help them develop belief in their ability, emphasize the importance of hard work and education and help them to set goals for their future.  This is what school counselors get to do for our students and that is why I love my job so very much.

*The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility or any Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility member.*

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Why Is Counseling Important in Schools?

Counseling can be very important in many schools—it can help provide important information and perspective to students who might not be able to get it otherwise. Students can go to professional counselors to seek advice. The goal of every session with the school counselor is to help student’s thrive and recognize their strengths, as well as improve their interpersonal relationships. 1

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The Counselor’s Role

One of the major components of a counselor's role is accountability. Why are school counselors important? Professional school counselors are often responsible for analyzing data on their own effectiveness and adjusting their techniques to maximize their value to students. As a result, the role of the counselor can be ever-changing and depends on a variety of factors at work within the school. 2

Addressing the Challenges of Bullying in Schools

One of the most important recent changes to the school counselor’s role is dealing with new forms of bullying, especially cyberbullying that often has an effect on mental health conditions. Students of younger and younger ages are using technology for communication and socializing, and by doing so, may be putting themselves at risk for a type of bullying that is difficult to deal with for both student and mental health counselor. So why is counseling important? A school counselor, or any licensed professional counselor, must always work to be aware of new social issues that are constantly arising between students and provide a counseling session or therapy when a mental health issue surfaces.

Nurturing Emotional Well-being and Social Development

In recent years, the scope of school counseling services have grown to emphasize social-emotional support. This shift reflects a deeper understanding that students' emotional and social well-being is as crucial as their academic performance. School guidance counselors teach good social skills, and provide clinical mental health counseling and behavioral interventions. They ensure that their school setting is a safe space for all learners.

Fostering Academic Performance and Equity

School counselors matter when it comes to academic success particularly in marginalized communities. Research shows that comprehensive counseling programs are connected to student achievement, especially in schools serving high-poverty areas. Professional school counseling isn't only about giving career guidance and emotional support, but also helping students overcome personal and systemic barriers that hinder their academic achievement.

Data-Driven Advocacy

A modern guidance counselor adopts a data-driven approach to advocacy. The school psychologist analyzes factors affecting student success, such as socioeconomic conditions, family dynamics, and learning differences. By leveraging this data, counselors can develop targeted strategies and interventions that can make a meaningful impact on students' academic and personal lives.

Student Needs and Accessibility

Counseling in schools should also be readily available to offer guidance to students at crucial turning points in their lives. Whether these professional counselors have a masters or a doctorate in school psychology , work in elementary, middle, or high schools, they should strive to be there for students who are going through a difficult time, struggling with mental illness, or just need advice and support. A few words from a helpful counselor can profoundly impact a student’s life by improving their outlook on school, family, and the future, and this, along with the responsibilities outlined above, form the key tenets of a modern school counselor’s role.

Despite the recognized importance of counseling in schools, many institutions face significant barriers in providing comprehensive school counseling services. These challenges often stem from limited funding, staffing shortages, and infrastructural constraints. This disparity in resources means that not all students have equal access to the support they need. Putting strong emphasis on the importance of counseling in schools can drive policy changes and resource allocation to bridge this gap.

Become a School Counselor

Effects of Quality Counseling in Schools

One of the biggest benefits of guidance and counseling in schools from a well-trained and effective school counselor is in the way they may be able to help prepare students for academic, career, and social challenges through relating their academic success with the potential success of their future lives. 

Student achievement significantly affects professional development and so they should strive to:

• surpass a mental health problem, help motivate students to learn and explore the world around them to help figure out what they want to do with their lives
• encourage their students to have these types of conversations with their parents and peers, as well as being a sympathetic ear for the same students to come to 
• have the ability to facilitate more intimate or group counselling sessions as well.

School counselors may also:

• provide support to teachers by serving an important part of the complete team that addresses the educational goals and needs of their students. 
• help plan classroom and group activities that meet the students’ needs. 

Counselors gather and share resources with teachers to help the staff develop their skills in classroom management and teaching effectiveness. They also may be able to help observe students in the classroom or playground and provide teachers assistance with their roles as guides.

Other than mental health  and counseling services for student support, professional school counselors can be an integral part of school administration. They initiate counseling programs. They ensure that the comprehensive school counseling program and academic mission are in line and promote student success. Counselors also quite often develop a system to manage the program and help the administration use counselors effectively to augment student development and learning. Additionally, they provide useful data from the comprehensive school counseling program for funding and grant application purposes. 3

A good school counselor can and will help the school run smoothly and effectively, but with the light and distanced touch that can often lead others to wonder what effect they have even had on their education, if any. And, like in many professions, while the accolade of one’s work may, sadly, not be there, it does not mean that there was no effect.

If school counseling or the counseling profession seems like it could be the right future career for you, look into the School Counseling with Pupil Personnel Services (PPS) Credential , offered both with and without a Master’s degree, at the California School of Education at Alliant International University. To learn more, contact an Alliant Admission Counselor today at 1-866-825-5426.

Apply Today

1 “The California Standards - Schoolcounselor-Ca.org,” The California Standards for the School Counseling Profession , accessed November 3, 2021, https://www.schoolcounselor-ca.org/files/CSSCP%20-%20Electronic%20Versi… .

2 “The Role of the School Counselor,” The Role of the School Counselor , accessed November 3, 2021, https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/ee8b2e1b-d021-4575-982c-c84402…

3 “School Counselor Roles & Ratios,” School Counselor Roles & Ratios - American School Counselor Association (ASCA), accessed November 3, 2021, https://www.schoolcounselor.org/About-School-Counseling/School-Counselo… .

• “The California Standards - Schoolcounselor-Ca.org.” The California Standards for the School Counseling Profession . Accessed November 3, 2021. https://www.schoolcounselor-ca.org/files/CSSCP%20-%20Electronic%20Versi… ;
• “The Role of the School Counselor.” The Role of the School Counselor . Accessed November 3, 2021. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/ee8b2e1b-d021-4575-982c-c84402… ;
• “School Counselor Roles & Ratios.” School Counselor Roles & Ratios - American School Counselor Association (ASCA). Accessed November 3, 2021. https://www.schoolcounselor.org/About-School-Counseling/School-Counselo… .

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School Counselor Essays

Essay on counselling skills, theories of counseling and techniques as a school counselor, popular essay topics.

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The School Counselor and Student Mental Health

(Adopted 2009, Revised 2015, 2020)

ASCA Position

The rationale, the school counselor's role.

• Deliver instruction that proactively enhances awareness of mental health; promotes positive, healthy behaviors; and seeks to remove the stigma associated with mental health issues
• Provide students with appraisal and advisement addressing their academic, career and social/emotional needs
• changes in school performance and attendance
• mood changes
• complaints of illness before school
• increased disciplinary problems at school
• problems at home or with the family situation (e.g., stress, trauma, divorce, substance abuse, exposure to poverty conditions, domestic violence) 
• communication from teachers about problems at school
• dealing with existing mental health concerns
• Provide short-term counseling and crisis intervention focused on mental health or situational concerns such as grief or difficult transitions
• Provide referrals to school and community resources that treat mental health issues (suicidal ideation, violence, abuse and depression) with the intent of removing barriers to learning and helping the student return to the classroom
• Educate teachers, administrators, families and community stakeholders about the mental health concerns of students, including recognition of the role environmental factors have in causing or exacerbating mental health issues, and provide resources and information
• Advocate, collaborate and coordinate with school and community stakeholders to meet the needs of the whole child and to ensure students and their families have access to mental health services
• Recognize and address barriers to accessing mental health services and the associated stigma, including cultural beliefs and linguistic impediments
• Adhere to appropriate guidelines regarding confidentiality, the distinction between public and private information and consultation
• ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors
• ASCA Professional Standards & Competencies for School Counselors
• National, state and local legislation, which guides school counselors’ informed decision-making and standardizes professional practice to protect both the student and school counselor
• Seek to continually update their professional knowledge regarding the students’ social/emotional needs, including best practices in universal screening for mental health risk
• Advocate for ethical use of valid and reliable universal screening instruments with concerns for cultural sensitivity and bias if state legislation or school board policy requires universal screening programs for mental health risk factors (ASCA, 2022)

Home — Essay Samples — Psychology — Counseling — Theories of Counseling and Techniques as a School Counselor

Theories of Counseling and Techniques as a School Counselor

• Categories: Counseling

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Published: Jan 30, 2024

Words: 731 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

Table of contents

Theories of counseling in school counseling, techniques used in school counseling, integration of theories and techniques in school counseling practice.

• https://www.apa.org/education/graduate/school-counseling
• https://www.schoolcounselor.org/school-counselors-members/career-development-program-resources/helpful-articles/counseling-techniques
• https://www.edutopia.org/article/techniques-and-methods-additional-approaches-school-counseling

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Someone to talk to: Evaluation of Counselling in Schools

• Counselling

Students’ mental health is strongly linked to their engagement, achievement, and school attendance. Counselling in Schools is an initiative which began in 2021 with the aim of providing evidence-based counselling support in primary, intermediate, and small secondary schools, to help young people thrive at school.   The Education Review Office looked at the effectiveness of Counselling in Schools, how well it reached the students it is targeted at, the impact it had, and some lessons for counselling programmes in the future. We found that counselling improves students’ mental health, and we also saw some encouraging signs of improved learning and wellbeing more widely. 

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Someone to talk to: Evaluation of Counselling in Schools - Summary

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Technical report: Evaluation of Counselling in Schools

Read online, all sections, executive summary, about this report, chapter 1: how is counselling in schools being delivered, chapter 2: is counselling in schools reaching the children who need it, chapter 3: what is the impact of counselling in schools on students' mental health, chapter 4: what is the impact of counselling in school on students' attendance, learning and engagement, chapter 5: what have we learnt, endnotes and references.

Students’ mental health is strongly linked to their engagement, achievement, and school attendance. Counselling in Schools is an initiative which began in 2021 with the aim of providing evidence-based counselling support in primary, intermediate, and small secondary schools, to help young people thrive at school.  

The Education Review Office looked at the effectiveness of Counselling in Schools, how well it reached the students it is targeted at, the impact it had, and some lessons for counselling programmes in the future. We found that counselling improves students’ mental health, and we also saw some encouraging signs of improved learning and wellbeing more widely.  

What is Counselling in Schools?  

The Counselling in Schools - Awhi Mai Awhi Atu programme (Counselling in Schools) was rolled out in primary, intermediate, and some small secondary schools. It’s available in selected schools in many regions, with a particular focus on schools with the greatest need.    

Counselling in Schools involves working with community providers to develop a counselling approach that meets the needs of each school. Counselling within the programme involves a mix of individual, parent and whānau, group, and whole school sessions. The aim is to improve mental health for children and young people with mild to moderate needs, in an accessible setting – and for students who need a higher level of support, referrals are made to other services.  

The Education Review Office (ERO) wanted to understand how effective Counselling in Schools has been. We evaluated it over three years. We were especially interested in:  

• how well it reached the students it is targeted at  
• the impact it had on students  
• lessons we can learn for implementing counselling programmes in the future.  

Key findings

Finding 1: Mental health needs for children and young people are rising, and it is impacting on their learning outcomes.  

Worryingly, emotional distress among children is increasing. For children aged 14 or younger, it is estimated to have increased from 9 percent in 2016/17 to 13 percent in 2022/23. The ongoing impacts of C ovid -19 are a likely driver.   

As well as being concerning for children’s wellbeing, this also matters for their school achievement. Increased emotional distress and mental health needs have been found to significantly impact learning outcomes.  

How effective was the implementation of Counselling in Schools?    

Finding 2: The Counselling in Schools programme has evolved to be a mix of models that delivers mental health and social support to students.

Counselling in Schools offers a variety of types of counselling for students who need support. These are made available on the school site.  

• 77 percent of Counselling in Schools sessions are individual sessions.   
• 14 percent are group sessions.  
• 1 percent are whole school sessions.   

In schools, most referrals are made by teachers. Three in 10 of the programme’s counsellors have a counselling accreditation, six in 10 have some other accreditation (e.g., as occupational therapists), and the rest have no accreditation. Nine out of 10 Counselling in Schools counsellors are supervised by a registered counsellor. We know from international evidence that accreditation matters. A large-scale analysis of 107 studies shows that being a licensed counselling professional does make a difference to the quality of counselling – although there were benefits noted from non-licensed counsellors too. In our study, we heard that it was important to match the type of counsellor to the specific needs of the school.   

How well did the programme reach the target students?    

Finding 3: The programme successfully reaches primary school students in low socio economic areas who are in psychological distress. It reaches some groups who do not typically access counselling, such as Māori students and boys, but reaches lower numbers of Asian, Pacific, and MELAA students.  

Encouragingly, the programme is reaching the students who most need support. Eight out of 10 schools where students can access Counselling in Schools are in low socio-economic areas, reflecting the programme’s aim to reach schools with higher need.  

Individual students are referred to counselling for a range of reasons, including behaviour (24 percent), anxiety, stress, or trauma (16 percent), and relationships (15 percent). Seven in 10 (71 percent) students entering counselling are identified as being in distress, meaning that their pre-test mental health score represents the level of distress that is typical of those entering therapeutic services.  

Māori students make up 60 percent of students receiving counselling. The proportion of Māori and NZ European/Pākehā students that access counselling is the same or higher than the school roll. But Pacific (8 percent), Asian (2 percent), and MELAA (1 percent) (Middle Eastern, Latin American, African) students are under-represented. This could mean that different approaches are needed to make sure that students of these ethnicities are being supported with mental health needs.  

More boys access Counselling in Schools (55 percent) than girls (45 percent). This could be because school staff usually refer students for observable issues like behaviour (the most common referral reason), and boys are twice as likely to be referred for behaviour compared to girls.  

Finding 4: The programme may not be reaching students who do not show signs of distress.  

Three-quarters of referrals to counsellors are made by school staff, and one-quarter of students are referred due to their behaviour. Students are also referred for a wide range of other reasons, including grief and anxiety. ERO found that students with more hidden signs of distress are less likely to receive support, as it is harder for teachers to observe their distress.  

What was the impact on students?   

Finding 5: Counselling in Schools successfully reduces psychological distress for students, particularly for students who have more severe distress, and these improvements are sustained.  

Encouragingly, eight in 10 students (80 percent) report improved psychological health after receiving counselling, and students with the most psychological distress have the largest improvement. Of the 71 percent of students who entered counselling reaching the clinical cutoff for distress, almost half no longer reach the cut-off for psychological distress at the end of counselling. This is a very positive outcome.  

The greatest improvement is for students who experience the most severe distress before starting counselling. Ninety percent of those with the highest severity of mental health distress at the start improve.  

This improvement lasts. Ninety-one percent of teachers and 98 percent of parents and whānau report students’ mental health improves following counselling. Four in five teachers (80 percent) report the improvements are still evident after six months, and three-quarters (74 percent) of parents and whānau say their child continues to show the improvements to mental health that they gained through counselling.  

Finding 6: Counselling in Schools also shows signs of improving students’ attendance, engagement, and learning progress.  

N ationally, learning progress is not consistently measured. In primary schools h owever, in our study, teachers report there are improvements in learning progress for over half of students who receive Counselling in Schools support. This was measured using the Learning Engagement Measurement Tool (LEMT), which is a rating-scale assessment designed by ERO to measure individual shifts in learning engagement. The tool looks at presence (attendance), participation (in learning and with others), and learning gains (achievement and progress). For more information about the LEMT, see our technical report: https://www.evidence.ero.govt.nz/documents/techinical-report-evaluation-of-counselling-in-schools . Eight out of 10 students, and nine out of 10 parents and whānau agreed that counselling improves students’ learning progress.

Teachers also report improvement in attendance for four in 10 students who attended counselling. Overall, seven out of 10 teachers (68 percent), eight out of 10 students (84 percent), and nine out of 10 parents and whānau agree that the Counselling in Schools programme improves students’ attendance (91 percent).  

These improvements are sustained over time, reflecting sustained improvements to mental health. For example, six out of 10 parents and whānau (61 percent) say better attendance is sustained even after their child finishes counselling.  

Finding 7: Students who entered counselling with the highest mental health needs are also most likely to see improvements in attendance and in their learning progress.  

Students with the highest mental health scores had the biggest improvements to their attendance after counselling (61 percent ) , compared to 35 percent of other students with the lowest mental health scores. Mental health concerns are one of the biggest individual drivers of whether a student attends school regularly or not.   

Students with the highest mental health needs are also more likely to see improvements in their learning. Two in three students (67 percent) with the highest mental health needs on the counselling pre-test saw improvements in learning progress from pre- to post-counselling, compared to 56 percent of students with the lowest mental health needs.  

Finding 8: Teachers report that Counselling in Schools improves overall classroom behaviour.  

Classroom behaviour is a major problem in Aotearoa New Zealand. Students, teachers, and parents and whānau all report that Counselling in Schools leads to improvements in students’ emotional regulation and behaviour. Three in four teachers (76 percent) also report improvements in wider classroom behaviour due to counselling.  

Students told us they learn strategies to manage their emotions, such as ways to keep themselves calm, express their emotions effectively, and navigate relationships. Teachers also told us that the counsellors provide them with strategies and tools to use with students to improve their behaviour.  

What have we learnt from the Counselling in Schools programme?  

Our evaluation highlights some key lessons for programmes that support primary-aged students’ mental health.  

Lesson 1: Investing in psychological support in primary schools can reduce distress and improve learning, attendance, and behaviour outcomes.

The findings of our evaluation show a range of strongly positive outcomes from the Counselling in Schools programme. Students who receive support show significant gains in their psychological health, and this has a lasting, positive impact. Those students with high levels of distress show the most improvement – meaning that the programme is having success in its aim to impact those students who need it most. It’s also encouraging that we saw improvements in students’ attendance, behaviour, and learning progress. Taken together, our findings support investment in mental health support in schools for young students.  

Lesson 2: Counselling in primary schools works best when on the school site, and when students receive more than three hours of support.

Students, teachers, and parents and whānau, all report that having counsellors on-site means better access, particularly for those in remote areas, and improves the uptake of counselling.  

It is also important to provide a significant amount of counselling. Students who receive at least three hours of counselling are more likely to show improved mental health, learning, and engagement outcomes.   

Lesson 3: Having multiple referral pathways by teachers, students, and parents and whānau, is potentially important in order to capture students who do not exhibit obvious signs of distress. 

Three in four (75 percent) students are referred to counselling by school staff. The next most common referral pathways are through parents and whānau (14 percent) and self-referrals (4 percent). We heard that teachers are more likely to pick up observable issues such as behaviour, leading to the high referral rates for behaviour (24 percent of all referrals), than less observable issues such as grief.    

A range of ways that students can be referred for counselling is important to help ensure that less observable issues are picked up. This relies on strong relationships between the school and students or parents and whānau, so that they have the information they need to self-refer or refer their children.   

Lesson 4: The programme is promising but we need to understand more about which elements are key to success to be sure it can be effectively replicated in a wider range of schools.

Counselling in Schools is a promising programme. Positive impacts on mental health are equal to, or better than, other national and international school-based counselling programmes.   

However, Counselling in Schools is currently delivered in different ways. ERO recommends there to be more development of the programme specifications to understand both value for money , and what elements are key to success, and therefore essential in order to replicate its success in a larger variety of schools. 

Student mental health is strongly linked to engagement, achievement, and school attendance. Counselling in Schools - Awhi Mai, Awhi Atu is an initiative which began in 2021 with the aim of providing evidence-based counselling support. The programme was designed to enable flexibility in providing different approaches for counselling in primary and intermediate schools   

This report looks at the Counselling in Schools initiative, including access to the programme, the mental health and learning and engagement outcomes for students, and the lessons learnt for implementation. 

Mental health needs for children and young people are rising, and it is impacting on their learning outcomes.   

Mental health for young people is getting worse. The most recent New Zealand health survey showed that significant emotional problems among 3 to 14-year-olds are increasing, from 9 percent in 2016/17 to 13 percent or 111,000 children in 2022/23. The ongoing impacts of C ovid -19 are a likely driver.  

Poor mental health in children impacts their educational outcomes. Good mental health is needed to enable learning and educational progress. It helps with paying attention in class and managing challenges at school. Poorer mental health effects attendance and engagement and it can lead to lower educational attainment and leaving school earlier.   

The Education Review Office ’s  (ERO) report ‘Missing out’  on school attendance found that 46 percent of parents were likely to keep their children out of school if they have mental health challenges.  

Counselling in Schools   

Counselling in Schools was introduced to improve mental health outcomes for students at primary, intermediate and in some small secondary schools. It was established to improve mental health for children and young people, with mild to moderate needs, in an accessible setting on school grounds.   

Counselling in Schools is available in most regions, with a particular focus on schools with the greatest need. Those schools then work with community providers to develop a counselling approach that works for their school environment and based on the needs of the school. ‘Counselling’ is used broadly, with a mixture of individual, family, group and whole-school sessions. For students who need a higher level of support, referrals are made to other services.  

Why we looked at Counselling in Schools  

ERO is responsible for reviewing and reporting on the performance of early learning services, schools, and kura. As part of this role, ERO looks at how the education system supports schools to provide quality education for Aotearoa New Zealand’s students.   

ERO’s report on the impact of C ovid -19 identified an increasing impact on student mental health , which then impacted on their education. It is important to understand how to effectively support these students, so ERO has evaluated Counselling in Schools to build the evidence base.  

This report describes what we found about Counselling in Schools initiative over its three years of operation. We highlight the experiences of students who access counselling through the initiative, counsellors and providers involved, teachers and school staff who refer and have students accessing the initiative, and the parents and whānau of students receiving counselling.   

This report is accompanied by a detailed technical report that provides more information on what we found, the data we draw on and how we conducted our evaluation.   

What we looked at  

ERO has conducted a three-phase evaluation over three years (Term 4 2021-Term 2 2024), and all three phases have informed this report. Phase One gave an early update on access to the initiative and implementation lessons. Phase Two provided another update on access and implementation of the initiative and early findings into the impacts on students’ mental health and learning and engagement. In Phase Three we looked at three key questions:  

• What was the impact of the initiative on students’ wellbeing/hauora; students’ engagement and learning; and classroom behaviour?  
• To what extent did the initiative increase access to counselling for primary school students? For whom? Was access equitable?  
• What are some lessons learnt about implementation of this initiative?  

The earlier reports can be found here:  

• Phase 1 findings https://ero.govt.nz/sites/default/files/media-documents/2022-07/CiS%20summary%20of%20findings%20for%20proactive%20release.PDF  
• Phase 2 findings https://ero.govt.nz/sites/default/files/media-documents/2023-06/Summary%20of%20Findings%20-%20slides.pdf  

Where we looked  

This report looks at the Counselling in Schools initiative within primary and intermediate schools (while the programme does operate in a small number of secondary schools, we excluded this data from our evaluation).   

In this report, we use the term counsellors to refer to the practitioners who are contracted by community-based providers to schools as part of the Counselling in Schools initiative. Counselling practitioners include both practitioners who are registered with a professional body, and those who are not registered but working under the supervision of a registered counselling practitioner.

How we gathered this information  

Across each phase of the evaluation, we gathered information through:  

Report structure  

This report is divided into five chapters.  

• Chapter one describes how Counselling in Schools is being delivered in schools  
• Chapter two considers whether Counselling in School s is reaching those students who need it  
• Chapter three looks at the impact of Counselling in Schools on students ’ mental health  
• Chapter four looks at the impact of Counselling in Schools on students ’ attendance, learning and engagement  
• Chapter five looks at the lessons learnt from the evaluation of Counselling in Schools.  

Counselling in Schools has grown over time, with more providers and schools participating year on year. The programme combines several models to deliver mental health and social support to students. The number of hours received, and the accreditation of counsellors can vary from school to school.

What we did  

In this chapter, we look at the different ways Counselling in Schools is delivered in schools.  

This section sets out:  

• W here Counselling in Schools is being delivered  
• T he delivery models that are used as part of Counselling in Schools  
• T he referral pathways that are used  
• W ho is delivering counselling.    

What we found: An overview  

Counselling in Schools has grown year on year, both in the number of providers and schools participating. In 2022, there were 141 participating schools and nine providers, in 2023 there were 215 schools and 42 providers, and in 2024 there are 243 schools and 44 providers.  

The Counselling in Schools programme is a mix of models that delivers mental health and social support to students. Individual sessions make up three out of four sessions (77 percent). Fourteen percent are group sessions, and 1 percent are all of school sessions. The remainder is made up of whānau sessions (5 percent) and class sessions (3 percent).  

Most schools use staff referral as their primary or only referral pathway. Three in four students (75 percent) are referred to counselling by teachers or school staff, the next most common referrer is whānau (14 percent), followed by self-referrals (4 percent).  

Only three in 10 counsellors have a counselling accreditation, but nine in 10 counsellors have an accreditation. Three in 10 counsellors have a counselling accreditation, six in 10 have some other accreditation, and 15 percent have no accreditation.  

1. Where is Counselling in Schools being delivered?  

The Counselling in Schools programme is a mix of models that delivers mental health and social support to students.  

Counselling in Schools has increased year on year, both the number of providers and schools participating. In 2022, there were 141 participating schools and nine providers, in 2023 there were 215 schools and 42 providers, and in 2024 there are 243 schools and 44 providers.  

Figure 1: Number of providers and schools over time 

Primary schools make up the majority of schools participating in the initiative (85 percent). Secondary schools make up 8 percent of the participating schools, whilst intermediate s make up 7 percent (some intermediate aged students in Y ear s 7-8 are in primary and secondary schools).   

Figure 2: Participating schools by type

Almost all (97 percent) of schools participating in Counselling in Schools are state schools, and the remaining three percent are state integrated schools.   

This evaluation looks at the impact on primary and intermediate students. From this point forward, the analysis focuses on primary and intermediate school-aged students (Years 1–8), to fit the scope of the evaluation and allow comparisons. See technical report for further detail: https://www.evidence.ero.govt.nz/documents/technical-report-evaluation-of-counselling-in-schools

Counselling in Schools has been piloted in many regions but not all. Counselling in Schools has the most coverage in Hawkes Bay/Gisborne (48 percent of schools in that region) and Northland (28 percent of schools in that region). Counselling in Schools does not operate in Bay of Plenty or Nelson/Marlborough/West Coast and is only in three schools in the Auckland region. Regions without Counselling in Schools may access counsellors through Mana Ake (where available) or private providers , although this is not always possible due to financial or capacity limitations.  

Most schools participating in Counselling in Schools are in low socioeconomic areas. Eight in 10 participating schools (78 percent) are schools in low socioeconomic areas. Just 1 percent are schools in high socioeconomic areas.   

Figure 3: Schools participating in Counselling in Schools by socioeconomic area  

Schools were selected in order to meet the needs of children most impacted by Covid-19 impacts and socioeconomic disadvantage. The decisions were made based on the Equity Index , as it helps to determine the number of students who are disadvantaged in each school, as well as other existing supports schools have in their community.  

2. What delivery models are being used as part of Counselling in Schools?

We asked schools and providers about the different ways that counselling is delivered. We were interested in which models of referral and delivery work well, as well as challenges and barriers.     

Different providers offer different types of sessions. These differ in both session type, and the number of sessions, with some providers limiting the number of sessions to six, whilst others deliver based on need and may reach a high number of hours with students who have the greatest need.  

Individual sessions are the most common type of session offered by the Counselling in Schools programme, making up three in four sessions (77 percent). Individual sessions are one on one sessions with a student and a counsellor. Individual sessions are designed to allow students to develop a trusting relationship with a counsellor, talk in a safe environment, and maintain confidentiality whilst addressing issues specific to the student.   

There are different types of group sessions offered, depending on the provider and the intention of the counselling. The most common is small group sessions (10 percent), involving between two and seven students. Large group sessions (4 percent) are sessions with groups of eight or more students. Group sessions are often used for lower-level needs of large groups or as appropriate for specific purposes (e.g., forming friendships, teaching accountability). Class sessions ( 3 percent) and whole school sessions ( 1 percent) are also used by some providers, although these do not happen often.   

Whānau sessions are the third most common, making up 5 percent of all sessions. Whānau sessions are often used when working with parents and whānau is necessary to further understanding the case of the child, or when there is a need to create a trauma-informed response to support the child at home. These sessions usually involve whānau members coming into the school to meet with the counsellor and the student together. Based on Ministry of Education feedback, we understand that some whānau sessions occur as part of ‘individual sessions’ depending on the provider.  

Figure 4: Session types  

“Sometimes I am scared to talk at the start but by end I am having a really good conversation.” ( Student )  

“[The counsellor] also organises a girls group whom she noticed may not have friendships in the playground. So, she got them together and they make cool things together.” (School leader )  

“We can get kids doing things in isolation on their own. But remember, they go back to their class and they go back to people around them. That's why I'm really big on group sessions.” (Counsellor)  

3. What referral pathways are being used?  

The most common way students are referred to Counselling in Schools is through referral by teachers or school staff. Three in four students (75 percent) are referred to counselling by teachers or school staff, the next most common referrer is whānau (14 percent), followed by self-referrals (4 percent).   

Figure 5 : Referral types

We know from our interviews that Counselling in Schools staff work regularly with school staff to build relationships and understand the process of referral. Many schools use principals as the primary referrer as teachers raise issues or suggest students that may benefit from counselling. Parents and whānau are able to find out about referral processes through school communications such as newsletters. Their contact with Counselling in Schools is comparatively limited, which likely explains the lower proportion of whānau referrals - they are less aware of the programme.   

“Referrals come from us and from the families as well. And we pick those things up from conversations after school, usually parent teacher interviews. It's quite organic how that happens.” (Principal, small school)  

We heard that students are more likely to refer themselves when counsellors are visible in the school, for example, at break times and home time. In some cases, the counsellor and school staff would have to visit families for consent to access the service.   

“The children can turn up at my door.” (Counsellor)  

“For morning tea time and the sports break I'm in there. On lunch break I'll often have an apple and walk around, so I'm accessible.” (Counsellor)   

Referral works best when there is a reduction in stigma and high uptake from children, parents and whānau, and schools about counselling. This ensures multiple referral pathways, such as self , peer , and whānau referrals.   

“I think some of our parents hadn't had a great time at school themselves. So, it makes them reluctant to engage with us." (School leader)  

“[Parents] won't come to us. We have to go to them. We'll knock on their door. We'll phone call them if the phones work." (School leader)  

ERO found some counsellors have already been employing strategies to reduce stigma through different branding of the service, advertising, allowing informal visits from children, or building trusting relationships with families.  

4. Who is delivering counselling?   

Only three in 10 counsellors have a counselling accreditation. Six in 10 have some other accreditation, and the remainder have no accreditation. Regardless of accreditation, over nine in 10 (94 percent) receive supervision at least monthly.  

The original intent of the initiative was to have registered counsellors delivering the service. As part of design changes intended to meet community needs, the decision was made to expand the criteria to include practitioners who are registered with a professional body (for example, Counsellors; Social Workers; Occupational Therapists).  In addition, to reflect the diverse contexts and needs across schools, communities and regions, practitioners who are not registered with a professional body were also included.   

They are required under contract to work under the supervision of a registered counselling practitioner and to have an appropriate qualification. As part of these changes, The Ministry of Education also shifted from a more traditional version of counselling that was considered to better suit the school environment and included Rongoā Māori Practitioners or facilitators of equine therapy.  

ERO found that depending on the approach of the individual provider, they seek to recruit different professionals (with different qualifications) to Counselling in Schools. We found that some providers pursue a ‘holistic approach’ and may be more likely to recruit professionals who are not accredited counsellors but have other qualifications (e.g. in occupational therapy or paediatrics). Other providers told us that they will only recruit non-counselling professionals if they have done additional counselling training. In some cases, people without counselling qualifications are recruited due to a lack of qualified candidates, particularly in areas with high demand or remote areas.   

“We try to come up with what the school wants and what they feel would be important. So there's no real strong differentiation in the type of provision, be it arts therapy, occupational therapy or counsellor. It's more about the type of person and matching to the school.” (Provider)  

“For some schools [in a rural place] it's notoriously hard to find a counsellor.” (Provider)  

We did not have sufficient data from this evaluation to determine if qualifications of counsellors made a difference. Overseas research on school counselling (107 studies) shows a significant improvement in quality when counselling interventions are delivered by licensed professionals.

Counselling in Schools is delivered in varied ways across the country to meet the needs of the children it serves, and reflecting the practical realities of the school it operates in.   

The programme is a mix of models that delivers mental health and social support to students, with a mixture of individual, group, whānau and whole of school settings. Most schools use staff referral as their primary or only referral pathway. Only three in 10 counsellors have a counselling accreditation.  

Counselling in Schools is intended to reach children and young people with mild to moderate mental health needs, particularly in schools in lower socioeconomic areas. We have found it is successful in achieving that.  

In this chapter, we look at whether Counselling in Schools is reaching the students who need support by examining student and school characteristics based on administrative data, survey data and focus group discussions.  

This section sets out:   

• t he age of students accessing counselling  
• t he socioeconomic context of students accessing counselling  
• p sychological needs of children accessing counselling  
• t he ethnicity of students accessing counselling  
• t he gender of students accessing counselling.  

What we found: an overview  

The programme reaches primary school students who are in psychological distress. Seven in 10 (71 percent) of students entering counselling meet the ‘clinical cutoff’ for distress.  

The programme may not reach students who do not exhibit signs of distress. Three-quarters of referrals to counsellors are made by school staff, and one-quarter of students were referred due to their behaviour.  

The programme is reaching students in low socio economic areas. Eight in 10 participating schools (78 percent) are schools in low socioeconomic areas. Just 1 percent are schools in high socioeconomic areas.  

It reaches some groups who do not typically access counselling, such as Māori students and boys. Fifty-five percent of those accessing Counselling in Schools are boys and 45 percent are girls. Six in 10 students (60 percent) accessing Counselling in Schools identify as Māori, similar to the average Māori roll for schools enrolled in the programme (58 percent).

It reaches lower numbers of Asian, Pacific, and MELAA (Middle Eastern , Lat in American , African)  students. Pacific students make up 8 percent of those accessing Counselling in Schools, less than the school roll of 14 percent. Asian students make up only 2 percent of those accessing the service yet make up seven percent of the roll. MELAA students make up one percent of those accessing Counselling in Schools and 2 percent of the school roll.  

1. How old are the students accessing counselling?  

Counselling in schools is most commonly accessed by students in Year 5 to 8. One in three students (3 3 percent) accessing counselling are in Y ear 7 or 8, and another one in three (31 percent) are in Y ear 5 or 6. Thirteen percent are in Y ears 1 or 2 a nd 23 percent are in Years 3 or 4.  

Figure 6 : Students accessing Counselling in Schools by year group  

2. What is the socioeconomic context of students accessing counselling?  

Most s tudent s participating in Counselling in Schools are in low socioeconomic areas . Eight in 10 participating schools (78 percent ) are schools in low socioeconomic areas. Just 1 percent are schools in high socioeconomic areas. See Chapter 1 for more information.  

Typically, students in low socioeconomic areas are from more disadvantaged areas, and there is a correlation between child poverty and increased levels of mental health need.

3. What are the psychological needs of children accessing counselling?  

Most students are entering counselling with higher mental health needs. Seven in 10 (71 percent) of students entering counselling meet the ‘clinical cutoff’ for distress 3 , as indicated by their pre-counselling score on the Child Outcome Rating Scale (CORS). This indicates that Counselling in Schools is successfully reaching children with mental health needs.  

The programme may not reach students who do not exhibit signs of distress. Students are referred to Counselling in Schools for a range of reasons and are often referred for more than one reason. We also heard that there can be many factors underlying a referral, which is not captured by the referral reason.  

The most common reasons for referral to Counselling in Schools are behaviour, anxiety, stress, or trauma, and relationships. The top three referral reasons are:  

• behaviour (24 percent)  
• anxiety, stress, or trauma (16 percent)  
• relationships (15 percent).   

Figure 7: Referral reasons 

We found that behaviour is key referral reason because it is easily observable, and it impacts others in the school. Less observable issues, like grief and loss, are more likely to be picked up where schools have built a trusting relationship with parents and whānau, but they can be missed.  

“Every child is evaluated on a needs-basis, from the behaviours that they were displaying and the level of disruption they were causing. If someone's really highly in need, they'll be prioritised over other people.” (Teacher)  

4. What are the ethnicities of students accessing counselling?  

Māori and NZ European /Aotearoa students are accessing Counselling in Schools at levels comparable to or above the school roll. Six in 10 students (60 percent) accessing Counselling in Schools identify as Māori, similar to the average Māori roll for schools enrolled in the programme (58 percent). This may reflect the referral processes working for Māori, although it is worth noting that Māori students are more likely to have mental health needs. Nearly half (47 percent) identify as NZ European/Pākehā, compared to 41 percent of the school roll.   

Pacific, Asian and MELAA students are less likely to attend Counselling in Schools. Pacific students make up 8 percent of those accessing Counselling in Schools, less than the school roll of 14 percent. Asian students make up only 2 percent of those accessing the service yet make up 7 percent of the roll. MELAA students make up 1 percent of those accessing Counselling in Schools and 2 percent of the school roll.  

The lower uptake of Counselling in Schools by Pacific, Asian, and MELAA students may indicate that more responsive approaches are needed to ensure that students of these ethnicities are being supported with mental health challenges. Other research has identified that this is common among mental health service access, and identifies an opportunity to strengthen counselling in schools delivery.  

5. What gender are the students accessing counselling?  

Boys are slightly more likely to access Counselling in Schools than girls. Fifty-five percent of those accessing Counselling in Schools are boys and 45 percent are girls.   

Figure 8: Students accessing Counselling in Schools by gender  

School staff most commonly refer to Counselling in Schools for observable issues, such as behaviour (the most common referral reason). This likely contributes to more boys accessing Counselling in Schools than girls as boys are twice as likely to be referred for behaviour compared to girls. One in three boys (33 percent) are referred to counselling for behaviour, compared to 16 percent of girls.  

Figure 9 : Percentage of referrals for behaviour, by gender  

Counselling in Schools is successfully reaching primary school students who are in mental health distress.   

It reaches some groups who do not typically access counselling, such as Māori students and boys, but is less successful in reaching Asian, Pacific, and MELAA students.  

Counselling in Schools is focused on improving the mental health outcomes of students, therefore the impacts on their mental health are a key measure of how the programme is working for students. Students, teachers and school leaders, and parents and whānau all report positive and sustained impacts on students’ mental health.   

This section sets out what we found out about how Counselling in Schools is impacting students’ mental health, whether improvements in mental health are sustained, and which students are seeing mental health improvements.   

In this section, we look at the overall and sustained impact of Counselling in Schools on students’ mental health outcomes, from the perspective of students, teachers, and parents and whānau.   

• The impact on students’ mental health  
• The sustained impact on students’ mental health  
• Where there are differences.  

Eight out of 10 students (80 percent) report improved mental health at the end of counselling, compared to when they started. Eight percent report no change in mental health on the CORS while 12 percent report a decline in mental health at the end of counselling.  

Many students, teachers, and parents and whānau told us that counselling helped them across a range of mental health outcomes. Students report improvements in how they feel in themselves (96 percent), understanding their feelings (94 percent), managing their feelings (93 percent), and getting along with others (85 percent).  

Eight in 10 teachers report that impacts on students’ mental health are sustained six months after counselling. This includes teachers’ reports of student wellbeing (80 percent), students’ ability to manage emotions (84 percent), and students’ friendships (73 percent).  

Those with the greater mental health needs entering counselling were more likely to report improvements in their mental health. Those in the lowest third of mental health reports on the counselling pretest were the most likely to show improvements in mental health (90 percent), compared to those in the middle third (81 percent), or highest third (64 percent).  

1. What is the impact on students’ mental health?   

Eight out of 10 children (80 percent) improve mental health at the end of counselling, compared to when they started. Students participating in Counselling in Schools completed an assessment of their mental health (CORS) at the beginning of counselling and at the end, allowing us to measure the changes from pre to post-counselling.   

Eighty percent improve, 8 percent report no change in mental health on the CORS whilst 12 percent report a decline in mental health at the end of counselling. Changes in mental health may also be due to outside factors rather than counselling.  

Figure 10: Mental health improvement across all students from pre- to post-counselling  

Students’ view

The vast majority of students told us that counselling helped them across a range of mental health outcomes. This included how they felt in themselves (96 percent), understanding their feelings (94 percent), managing their feelings (93 percent), and getting along with others (85 percent).  

Figure 11: Student’s self-reporting of mental health outcomes  

We heard from students that they learned:  

• improved self-regulation including how to keep themselves calm  
• how to understand their emotions and express them effectively  
• how to develop self-esteem and confidence  
• how to set boundaries and navigate their relationships effectively.  

“I learnt different calming techniques and how to express my feelings.” (Student)  

“Knowing that I have a voice and can express myself to my friends. Knowing that I can pick who to have as friends and don’t need to just follow.” (Student)  

“I learned about friendships, speaking up if there were things I didn't like. I learnt that I could control my emotions and get into class in the mornings, and I could get support from my friends.” (Student)  

“I have developed on how to control my emotions from getting out of hand at my brother and people at school.” (Student)  

Teachers’ view

Teachers report that students most commonly improve in how they feel about themselves and in their ability to manage their emotions. Nine out of 10 teachers observe improvements in how students felt in themselves (91 percent) and managing emotions (91 percent) following counselling. Additionally, 83 percent of teachers report that students’ interactions with others improved following counselling.   

Figure 12 : Teachers’ report of students’ mental health outcomes following counselling  

We heard from teachers and school leaders that students would feel lighter and happier immediately after coming out of counselling. Additionally, teachers reported that students have been able to proactively use strategies and tools (i.e., without being prompted) to regulate their emotions in the classroom.  

“They seemed happier and like they had a weight lifted off their shoulders.” (Teacher)  

“Students had some good strategies and knew what to do if they were starting to feel like they were getting out of that zone. Then they could just go straight away and do those strategies, and then they'd go back into to the learning, usually without me prompting.” (Teacher)  

Parents and whānau views

Nearly all parents and whānau see improvements in their child’s mental health because of counselling. Nearly all parents and whānau see improvements in their child’s wellbeing (98 percent) and confidence (95 percent) following counselling. Nine in 10 see improvements in their child’s ability to manage their feelings (89 percent) and in their friendships (91 percent).  

Figure 13 : Parents and whānau report of students’ mental health outcomes following counselling  

Whānau attributed an improvement in wellbeing and confidence to:  

• their child developing a trusting relationship with their counsellor, particularly in the way that this allowed their child to feel safe to talk to the counsellor   
• their child learning to understand emotional literacy, language, and readiness to talk with whānau, teachers, and friends about how they feel.  

“My child has someone to talk to outside the family circle that is just for them, so they are able speak through their thoughts and feelings. Having a person removed from the situation that can be the child’s voice.” (Parent)  

“She has learnt how to take herself away if she's feeling upset or frustrated about something and has learnt how to tell me how she is feeling within herself.” (Parent)  

2. What is the sustained impact on students’ mental health?

Almost all students report that the impacts on their mental health are sustained three months or more after counselling. Three months or more after counselling, over nine in 10 students report sustained improvements in how they feel in themselves (97 percent), their ability to understand their feelings (95 percent), their ability to manage their feelings (96 percent) and over eight in 10 report sustained improvements in their friendships (86 percent).   

Teachers’ view  

Eight in 10 teachers report that impacts on students’ mental health are sustained six months after counselling. This includes teachers’ report of student’ wellbeing (80 percent), students’ ability to manage emotions (84 percent), and students’ friendships (73 percent).  

Figure 14 : Teachers’ and students report of sustained impact on students’ mental health outcomes  

Teachers and school leaders reported that impacts on well-being are sustained, or more likely to be sustained, if:  

• there are occasional follow-ups after the students finish counselling as it allows them to be reminded of the tools and strategies they learned in counselling (and to re-engage with the service if necessary)  
• strategies to self-regulate are used consistently across both school and home  
• students know that support is available and can seek help proactively when they need it  
• complementary support is provided from different services.  

“I feel that there should be a succession of follow-up sessions to ensure the learning has become consolidated and tamariki have retained what has been taught.” (School leader)  

“Teachers are hugely important. Interaction with the children and the support that they provide them and the interventions that they have are hugely important if other services are involved, well, that's helping as well.” (Counsellor)  

“The father was certainly learning techniques as well." (Teacher)  

Teachers and school leaders report that when impacts are not sustained, this can often be attributed to:  

• unexpected events that may trigger changes in mental health (e.g., within home life)  
• complexity of cases (e.g., with other underlying health or developmental issues).  

"I think when things are all going okay, those strategies are working well. But when something major happened, they just weren't enough for that student. That's hard if something major happens in the home." (Teacher)  

“In a couple of the boys that we had last year, disappointingly, the playground behaviour, the fighting and regulation didn't stop. But I don't know if I ever expected it to [stop], because I think [the issue] is bigger than what we can provide for." (School leader)  

Parents and whānau view

Parents are largely positive about the sustained impacts of counselling for their children, but less so for emotional regulation. Three in four parents report that impacts are sustained six months after counselling for improvements in their child’s wellbeing (74 percent), confidence (76 percent), and friendships (74 percent). Two in three (65 percent) report that the improvement in their child’s ability to manage their emotions is sustained.  

Figure 15 : Parents and whānau report of sustained impact on students’ mental health outcomes  

“My child is changing right before my eyes like a flower blossoming. There's not been so many tantrums anymore. She's not taking it on herself when the grown-ups are having a bad day.” ( Parent/ w hānau)  

“My child seems to have made a couple of friends and has been able to keep friendships going.” ( Parent /w hānau)  

3. Where are there differences in impact?  

Students in the most psychological distress had the largest improvement.  

Of the seven in 10 students (71 percent) who enter counselling in distress, almost half (43 percent) are no longer in distress by the end of counselling.  Of the students that met the clinical cutoff for distress, two in five (43 percent) showed a clinically significant change, meaning a 5 point or more improvement from pre-counselling to post-counselling . That is, they no longer met the clinical cutoff for distress at the end of counselling.  

Those students with greater mental health needs entering counselling were more likely to see improvements in mental health. Those entering counselling with the highest third of mental health scores (highest severity) on the pretest were the most likely to show improvements in mental health (90 percent), compared to those in the middle third (81 percent), or highest third (64 percent). Additionally, three in four (7 5 percent) of those in the lowest third showed changes of at least 5 points on the CORS from pre- to post-counselling.  

Figure 16 : Mental health improvement by mental health severity before counselling  

Counselling reduces psychological distress, particularly for children who start in clinical distress, this is reported by students themselves, teachers, and parents and whānau.  

Students, teachers, and parents and whānau report improvements in overall mental health, ability to understand their emotions, ability to manage their emotions, friendships, confidence. Students learn a range of skills and tools that they can utilise outside of counselling, such as for regulating their emotions proactively in the classroom.   

Student s ’ , teachers, parents and whānau also report that the impacts on students’ mental health are sustained. They report lasting impacts in students’ wellbeing and improvements in aspects such as emotional regulation continue even six months after finishing counselling.  

Importantly, the improvements are most substantial for students with the most severe mental health reasons.  

Mental health is a key driver of engagement and progress in education. In the next chapters we explore the impact of counselling on educational outcomes.  

Students’ mental health is linked with learning, engagement, and school attendance outcomes. Counselling in Schools is primarily focused on mental health outcomes; however, it also has impacts on students’ attendance, learning, engagement as well as overall classroom behaviour.  

Counselling in Schools shows signs of improving students’ attendance and learning progress. Teachers also report that having the programme in the schools improves classroom behaviour. These improvements are often sustained according to students, teachers, and parents and whānau.   

In this section, we look at the impact of Counselling in Schools on students’ attendance, learning, and engagement using measurement tools, and hearing the perspective of students, teachers, and parents and whānau.   

• the impact of counselling on attendance  
• the impact of counselling on learning  
• the impact of counselling on engagement  
• the impact of counselling on classroom behaviour  
• where there are differences in impact.  

To measure impact on learning outcomes we surveyed teachers, students and parents and whānau. We also use data from the Lea rning Engagement Measurement Tool ( LEMT ) to collate teachers views of individual students.   

Teachers reported improvement in attendance for four in 10 students who had attended counselling, and improvements in learning progress for over half of students. Eight in 10 students (84 percent) reported that their own attendance had improved as a result of counselling. This was backed up by parents and whānau, nine in 10 reported that counselling had improved their child’s attendance at school.  

Students, parents and whānau also reported improvements in student learning, engagement, and attendance. These improvements were sustained over time. Students’ LEMT scores indicate an improvement in learning progress for over half (57 percent) of students. This improvement was seen by the majority of students, teachers, and parents and whānau and seen to be sustained. We heard that these improvements often stem from students’ improvement in focus and effective communication.  

Classroom behaviour is a major problem in Aotearoa New Zealand. Three in four (76 percent) teachers reported improvements in wider classroom behaviour due to counselling. Eight in 10 teachers (78 percent) report that engagement improved for the wider class after students began counselling, and six in 10 (61 percent) report that achievement improved.  

Students told us they learnt strategies to manage their emotions and teachers told us that students use the strategies and tools they have learnt.  Students told us about some of the strategies that they use to manage their emotions such as breathing techniques, talking to teachers and students when they feel angry, when to take time to control emotions or walk away from situations.  

Students who entered counselling with the highest mental health needs are more likely to see improvements in attendance and in their learning progress. Over half (61 percent) of students with the lowest mental health scores on their counselling pre-test had improvements to their attendance after counselling, compared to 39 percent of other students.  

Teachers also told us that the counsellors provided them with strategies and tools to use with students who were misbehaving. We heard from teachers and school leaders that improvements in relationships as a result of counselling are a large reason for the improvements seen in behaviour. This is also enabling students to work together and communicate more effectively.  

1. What is the impact of counselling on attendance?   

To measure improvements in attendance, we used a survey of students, teachers and whānau.

Overall impact on attendance  

Students, teachers, and parents and whānau were all positive about the impacts of Counselling in Schools on attendance. Teachers report over four in 10 students (44 percent) show improvement in attendance from pre- to post-counselling.  

Eight in 10 students (84 percent) reported that their own attendance had improved as a result of counselling. This was backed up by parents and whānau, nine in 10 reported that counselling had improved their child’s attendance at school.   

Figure 17 : Counselling improved attendance at school by survey respondent  

We heard that improved attendance often stems from the high uptake of counselling among children and the value of the counselling being school based, with children attending school more to attend counselling sessions.   

“[I am] making plans to return to school.” (Student)  

“[Students] looked forward to the sessions and knew when it was coming up.” (Teacher)  

“It's great that my child has support and his feeling are validated at school and in a school environment. It gives him confidence to come to school.” (Parent)  

“One of the children I support, he seems to always be there on the days that I'm there, but other days he's not.” (Counsellor)  

Sustained impact on attendance

Students are most positive about the sustained impacts of counselling on their attendance.  Nine in 10 (89 percent) report that their improvements in attendance were sustained at least three months after finishing counselling. Six in 10 (60 percent) teachers report that the improvements in attendance were sustained six months after finishing counselling. Six in 10 (61 percent) parents and whānau also reported that attendance improvements remained after their child finished counselling.  

Figure 18: Improvements in attendance at school were sustained over time   

In the longer term, students told us they want to be in school more as they see it as a safe place to be in as a result of counselling services. Similarly, teachers told us that children are less anxious about going to school when they know there is a counsellor at school whom they can talk to confidentially and safely.   

“I have a safe person that I can go to talk about things that I don't want everyone to know, helping me be better at [setting] boundaries and staying in school.” (Student)  

“[Students] have a change of outlook on going to school.” (Teacher)  

2. What is the impact of counselling on learning?  

Overall impact on learning.

To measure improvements in attendance, we used a survey of students, teachers and whānau. It was not possible to use schools’ assessment data to measure impact on learning.  

The majority of students show improvements in learning from pre- to post-counselling. Over half (57 percent) of students show improvements in learning progress from pre- to post-counselling as reported by students, teachers , and parents and whānau.   

In surveys, eight in 10 students (81 percent), seven in 10 teachers (72 percent), and nine in 10 parents and whānau (89 percent) reported improvements in learning progress as a result of counselling.  

Figure 19: Counselling improved learning progress by survey respondent  

Students told us that their learning progress had improved due to their ability to communicate more effectively with their teachers.  

“[Students] open up more, and communication improve s  both socially and academically. [They are] more confident to make learning mistakes and ask for help.” (Teacher)  

Sustained impact on learning

The improvements seen in learning progress are largely sustained, according to students, teachers, and parents and whānau. Eight in 10 students (80 percent) say that the improvements they saw in their own learning were sustained at least three months after counselling. Teachers are also positive, with seven in 10 (70 percent) reporting that impacts are sustained six months after students finish counselling. Parents and whānau are slightly less positive with two in three (64 percent) reporting that the impact on their child’s learning progress remained after finishing counselling.  

Figure 20 : Reports of sustained improvements in learning progress  

3. What is the impact of counselling on engagement?  

Overall impact on engagement.

To measure improvements in engagement, we used a survey of students, teachers and parents and whānau. It was not possible to use schools’ attendance data to measure impact on attendance.  

Most students show improvement in engagement from pre- to post-counselling. Six in 10 students (60 percent) show improvements in engagement on the LEMT. Students, teachers, and parents and whānau all report positive impacts on engagement. Nearly nine in 10 students (86 percent), eight in 10 teachers (83 percent), and nine in 10 parents and whānau (89 percent) report improvements in students’ school engagement.   

Figure 21 : Reports of i mprovements in engagement by survey respondent  

Sustained impact on engagement

The improvements seen in engagement are largely sustained, according to students, teachers, and parents and whānau. Nine in 10 students (91 percent) say that the improvements they saw in their own engagement were sustained at least three months after counselling. Teachers are also positive, with eight in 10 (78 percent) reporting that impacts on engagement are sustained six months after students finish counselling. Parents and whānau are also positive with seven in 10 (73 percent) reporting that the impact on their child’s engagement remained after finishing counselling.  

Figure 22: Reports of s ustained improvements in engagement  

Similar to immediate learning engagement impact, school leaders and teachers attributed sustained impact to students :  

• having better relationships with their peers   
• feeling more confident in themselves, leading to a greater willingness to work independently, in groups, and to try out new activities.  

“For some of the students referred there ha ve been very positive changes in their behaviour, attitude and belief in themselves as a learner and valued member of our class.” (Teacher)  

“[My child] has become more open with learning and participating in group activities.” (Parent)  

4. What is the impact of counselling on classroom behaviour?  

Good classroom behaviour is critical for creating learning environments in which students can learn and achieve, and teachers can be most effective. In ERO’s 2023 report Time to f ocus: Behaviour in our c lassrooms , we found that behaviour is a major problem in Aotearoa New Zealand schools and consistently worse than most other OECD countries.   

Teachers are spending large amounts of time dealing with classroom behaviour. Three-quarters of teachers (74 percent) and just under two-thirds of principals (63 percent) report that challenging behaviour in the classroom impacts students’ progress to a large or very large extent.  

Behaviour is the most common referral reason for students participating in Counselling in Schools. One in four students (24 percent) are referred to the programme for behaviour as outlined in Chapter 2.  

Some of these behaviour-related referrals may be linked to a stand-down process. We heard that for students with high behavioural needs there are also high levels of standdowns. Some schools have re-entry requirements for stood-down students which often include time with a counsellor.

Three in four teachers (76 percent) report that behaviours in the wider class got better as a result of counselling. We heard from teachers and school leaders that improvements in relationships as a result of counselling are a large reason for the improvements they see in behaviour . With counsellor support and strategies, students can improve their ability to work together and communicate more effectively.   

Figure 23 : Teachers’ report of behaviours for the wider class following counselling  

“We often work with the children that are going to make the biggest difference for the whole classroom in terms of disruption and the other kids’ learning.” (Counsellor)  

“The behaviours of the ākonga that have received counselling has changed for the better. In turn this has had a positive impact in the classroom with kaiako focussing on learning rather than behaviours.” (Teacher)    

Students told us about some of the strategies that they use to manage their emotions such as breathing techniques, talking to teachers and students when they feel angry, and when to take time to control emotions or walk away from situations. Similarly, we heard from teachers that many students are able to adopt the tools and strategies they learnt in counselling to proactively manage their emotions in the classroom.   

“I learnt not to be rude and to try and control my feelings.” (Student)   

“They're able to process what they're going through a bit more, whereas before it was punch first talk later.” (Counsellor)  

As students’ behaviour improves, we heard that teachers could spend less time managing behaviours and can focus more on teaching. We also heard that teachers could pick up strategies and tools from counsellors, to be able to support students while in class.  

“The counsellor has been right there to have a casual conversation with teachers and discuss things out. The teacher walks away with a strategy or a new way to look at problem solving.” (School leader)  

“We've been trying to layer in more whole class support for teachers, to create that kind of support structure as a whole school.” (Provider)  

We also heard from a school leader that since participating in Counselling in Schools they have seen a reduction in the number of stand - downs for behaviour.  

“At the time that I applied for Counselling in School, I had stood down 22 students, all for violent behaviour, assault on students, reckless endangerment of other students in the class. I've got this year, maybe three or four stand - downs. So, we are regulating down.” (School leader)  

5. Where are there differences in impact?  

Students who entered counselling with the highest mental health needs are more likely to see improvements in attendance and in their learning progress. Though most students are not referred for attendance, over half (61 percent) of students with the lowest mental health scores on their counselling pre-test had improvements to their attendance after counselling, compared to 39 percent of other students. This is encouraging and reflects what ERO found in our 2023 report Attendance: Getting b ack to s chool , that parents’ and whānau mental health concerns for their child is one of the biggest individual drivers of whether a student attends school regularly or not.    

Figure 24: Percentage of students who showed improvements in attendance by mental health severity 

Impact on learning for students with the highest-needs students  

Those highest-needs students are more likely to see improvements in their learning. Two in three students (67 percent) with the lowest mental health scores on the counselling pre-test saw improvements in learning progress from pre- to post-counselling, compared to 54 percent of other students.    

Figure 25 : Percentage of students who showed improvement in learning progress by level of need    

Teachers see improvements in engagement across the wider class as a result of counselling. Eight in 10 teachers (78 percent) report that engagement improved for the wider class. Given the links between engagement and achievement , it is unsurprising that six in 10 teachers (61 percent) also report that achievement for the wider class also improved as a result of Counselling in Schools.   

Figure 26 : Teachers reporting that classroom engagement and learning progress improved  

“Students stopped leaving the classroom, reduced disruptions, reduced teacher needs for behaviour management and increased learning time.” (Teacher)  

Conclusion  

Students, teachers, and parents and whānau see improvements in students’ presence at school, progress in their learning, and their participation in class, all groups are also positive that the impacts are sustained.   

Counselling in Schools is helping to address classroom behaviour, which is a significant problem in Aotearoa New Zealand. It is supporting positive behaviour outcomes for classrooms, and engagement is improving as a result. Classrooms are experiencing less disruption and are therefore more able to learn due to the improvements made by students in counselling. Teachers are also seeing positive impacts on their practice as a result of working with counsellors, increasing the potential to strengthen outcomes.  

Counselling in Schools appears to be making a positive contribution to schools. In the next chapter we will explore lessons learnt and opportunities to build the evidence base.  

One of the key reasons that the Counselling in Schools programme is effective is its delivery. This section includes findings from across each of the three phases o f ERO’s evaluation over th ree years , on what has supported effective delivery and what the barriers have been, particularly for schools and providers.  

In this section, we look at what factors are important for schools and providers to successfully deliver Counselling in Schools, that have been identified through each of the three phases of this evaluation.

By looking across findings from all three phases of our evaluation over three years , we have identified four key lessons for the ongoing development of Counselling in Schools and other similar initiatives. The four lessons are:  

• Investing in psychological support in primary schools can reduce distress and improve learning, attendance, and behaviour outcomes.  
• Counselling in primary schools works best when on the school site, and when students receive more than three hours of support.  
• Having multiple referral pathways, for example by teachers, students, parents and whānau, is potentially important in order to capture students who do not exhibit obvious signs of distress.  
• The programme is promising but it needs to be more tightly specified to be sure it could be effectively replicated in a wider range of schools.  

Lesson 1: Investing in psychological support in primary schools can reduce distress and improve learning, attendance, and behaviour outcomes. 

The findings of our evaluation show a range of strongly positive outcomes from the Counselling in Schools programme. Students who receive support show significant gains in their psychological health, and this has a lasting, positive impact. Those students with the highest levels of distress show the most improvement – meaning that the programme is successful in supporting those students who need it most.  

Counselling also leads to improvements in students’ attendance, behaviour, and learning progress. Taken together, our findings offer an important lesson about the benefits of investment in mental health support in primary schools.  

Lesson 2: Counselling in primary schools works best when on the school site, and when students receive more than three hours of support.  

Finding a suitable in-school venue for counselling helps with the successful delivery of the programme. Students, teachers, and parents and whānau told us that having counsellors on-site means better access for those in remote areas and improves the uptake of counselling.   

We heard that it was important to have dedicated, safe spaces for counselling sessions. In interviews across all three phases, participants spoke about the value of having a counsellor who was regularly available within the school, and was visible and accessible for students. We heard that this helps to normalise counselling, reducing stigma so students feel more comfortable accessing counselling.  

Building strong relationships is important to help counsellors understand and become part of the school community. R elationships with school staff, the students, and parents and whānau are important for counsellors to:  

• understand the school context  
• build trusting relationships   
• be part of the school community.  

We also found that it’s valuable for counsellors to have opportunities to collaborate and fit in with other services provided by the school, including school nurses and Resource Teachers Learning and Behaviour. Much of this responsibility falls to the school, but counsellors can work to:  

• ensure that other school services are being engaged where necessary  
• collaborate with the other staff and connections in the school on a student-by-student basis so that needs are being met.   

More counselling hours positively impacts students’ learning and engagement, as well as their mental health.  

Students who receive three or fewer hours of counselling are less likely to show improvement on and learning and engagement (64 percent), compared to those who receive from three to 13 hours (71 percent). Those who receive more than 13 hours are the most likely to have improved outcomes with seven in 10 (72 percent) reporting improvement in learning and engagement.   

More hours makes a difference to mental health outcomes too, though not to the same extent as for learning and engagement impacts. Seventy-four percent of those who receive fewer than three hours see an improvement in mental health, compared to eight in 10 of those who receive three to 13 hours (80 percent) or over 13 hours (82 percent).   

Figure 27 : Percentage of students who improved in mental health and learning and engagement, by number of hours in counselling  

We heard strong feedback from many students that they would like more sessions but are unable to receive them. Some providers offer a fixed number of sessions (e.g., six sessions for each student).   

“[The child] was so excited to go [to counselling] and then she got told it's finished. And she had a meltdown.” (Teacher)  

“[I’d like] to have more days that we can go to our counsellor or have no limit because some people could just be starting to open up and then their time was up.” (Student)  

“My child was just starting to benefit from the sessions when they stopped.” (Whānau)  

Counsellors who provide fixed sessions can also refer students to further support services, which are mostly external to the school. However, we heard that some students and parents and whānau feel more comfortable to continue with counsellors with whom they already have a relationship.   

Lesson 3: Having multiple referral pathways by teachers, students, parents and whānau, is potentially important in order to capture students who do not exhibit obvious signs of distress.  

Three in four (75 percent) students are referred to counselling by school staff. The next most common referral pathways are through parents and whānau (14 percent), and self-referrals (4 percent). We heard that teachers are more likely to pick up observable issues such as behaviour, leading to the high er referral rates for behaviour (24 percent of all referrals), than for less observable issues such as grief.   

“Kids are quite good at masking, and teachers don't always have that time to really have those conversations.” (School leader)  

A lesson to take forward is that there is value in having a range of ways that students can be referred for counselling, as well as through their teachers, to help ensure that less observable issues are picked up. This relies on strong relationships between the school and students or parents and whānau, so that they have the information they need to self-refer or refer their children.   

Lesson 4: The programme is promising but we need to understand more about which elements are key to success to be sure it can be effectively replicated in a wider range of schools.  

Counselling in Schools is a promising programme. It shows similar impacts on mental health as international examples of school-based counselling, and higher than the initial evaluation of Aotearoa New Zealand programme Mana Ake. When we consider other positive outcomes from Counselling in Schools (for example, improvements to learning progress, and the impacts of improved behaviour), this indicates a high level of effectiveness compared to other initiatives.

Local comparison with Mana Ake

In terms of overall improvement in mental wellbeing, Counselling in Schools is delivering a bigger increase in mental health outcomes than the Mana Ake programme. When comparing the difference that the two programmes make to children’s outcomes on average, Counselling in Schools shows a higher increase (7.03 points out of 40 on the CORS, compared to 5.12 out of 36 for Mana Ake). In terms of their ‘overall effect size’, which broadly measures how much of a difference the programme makes in terms of mental health, Counselling in Schools also compares well to Mana Ake (with a positive effect of 1.0 compared to 0.81 for Mana Ake).   

We note that these programmes are different in terms of aims, target population, delivery approach, and context, as Mana Ake is focussed on psychosocial recovery. Refer to the companion Technical Report for more detail. https://www.evidence.ero.govt.nz/documents/technical-report-evaluation-of-counselling-in-schools

International comparison

When compared to overseas studies, Counselling in Schools performs well. The effect size for Counselling in Schools (0.85) is similar to studies of the effectiveness of counselling in schools in the U S and U K .  

ERO looked at large-scale studies from the US  and UK , that bring together many evaluations of in-school counselling programmes. The US study found a medium overall impact on mental wellbeing for students that received counselling (effect size of 0.45), and the UK’s showed a large overall impact (0.87). Counselling in Schools’ impact is similar or better than what they found in the US and UK.  

Comparison between the impact of Counselling in Schools on mental wellbeing with overseas examples  

Replicating in other schools

Counselling in Schools is currently delivered in many different ways. This means that, while there are clear indications of effectiveness, it is hard to know exactly which components of the Counselling in Schools programme are the most important, in order to replicate its success in a larger variety of schools.   

ERO recommends more development of the programme to understand both value for money and what elements are key to success and therefore essential to replicate. Having a more tightly specified delivery model, and tracking groups of students whose mental health outcomes can be compared over time, will enable greater understanding of what particular elements of the model are key to its success.  

Counselling in Schools’ approach to delivery is clearly effective in improving students’ mental health and other important outcomes. Providers and schools can benefit from the lessons we have learnt from this evaluation, including around delivering counselling on school grounds and integrating counsellors with the school. It is also beneficial when students are able to access more than three hours of counselling. A broad approach to referrals is likely to support the meeting of a wider range of student needs.   

There are limitations in the scope of this current evaluation. To inform more detailed understanding on the efficacy of Counselling in Schools we would recommend a more tightly specified model and tracking groups of students with mental health outcomes.

• Ministry of Health. New Zealand Health Survey- Annual Data Explorer 2022/23. minhealthnz.shinyapps.io/nz-health-survey-2022-23-annual-data-explorer/_w_0c78e021/#!/explore-topics
• Office of the Prime Minister’s Science Advisory Committee (2011). Improving the transition: Reducing Social and Psychological Morbidity During Adolescence. Improving the transition: reducing social and psychological morbidity during adolescence – May 2011 – Office of the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor (dpmc.govt.nz)
• ERO (2022). Missing out: Why aren’t out children going to school? https://www.evidence.ero.govt.nz/documents/missing-out-why-aren-t-our-children-going-to-school
• Baskin, Slaten, Crosby, Pufahl, Schneller, and Ladell (2010). Efficacy of counselling and psychotherapy in schools: A meta-analytic review of treatment outcomes. The Counseling Psychologist, 38(7), 878-903
• Gibson, K., Abraham, Q., Asher, I., Black, R., Turner, N., Waitoki, W., & McMillan, N. (2017). Child poverty and mental health: A literature review.
• Wonglorsaichon, B., Wongwanich, S., & Wiratchai, N. (2014). The Influence of Students School Engagement on Learning Achievement: A Structural Equation Modeling Analysis. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 116, 1748–1755. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.467
• Cooper, M. (2009). Counselling in UK secondary schools: A comprehensive review of audit and evaluation data. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 9(3), 137-150.

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School Counseling, M.Ed.

2 years - 7 semesters

Full-time - cohort model program

On-campus- in person/some online courses

December 3, 2024

June 30, 2025

• In-State - $12,540
• Out-of-State - $26,490

The School Counseling, Master of Education (M.Ed.) program prepares you to be a leader, advocate, and systemic change agent in K-12 urban educational settings. You will gain awareness, knowledge and skills to work with diverse student populations. The program focuses on access, equity and social justice in delivering counseling services. You will develop competencies to be a leader in working to close opportunity gaps in urban schools.

Key Features

• Real-World Experience : Complete one 100-hour practicum and two 300-hour internships in local urban school districts.
• Cohort Model: Learn in a supportive cohort environment with a 4:1 student-to-faculty ratio. Students enter the program and take the same course sequence together. 
• Accreditation : Accredited by the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP) and approved by the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE).
• ASCA National Model : A framework that guides school counselors in the development of school counseling programs involving data-informed decision making, delivered to students systemically, are developmentally appropriate, close achievement and opportunity gaps and result in improved student achievement, attendance and discipline.
• Promote academic, college and career, and personal/social growth in students using the ASCA National Model as a framework for success.
• Develop clinical skills to address and support the needs of students accounting for the influence of various intersectional identities. Demonstrate awareness of the ASCA code of ethics guiding the practice of school counseling; consistently apply and adhere to ethical and legal standards in practice.
• Effectively intervene with students individually and in group settings to address academic and career, social, emotional, and personal factors affecting their opportunities and achievements.  
• Use data-driven program evaluation models to identify needs and conduct, design, and evaluate school counseling outcomes that inform school system decision-making and accountability.
• Build strong partnerships with families, agencies, and community stakeholders to promote access, equity, and social justice in urban schools.
• Acquire leadership and advocacy skills to remove barriers to student success and promote positive change within urban schools and communities.

Graduates of this program pursue various career paths, including:

• Professional K-12 School Counselor
• Educational Advocate
• Counseling Program Coordinator
• Community Counselor

Information on admissions and application to this program can be found on the University Graduate Admissions website. 

Admission Requirements           Guide to Applying

The admissions process includes an interview stage. Interview Day occurs on the second Friday in February. Invitations for interviews are sent out two weeks prior to the interview stage.

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Courses and practical elements in this program are carefully selected to give you a well-rounded education, preparing you to excel in your career and make meaningful contributions to your field.

You will take courses in counseling theory, counseling skills, human development, group counseling, ethics, multicultural counseling research methods, and special education. Coursework includes one 100-hour practicum and two 300-hour internships with local partnering school districts.

For full details on curriculum and program requirements, view the handbook and manual. 

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288 Counseling Essay Topics & Sample Papers on Counseling Topics

Welcome to our list of best counseling research topics and essay ideas! Here, we’ve collected plenty of current issues to write about. It doesn’t matter if you’re a college student or a psychology professional: you will definitely find suitable counseling topics for your project here!

🔝 Top 10 Counseling Research Topics for 2024

🏆 best counseling topic ideas & essay examples, 👍 good counseling topics for essays, 🥇 most interesting counseling topics to write about, 📌 simple & easy counseling essay topics, 🔎 school counseling research topics, 💡 research topics for counseling students, ❓ research questions about counseling.

• Cultural Competence in Counseling
• Importance of Empathy in Counseling
• CBT Techniques and Their Effectiveness
• Use of Social Media in Counseling
• How Counselors Support LGBTQ+ Clients
• Best Practices for Effective Group Therapy
• Mindfulness and Meditation in Counseling
• Confidentiality and Boundaries in Counseling
• Solution-Focused Brief Therapy in Counseling
• Strategies for Working with Clients with Trauma
• Psychological Science: Counseling Essay (Theory of Counseling) Another important aspect is the counseling process; this depends on the individual counselor and client and the urgency of the issue in question.
• Transcription of Counseling Session The purpose of this paper is to present the analysis of the verbatim transcription of a session with the client along with discussing the theoretical framework and providing reflection.
• Accountability and Outcome in the Counseling Profession A client involvement in the therapy process will determine the therapy outcome in addition to quality of the treatment choice. For a counselor, it is crucial to approach this process with honesty and responsibility in […]
• Managing Resistance in Correctional Counseling In the setting of corrective counseling, the client’s resistance to treatment may look different and manifest itself in a range of resistance, from passivity and ignorance to open confrontation with the counselor.
• Comparison of Codes of Ethics: The American Counseling Association and the American Psychological Association Both the Psychologist and the counselor abide to the same codes of conduct with regard to terminating their services to a client.
• Importance of Counseling Skills Essay As earlier mentioned, counseling is a vocational process that requires a lot of passion and application of certain skills by a counselor, in order to achieve success. Therefore, I foresee struggle to master the skill […]
• The Significance of Lifespan Development in the Practice of Counseling Psychology The physical aspect of lifespan development is one of the important ones: it is related to the growth and development of the body and changes in the body and the brain.
• Mental Health Counseling Admission Essay The decision to apply for the clinical counseling in mental health program was mainly influenced by an internship that I had at the Carter Center of Mental Health.
• Counseling Practice in Organization This presents itself as prime situation where a counselor is needed in order to get to the heart of the matter, identify what the employee truly wants to do and create some form of action […]
• Psychoanalytic Therapy Approach in Group Counseling This system of interpretation and therapeutic treatment of psychological disorders is also known as the “talk therapy” as it is based on the intercourse of the Analysand and the Analyst who listens to the patient’s […]
• Personal Values and Counseling Sessions However, non-verbal clues may reveal the personal values of the counselor to the patient. Counselors should pay special attention to trying to avoid the impact of their personal values on the counseling process and advice […]
• Counseling Session Transcription: Kenry Lambert Case The investigation of the given cases presupposes the creation of the specific theoretical framework that can be applied to the case to help the student to eliminate undesired behaviors and achieve success in socialization.
• Career Guidance and Counseling Additionally, significant contributions in career guidance and counseling have helped develop career guidance and counseling. Davis introduced guidance and counseling in public schools in 1907.
• Theory of Counseling: Solution Focused Therapy It is usually designed to aid the client to picture him/herself in a realistic future that is different to the present and past and when the problem the client is experiencing is non-existent.
• Therapy and Mental Health Counseling The scholars emphasize that, unlike medications, therapy is a journey that requires awareness and acceptance of the change to heal from stress and trauma.
• Theories and Applications of Counseling and Psychotherapy Counseling is a kind of psychological assistance aimed to overcome the problems of a mental and emotional nature.
• Counseling Assessment Reliability and Validity In order to determine the level of content validity, one has to examine whether the scale is developed appropriately in that he/she has to examine items such as the level of reading necessary to understand […]
• Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling The author adds that the counselor needs spiritual maturity in a bid to get the client to the same level of maturity.
• Counseling: Strengths and Weaknesses Directive counseling presupposes a counselor’s choice of topic, the interpretation of a client’s responses, and recommendations that aim to impact a client’s decision-making.
• Cultural Bias in Counseling Practices Among other factors, cultural biases result from the fact that most of the counseling practices were created in the context of the dominant Euro-American culture.
• Ethics in Group Counseling According to Crespi, it is important for the counselor and learners to learn the legal principles that guide the process of counseling by governing the standards to be observed by the counselor and the client.
• Jay E. Adams: A Theology of Christian Counseling Due to the fact that man is dependent on his creator, it can, therefore, be concluded that there is significant need for the use of theology in counseling.
• Biblical Concepts for Christian Counseling It is important to underline the issue that the Bible is the background for Christian counseling, while the counseling itself is an integral part of Word ministry.
• Personal Theory of Counseling Many scholars have come up with various theories that try to explain the nature of human behavior and the factors that cause the differences in the same.
• Group Counseling Session in Personal Reflection The opening was consistent with the group’s purpose, and my use of tone and volume was appropriate for the setting; however, I think that I showed little evidence of self-reflection or self-correction.
• Bender Visual-Motor Gestalt Test II in Counseling The reliability of the given test refers to the fact that graphic movements are marked by the highest degree of regulation, and the violations of the mechanisms of spatial analysis and synthesis are primarily reflected […]
• The Practice of Counseling in the US and Indian Culture Owing the varied nature of the constituents of this culture, there is a large and continually expanding evolution of the Indian culture especially as regards religion, beliefs and societal values that is quite influential to […]
• Mental Health Counseling Licensure and Certification in Florida The purpose of this paper is to analyze and compare the requirements and provisions for mental health counseling licensure and certification in Florida and discuss their impact on the public.
• The Use of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy in Rehabilitation Counseling In this regard, cognitive-behavioral programs provide for clarification of the characteristics of the patient’s psychological state and assistance in their awareness, a brief appeal to the origins of the formation of the patient’s psychological problems, […]
• The Problems of Adolescents: The Importance of Counseling The result is that, many young people are involving themselves in activities that are meant to send a statement of independence and freedom to their parents and the society as a whole.
• Self Disclosure in the Counseling Process The component parts of the organization are in many ways subordinate to the primary goals, even though on a day-to-day basis there may be enormous competition among individual organizational members and among structural subunits of […]
• Guiding and Counseling Practices in England and Nigeria Guidance and counseling based on a cognitive approach are brief in structure and nature and center on solving the root problems of the young people.
• An Orientation to Group Counseling Counseling groups help address psychological issues without causing massive changes to one’s personality. Psychotherapy groups allow focusing on a certain psychological concern.
• About Counseling Cross-Culturally To reflect the relevance and objectivity of the author, it is possible to provide one of the examples from the study.
• Counseling Ethics in Tarasoff vs. Regents Case Therefore, the ethical dilemma of the issue is that under the new rule, it has become therapists’ responsibility to decide how serious their patients’ threats are and whether it is necessary to inform potential victims […]
• Counseling and Teaching: Comparative Discussion Hence, in this scenario, an individual can become dissatisfied with the results of the working relationship and cooperation due to the inconsistencies and a lack of proper comprehension of differentiating roles of teachers from counsellors.
• Pastoral Counseling in the Military In turn, the standards of the Christian Church will help me to remain patient and understanding of the needs of soldiers so that they could progress in their spiritual development.
• Counseling Intervention Ethical Concerns In order not to bring more harm to the issue, counseling specialists should properly weigh possible outcomes and the consequences of the intervention.
• Counseling on Euthanasia and End-of-Life Decision The immediate dynamic killing is a clinical demonstration coordinated to the hardship of life, while a doctor helped self-destruction is a demonstration of the doctor where he gives the patient a medicament for taking life.
• Burnout and Staff Turnover: Substance Abuse Counseling The counselor explains the rules and procedures to the patient, monitors the patient’s performance, and participates in the use of sanctions to obtain patient compliance.
• Counseling Competencies and Developing Strategies This paper highlights a few strategies of enhancing my proficiency and competence as a counselor in a bid to have an upper hand in the crowded field of counseling.
• Counseling Interview in Family and Relationship Therapy My choice of questions for the interviewees on matters related to life, relationship and family will be designed as linear and systematic questions to aid in formulating an assessment.
• Features of Assessment During the Counseling Process Also, it interprets the primary presenting concern, which is the change in the behavior of the client and the consequences of this change, and personal details of the client.
• Active Listening Skill Essene in Counseling To facilitate the establishment of a trustful relationship with a client, a counselor should implement active listening techniques and develop the right attitude to the work process and people with whom he or she interacts.
• Counseling Ethical Codes and Diversity Issues The guidelines in the code of conduct are vague and generalized, which further encourages counselors and practitioners to use their criteria in assessing culturally diverse clients.
• Psychological Counseling Using Behavioral Theory Counseling theories have played a great role in increasing understanding of the behavioral patterns of people, and the importance of counseling in treating psychological problems of people.
• Marci: Analysis of a Counseling Situation Therefore, it will be reasonable to assume that the case in point is the exact representation of what is defined in the DSM-V as a dual diagnosis, with the elements of a “substance-related diagnosis” and […]
• Spiritual Discernment and Vocational Counseling Spiritual discernment is the ultimate secret weapon that can be used by Christians who are interested in drawing closer to the Lord as they progress in life as it guides them to make the most […]
• The American Counseling Association: Code of Ethics The relations between the consultant and the client are based on trust, the foundation of which is the preservation of confidential information and privacy – they are discussed in the second section.
• Counseling and Education Session in Type II Diabetes Patients will be educated about the glycemic index and its effect on their blood sugar Patients will learn to count their carbohydrates. Patients will set up their goal and the timeframe to achieve it.
• Counseling Profession in Special Education The relationships involved in the counseling profession depend on the unique needs of the individual seeking intervention. Special education counseling specializes in the aspect of psychotherapy in the school setting with an emphasis on facilitating […]
• Counseling Ethics in 5-Step Decision-Making Model The failure to meet various needs of clients and the inability to perform according to the level of professional expertise interferes with the course of assessment and treatment.
• The Importance of Premarital Counseling Before Marriage It is thus essential for couples contemplating to enter into a binding contract to go through premarital counseling program in order to get skills and knowledge on how to maintain their marriage.
• Modern Psychological Counseling Application of the latest psychological research to the development of psychosocial assistance, notably service-recipient-facing treatments and methods of implementation, is a feature of modern psychotherapy.
• Intercultural Counseling: Cultural Competence in Therapy With African Americans As a result, the researchers came to the conclusion that cultural competency is an effective tool counselors can apply as it correlates with positive well-being outcomes and overall satisfaction with the assistance.
• Power and Privilege in Intercultural Counseling The book looks at the concept of power and its role in change and considers the politics of change, analyzing the different forces that can block or promote it.
• Challenges and Approaches to Family Counseling The main aim is to address issues affecting the health and functioning of the family, such as communication. However, a counselor should assess the danger posed to other family members and address it immediately.
• Social Justice in Counseling Psychology The other barrier which is likely to arise in the process of integrating social justice in the workplace is legal and ethical issues.
• Clinical and Counseling Psychology It is essential to evaluate the many cultural-clinical psychology distinctions that might result in cultural change since psychology encompasses a variety of topics, including psychological diseases, cognitive growth, and psychological maturity.
• Self-Care Strategies or Interventions for Counseling Professionals The purpose of the project is not only to describe counseling obligations and challenges but identify the strategies and prove the possibility of their implementation today.
• Psychological Counseling and Psychotherapy First of all, counselors need to be trained to develop an awareness of the existence and characteristics of cultural differences in understanding, communication, values, and lifestyles of people of different groups.
• Counseling Program Reducing Cognitive Distortions The focus of this project will be on the use of group counseling based on the utilization of the positive psychology approach. As a result, this population is prone to the development of anxiety and […]
• Counseling for Family Conflicts Resolution Family conflicts are considered in the project, and it is expected that the intervention will lead to a decreased incidence of the given phenomenon.
• Cultural Diversity in Counseling Counseling is a challenging profession that requires one to be able to relate and appeal to people from different backgrounds. This approach would help evoke an understanding of how belonging to a specific culture changes […]
• Code of Ethics in Clinical Mental Health Counseling For instance, the ACA’s ethical values involve upholding human development by using the multicultural method to support the potential, worth, and dignity of people in their cultural and social settings.
• Cultural Differences in Counseling Therefore, I think that being sensitive and responsive to cultural differences in people requires a little interest in the topic and a willingness to examine their personality on the subject of cultural assumptions.
• Sexual Orientation in Counseling As a result, LGB individuals should receive treatment that takes into account their co-occurring mental health needs and provides continuity of care within drug and alcohol rehab.
• Drawing a Care-Seeker Through Phase One in Pastoral Counseling My traits will help me inspire a guy to independently search for the meaning and value that he lost with his mother and sister.
• Cooper Mental Health Counseling Advertising The goal of the campaign will be to attract the maximum number of clients to the psychological counseling clinic. The call to action in the case of this advertising campaign will be a call to […]
• Premarital Counseling Discussion One of the critical aspects of preventing a crisis that can lead to a divorce is ensuring good communication between a couple.
• Genetic Counseling, Its Role, and Candidates In such cases, the benefits of such testing can be better explained to enable other family members to be tested and determine any other possible genetic problems.
• Parenting Counseling in the New York City Community Overall, Cap4Kids has developed a wide range of resources and opportunities for children and their parents, thus, addressing the parenting issues that New York City community members are likely to experience presently.
• Strength-Based Approach to Counseling: Pros and Cons These people cannot rely on their strengths, as they need other people to care for them, which is against the central principles of the strength-based approach. Additionally, I will use the strength-based approach to those […]
• Researching of Rape Counseling On the other hand, the male victim assaulted by a stranger in the washroom will not have a fear of pregnancy, and there will be no need to take contraceptives.
• The Reasons for Genetic Counseling According to Abacan, “genetic counseling is the process of helping people understand and adapt to the medical, psychological and familial implications of genetic contributions to disease”.
• Mental Health Counseling Settings One advantage of a private practice is that decision-making is free from the influence of government agencies, charities, and other groups. However, a government agency setting is likely to have countless bureaucracies that would hinder […]
• Humanistic Approach to Career Counseling A professional counselor can be helpful in choosing the right path to a job and when it is frustrating and disappointing. Faith: Well, it is a good day, and I decided to visit you.
• Counseling Suffering Clients Therapists should pay attention to the characteristics of the restructuring of the spiritual worldview: a person can either discard his religious beliefs and plunge into a crisis, get hung up on it, or assert his […]
• Counseling of a Client With Heroin Addiction Although he has a son, he does not maintain any relationship with him, and his son does not try to communicate with Dante. First, the client did not address this aspect and was unwilling to […]
• Mental Health Counseling and Ethical Standards Relevant codes contribute to following the necessary rules to communicate and interact with clients and meeting the standards of professional collaboration.
• A Loss of a Family Member and Counseling He was disturbed by his friends’ lack of empathy and was bitter and angry about the loss of his mother. The patient demonstrates normal cognition in view of the fact that he is oriented in […]
• Group Counseling With Adolescents The study emphasizes that the response of the leader and group members to individual change talk plays a special role in such sessions.
• A Career in Counseling Psychology Therefore, the work of a counselor in psychology seems to be one of the most appealing options from the perspective of professional growth.
• Chapter 24 of “Affirmative Counseling With LGBTQI+ People” by Ginicola et al. The overarching purposes of behavior therapy implemented in a trauma-informed approach is to rebuild a sense of control and empowerment in trauma survivors.
• Eye Contact, Active Listening, and Nonverbal Empathy in Counseling Process The reason for it is that it helps to understand people better and be able to establish strong and meaningful connections.
• Psychodynamic Theoretical Approach to Counseling and Psychotherapy The basis of all assumptions of the psychodynamic theory is rooted in the notion of all behavioral issues originating from the unconscious part of the mind.
• Career Counseling for People With Disabilities To sufficiently research, the issue of career counseling for individuals with disabilities in the academic press, a list of journals that offer such information was developed.
• Stages and Skills of Counseling Counseling is a collaboration between the client and the counselor to discuss and solve the existing mental problems. I believe that parts of counseling in which I am adept are establishing relationships and defining the […]
• Counseling on Bone Marrow Transplantation History and Process The National Marrow Donor Program is a not-for-profit association that works the Be The Match Registry of volunteer hematopoietic cell donors and umbilical rope blood units in the United States.
• Adolescent’s Counseling About Health Amy is the representative of late adolescence, and she understands that her everyday choices and habits affect her health and are necessary to be managed consciously.
• Genetic Counseling – Tay Sachs Disease In this case, there is a 25% likelihood of passing the gene to their children. This would be effective in preventing further passing down of the disease to their offspring.
• Genetic Counseling Analysis To take a detailed family history, I would start with gathering the information about the consumers. Finally, I would ask about the members of the family who have already passed away and clarify the cause […]
• Developing Multicultural Counseling Competencies They then have to know the available tools for this evaluation, to create and more importantly, to be certain about the constancy and validity of the grading of these tools.
• HIV Counseling and Testing: Lifetime Treatment Program Some of the possible intervention that can be adopted by the clinicians in order to improve adherence include the encouragement of the patients to be in contact with people of their age who will encourage […]
• Notion of Counseling: Personality Assessment Techniques Projective tests, on the contrary, are conducted by specialists in order to guide the examinees through the process with questions that help identify the features of one’s personality that are invisible to the patient.
• The Counseling Dynamics Between a White Client and a Counselor of Color Another barrier is in perceiving the counselor of color as a super minority therapist, which means that a White client might think that the professional is specialized in working for a specific group.
• Counseling Process: Trustworthiness and Expertness Multicultural interactions in the given field can be observed through a wide range of dimensions, where both counselor’s and client’s ethnic background can shape the dynamics of the overall interaction.
• Systemic Oppression & Traditional Counseling Ethics My response in the past would be in favor of the law because I was not fully aware of the cultural aspects of counseling.
• School Counseling: A Challenge, an Opportunity That’s why I chose to pursue this career I feel it is a great opportunity to aid the young, and being a part of this process is equally challenging and rewarding.
• Case Conceptualization: Counseling Adolescents There is a possibility that other psychological problems may be the cause of her behavioral changes, but based on her age, it is more likely that teenage problems are setting in.
• School Counseling Specialization It calls for the specialist to analyze all of the aspects of the client’s life and develop interventions based on the issues identified in each of them.
• Ethics in the Counseling Profession: Personal Case Empathetic- this is one of the strengths when it comes to counseling skills Genuine- I realized that I am in a position to tell the affected person the truth even if it is not that […]
• Counseling Theories in the Management of Alcoholics The amount of alcohol he needs to get drunk has been increasing over the years and he spends much of his income on alcohol.
• The American Counseling Association and the American Psychological Association Websites The intention of this research is to diffuse the result of Information Communication Technologies and the internet mostly for the coming age’s competitiveness of the two counseling websites. This adds to the links that are […]
• Methods Used by Psychoeducational Groups for Counseling Therapy The main group objectives include the following points: Applying results of the literature review to the design of counseling sessions. Integrate different theories and methods into the structure of counseling sessions.
• Concept Problem of School Counseling What is the role of the professional school counselor in your school? The role of school’s professional counselors is to indulge in sophistically sounding but utterly meaningless rhetoric, in regards to the sheer importance of […]
• Developmental School Counseling and Pupil Services The Data collected from the instruments will be used to develop a system for determining patterns and the trends within the school environment.
• Client Experiences of Counseling and Treatment Interventions To illustrate the use of qualitative research designs and methods of analysis, a study of family members’ views of family therapy is briefly described. A small fee was paid to the families in recognition of […]
• Intentional Interviewing and Counseling The reason for her being in counseling is that her life has deteriorated to the point of being in a state of crisis.
• Marfan Syndrome in Genetic Counseling The two generation hierarchies above and one generation hierarchy below the Anne’s generation was pooled and presented in the chart as below: Firstly, the typical clinical symptoms attributed to MFS were sorted from the description […]
• International Students’ Attitude and Counseling Service For instance the students from Vietnam students are reluctant to seek counseling help due to the stigma associated with mental problems.
• Work-Based Counseling in Companies The employees need to be frequently monitored and their issues solved for the organization to be productive. The employer should be in a position to understand that the employees are not machines that need to […]
• Achieving Success in a Counseling Session I have experienced that the most favored solutions pertain to situations where the client is open to resourcefulness and motivation, which further depends on the competence level of the counselor or therapist and whether there […]
• Five Moral Principles of ACA vs. Seven Virtues of Christian Counseling It is clear, however, that the ACA principles advocate a higher degree of autonomy while Christian counseling suggests that the counselor should suffer from the client, not just feel for them.
• A Critical Review of the Counseling Modalities The advantage of this therapy is that the relationship between the clients and the counseling is friendly and intimate and that it is more eclectic than other approaches of therapy.
• Ethical Issues of Counseling: Abortion and Divorce Personal values and beliefs, world views, and attitudes of both a counselor and a client have a great impact on the therapeutic relationship and effective treatment.
• Postmodern Psychology and Counseling It is a way of self-actualization and self-realization of the person. The internal biological human nature is a specific characteristic of the mankind.
• Personality Assessment in Counseling The origin of personality traits is investigated, as well as their role in biological and social processes and the consequences they have for a person’s health.
• Certification in Substance Abuse Counseling Therefore, the presence of tolerance to alcohol is clear from the interview. In summary, the assessment generated substantial evidence that the client has a problematic pattern of alcohol use leading to clinically significant impairment or […]
• Mental Health and Grief Counseling Issues One of the objectives of grief counseling is getting an individual to the last and most important stage of the process where someone accepts the reality of the loss they experienced. This would play a […]
• Counseling Model Review and Analysis The rational emotive behavior theory plays a dominant role in the foundation of the basic philosophy of the model because it prioritizes the dysfunctional feelings and behaviors as the core of therapy.
• School Counseling Group Functions Analysis By articulating the issues during the individual sessions or group meetings, the counselor will be able to single out the particular problems of each child and will make corrections in the plan to meet the […]
• Counseling Session With a Seventh-Grade Student The counselor is trying to analyze the student’s behavior without scolding and criticizing her. The professional is aware of the fact that her family environment is stressful and makes an effort to change it.
• Job Loss and Career Counseling Strategies Key components of the assignment the introduction, the discussion on the subjects’ stages of career development, the identification of job loss consequences, recommendations for appropriate assessment and counseling strategies, and considerations of client advocacy.
• Group Counseling: Change in Relationships The specified analysis is possible due to the use of the Thinking, Feeling, and Behaving Model, which allows one to explore the affective and emotional domain of the participants.
• Effective Group Work Counseling for Academic Success Also, behavioral changes can be evaluated to check the impact of group counseling on students’ self-perception and their position in a class, which is crucial for adolescents.
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Professional Counseling The main duty of a counselor is to offer services to deal with specific issues affecting a patient and enhancing individual growth.
• Positive Outcomes in Breastfeeding Women Who Receive Counseling Admittedly, if a nurse handles postpartum women in his or her daily practice, it is imperative that he or she possesses scientific and technical knowledge of the challenges and particularities of breastfeeding.
• Ethical Principles and Concepts in Counseling The notions of privacy, confidentiality, and privilege are central to the process of counseling and have to be adhered to so that rapport could be established between a patient and a counselor.
• Counseling and Professional Ethics in California Professional ethics is a system of moral standards and moral principles inherent in a certain professional community, which performs the functions of regulating the interaction of specialists in the professional environment, determining the individual’s attitude […]
• Empirically Supported Relationships in Counseling In counseling, this variable is essential since it helps to reduce the power distance between therapists and their clients. There is a strong link between the background diversity of clients and the attainment of better […]
• School Counseling & Problem Conceptualization The ultimatum that the parents of the student present to Janeen may further affect her mental health. The possible reaction of the student’s parents to her gender concerns is unknown.
• Support Group Counseling Session Under Observation The focus for the session was substance withdrawal to help the clients realize the importance and the process of abandoning the behavior.
• Certification in Clinical or Counseling Psychology The main drawback of pursuing a doctorate degree is the time required for one to complete the education and obtain it.
• Professional School Counseling: Interview Reflection This means that the school counselors utilize the statistics to illustrate the effect of the school counseling program on the overall enhancements and student success.
• Clinical and Counseling Psychology as Career Fields The subject matters of the common clinical psychology are the common factors of the psychology of the patient and of the health care professional; the psychological peculiarities of the patient and the doctor; the influence […]
• Professional Competencies in General Counseling In order to be an effective counselor, I need to place my feelings on the periphery and focus on the clients’.
• Theories of Counseling and Psychotherapy The cognitive and behavioral intervention strategies mentioned in the chapter can be used not only by a school social worker, but any clinician to improve the quality of life of the client. The multicultural theory […]
• Counseling Theoretical Approaches At the beginning of the therapy, I make assessments to enable the therapy to be optimally effective. The sessions of this therapy are usually precise and less in number as compared to the REBT sessions.
• Sexually Abused Child’s Treatment and Counseling I developed a lot of interest in the case and, therefore, decided to explore it by seeking a deeper understanding of the problems being experienced by the boy.
• Group Counseling, Leadership and Facilitation The respondent further indicates that through group leadership, one can easily stir and cause the transformation to occur within the general society.
• Counseling Services in K-12 Schools Good decision-making ensures that both the interests of the students and educational stakeholders are respected in the course of student counseling. The tiered model of action in regards to school counseling begins with the students’ […]
• Clinical and Counseling Psychologist’s Interview In this interview, I used the word of mouth approach, and the following is a summary of the psychologist’s response to my questionnaires.
• Crisis and Trauma Counseling In the event that death occurs, the bereaved find it difficult to accept the loss at first, but when it dawns on them that it is true they have lost a loved one, anger takes […]
• Addiction Counseling and Certification in Arizona I have also defined the roles of the counselor in my area of specialization, that is, addiction counseling described the characteristics of an effective professional counselor in my field of specialization, and identified the licensing […]
• Group Counseling for Children of Addicted Parents In this respect, my role as a leader and group counselor is to explain to the children other ways of relieving grief, angriness, and hatred.
• Patient Empowerment: Education and Counseling In the age of technologies, the Internet, social media, and the extensive use of electronic health records, patients are presented with opportunities to take their health under control and become more active in choosing, implementing, […]
• Counseling and Therapy for Couples: Family Resilience Was the child the reason for their marriage? What is the reason for the difference in their present-day income?
• Rehabilitation Counseling for Older Disabled Adults Rehabilitation counseling can offer help to older adults with a disability, as it provides essential tools and support for developing coping mechanisms and improving the quality of life.
• Child Counseling and Parenting Problems To describe an ongoing problem from the Cooper family’s perspective briefly, it would be proper to state that Matthew does not seem to be the head of the family as this role belongs to his […]
• Counseling: Attention Deficit and Its Functional Impact These interviews are meant to study the impact of ADHD on the behavior and function of children while parents were evaluated for the observability of these measures.
• Pre-Discharge Medication Counseling Implementation At the fourth stage, the knowledge translation strategies should be selected by administrative staff to facilitate understanding of the change. At the last stage, the outcomes of the change on patients and medical staff need […]
• Coercion in Counseling of Addicted Clients The central areas of concern include the impact of coercion on motivation, the effectiveness of coercion and existing alternatives, ethical and legal challenges to the use of coercion, and mandated clients’ perspectives on the matter.
• Pre-Mental Health Counseling Assessment for Child The counselor who assesses the client for perception of Relationship Test has to ascertain the closeness of the child with either of the parents.
• Life After Sexual Abuse. Counseling Intervention The latter implies the analysis of the problem from the perspective of a sexual abuse survivor who has experienced the lack of attachment in infancy and, therefore, is incapable of handling the issue of their […]
• Wellness and Counseling in Family Systems Therapy At the same time, the work with a client presupposes the ability to meet his/her diverse needs and be ready to determine the theory of counseling that should be used to guarantee the improvement of […]
• Wellness in Theoretic Modeling and Counseling Practice This model was also employed to create a test evaluating the wellness of an individual; the Wellness Evaluation of Lifestyle Inventory, abbreviated as WEL, was used for several years in order to further explore the […]
• Career Counseling Program for High-School Students In turn, it is vital to indicate that the program will also discuss the role of diversity and globalization in different industries and help select the most suitable career path, as these aspects may define […]
• Counseling and Social Work Challenges Also, it may be important to try to work with different people and assess the impact that individual differences have on the work results.
• Counseling: Poor Attention and Communication Skills First of all, the issue of low concentration can be addressed through games connected to the use of one’s memory and attentiveness.
• Abortion Counseling and Psychological Support
• Disaster Response and Counseling Evaluation
• Counseling Job Seekers’ Communication Theories
• School Counseling Programs and Student Achievements
• Rehabilitation Counseling Associations’ Membership
• School Counseling Specifications
• Genetic Testing & Counseling and Their Value
• Self-Efficacy in On & Offline Counseling Programs
• Anxiety Evaluation in Rehabilitation Counseling
• Case Management and Rehabilitation Counseling
• Wellness Concept in Counseling
• Psychology and Theology in Christian Counseling
• Professional and Barter Relationships in Counseling
• Personal Frameworks and Boundaries in Counseling
• Personal Counseling and Development Theory
• Counseling Process and Communication Ethics
• Multicultural Career Counseling Method
• Counseling Low Self-Esteem and Decision Making
• Counseling Theories on Elementary School Students
• Motivational Counseling and Interviewing Techniques
• Multicultural Counseling Importance and Challenges
• Counseling Psychology: Career Choice
• Implicit Expectations in Rehabilitation and Counseling
• Counseling and Mentorship Program for Hispanic Children
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Theories of Counseling
• The Practice and Training of Counseling Psychologists
• Adlerian Theory in the Group Counseling
• Psychology Issues: Health Counseling
• Anger Management Counseling and Treatment of Domestic Violence by the Capital Area Michigan Works
• Advantages of Group Counseling
• Effective Mental Health Counseling
• Counseling Jewish Women: A Phenomenological Study
• “The Counseling Profession’s Relationship to Jews and the Issues That Concern Them: More Than a Case of Selective Awareness”
• Multicultural Counseling and the Orthodox Jew
• Cultural Diversity in Counseling: Multiculturalism as an Important Part of Our Lives
• Addiction Counseling and Psychosocial Crisis in Elderly
• ‘Psychology, Theology and Spirituality in Christian Counseling’ by Mark McMinn
• Biblical Word Study: Counseling and Addiction Categories
• Drug Addictions Counseling: Assessment and Diagnosing
• Predicting Premature Termination From Counseling Using the Butcher Treatment Planning Inventory
• Attachment Dimensions and Adolescence Drug Addiction in Relation to School Counseling
• Counseling in the Workplace
• Group Counseling in the Schools
• Counseling Techniques Used to Help an Unemployed Client
• A Major Challenge to Counseling the Culturally Diverse
• Counseling Psychology in Dealing With Divorce
• The Role of Hispanic Americans in Counseling
• Ethical Decision-Making Tools: Chemical Dependency and Counseling
• Group Counseling and Ethics
• Evaluation of Anger Management Counseling and Treatment of Domestic Violence by the Capital Area Michigan Works
• Adventure Based Counseling
• Prayer in Christian Counseling
• Multicultural Counseling Theory and Multicultural Counselors
• Importance of Group Counseling
• Christian Counseling for Children
• Premarital Counseling
• Mentoring and Counseling
• Medical Model Versus Counseling Model
• The Essential Qualities and Knowledge for Effective Counseling
• What Theory or Theories of Counseling are Observed in the Film Good Will Hunting?
• Pre Marriage Counseling: One Year Before Getting Married
• Contributions in Psychological Clinical Counseling
• Which Factors Contributed to the Development of Counseling Psychology?
• What Are the Types of Counseling?
• What Is the Difference Between Counseling and Therapist?
• Who Was the First Psychological Counselling?
• How Is Active Listening Used in Counseling?
• When Is It More Appropriate to Use Group Counseling?
• How Competent Is Christian Counseling?
• What Are the Emotional and Behavioral Problems of Counseling?
• Why Is It Important to Talk to a Premarital Counselor Before Getting Married?
• In Which Crisis Situations Is Counseling Recommended?
• How Is Counseling Culturally Sensitive?
• What Is the Most Popular Counseling Theory?
• How Are the Diagnosis and Treatment Planning in the Counseling?
• What Factors Affect the Effectiveness of Counseling?
• Can Counseling Be Unethical?
• What Are the Basic Skills Needed in Counseling?
• How Does Counseling for Children Differ From Counseling for Adults?
• What Ethical and Legal Dilemmas Can Arise in Counseling?
• In Which Situations Is It Advisable to Turn To Family Counseling?
• How Is Counselling Different From Coaching?
• What Is the Essence of Genetic Counseling?
• What Is the Significance of Counseling for an Individual and Organization?
• What Are Some of the Major Challenges Facing the Counseling Profession Today?
• How Many People Are Allowed in Group Counseling?
• What Are the Geological and Psychological Foundations of Counseling?
• What Is the Role of HR in Employee Counseling?
• What Issues Does High School Counseling Address?
• How to Improve the Legal Level of Consulting?
• What Does Integrative Mean in Counselling?
• What Are the Challenges of Multicultural Counseling of American Indians?
• Personal Values Ideas
• Self-Reflection Research Topics
• Psychotherapy Paper Topics
• Social Justice Essay Ideas
• Mentorship Topics
• Leadership Essay Ideas
• Mental Health Essay Ideas
• Performance Management Ideas
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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• School Education /

Essay on Onam for Students and Children

• Updated on  
• Sep 14, 2024

We all have heard of the Onam festival. It is an important festival celebrated in South India, especially for the people of Kerala. This is a harvest festival which is celebrated in various parts of the country with different names. In Kerala, this festival is celebrated with great enthusiasm for ten days.  Each day of the festival has its own significance. In this section, we will look at some samples of essay on Onam that will help you learn the celebration in depth. It will also help children understand their cultural diversity and richness. So, if you want to know more about the festival, keep reading.

Table of Contents

• 1 Long Essay on Onam (500 words)
• 2 Short Essay on Onam (250 words)
• 3 Facts About Onam

Long Essay on Onam (500 words)

Onam is the festival of Kerala and it is considered as one of the most important festivals in India. This festival is celebrated by Malayalees not just in India but all around the world. The festival highlights Kerala’s vibrant culture, traditions and history. This ten-day festival includes big feasts, folk dances, music, boat races and floral decorations.

Onam festival is deeply roted in Hindu mythology with the story of King Mahabali. The story of onam revolves around the legendar figure of Kerala, King Mahabali. According to Hindu mythology, Mahabali was the king of Kerala, and his rule was marked by peace and equality. However, the gods were worried by his growing popularity and requested Lord Vishnu’s help. Lord Vishnu, in the form of Vamana, went to Mahabali and requested three paves of land. Mahabli agreed and Vamana grew to a large size, covering both the earth and the heavens in two steps. For the third step, Mahabali respectfully surrendered his head, and he was sent to Patalalok. Impressed by Mahabali’s devotion, Lord Vishnu granted him the blessing of visiting his kingdom once a year. This annual visit is celebrated as Onam and symbolizes the spirit of sacrifice and the promise of hope and renewal.

The Onam festival begins in the Malayalam month of Chingam, which usually falls in August or September. This festival lasts for ten days and each day of Onam has its own traditions and significance. The first day of the festival marks the beginning of the festival, with people preparing for the major celebration. The making of a flower rangoli begins today and rises in size each day, symbolising the arrival of King Mahabali. The second day is spent visiting temples, and on the third day, people begin shopping for new clothes and gifts. The fourth day is known as Vishakam, and it marks the beginning of the beautiful Onam Sadhya (feast). The fifth day is known for the Vallamkali, or boat race. On the sixth and seventh day, people start preparing for the festival which is followed by many traditional games and performances. The eighth day is dedicated to creating idols of King Mahabali. The ninth day, also known as Uthradam is considered as the eve of onam and the tenth day is the most important day of the festival, marked by the grand Onam Sandhya. 

The Onam festival is celebrated with prayers, feasts and traditional traditional games. The Vallamkali, commonly known as the Snake Boat Race, is one of the festival’s most stunning events. Another unique feature of Onam is the folk dance Pulikali, in which men dress up as tigers and leopards and dance to traditional music. Kaikottikali or Thiruvathirakali, is a graceful dance done by women in a circle around a lit lamp to express joy and unity. Kummattikali is another dance form in which performers use colourful costumes and wooden masks that represent mythological characters. Onam Sandhya, which is the grand feast followed by this festival is the highlight of this celebration. It includes over 26 dishes on the banana leaves and represents the distinct flavour of the Kerala.

Onam is now celebrated all across the world which helps to preserve Malayalee traditions. This celebration promotes inclusivity and unity across communities. Its mythological roots represent values such as equality, humility and devotion. Onam brings together individuals from every phase of life and it is the true symbol of social harmony.

Also Read: 5 and 10 Lines on Onam Festival in English for Students

Short Essay on Onam (250 words)

Onam is a festival that is celebrated in India’s southern state, Kerala. It is a harvest festival that crosses all religious and social borders. It takes place during the Malayalam month of Chingam, which is generally between August and September. This celebration lasts around ten days and is considered one of India’s most important festivals. Onam celebrations are deeply rooted in Hindu mythology and are associated with King Mahabali. 

According to mythology, Mahabali was a generous king whose popularity scared the gods. Lord Vishnu took the form of Vamana, a dwarf Brahmin, and demanded three paces of land from the king. King Mahabali’s generosity pleased Lord Vishnu, who granted him the boon of visiting his kingdom and people once a year. This annual visit is known as Onam and this festival represents humility and hope for a better future. 

Onam is celebrated with various traditional activities, including Pookalam, the floral rangoli, and Onam Sandhya, a large feast served on banana leaves. These traditions reflect Kerala’s cultural heritage and richness. The highlights of Onam include many cultural performances like as the snake boat races known as Vallamkali, the folk dance Pulikali, in which men dress as tigers, and the graceful Kaikottikali, a group dance performed by women. Onam is a celebration that promotes inclusivity and community harmony. Onam is more than just a harvest festival; it is a celebration of Kerala’s rich cultural traditions and a hope for peace.

Also Read: Why is Onam Celebrated: The Festival of Joy in Kerala

Facts About Onam

Here we have mentioned some of the interesting facts about ONam which will give you a better learning about this festival.

• Onam celebrates the legendary return of King Mahabali, whose rule was regarded as a golden age.
• The festival is connected with Lord Vishnu’s Vamana avatar.
• Onam Snadhya is a grand feast of more than 26 Kerala foods served on banana leaves.
• The Aranmula Uthrattathi Vallamkali is one of the oldest and most famous snake boat races which held during Onam. 
• Kerala’s Tourism Department organises Onam Week to celebrate the state’s rich culture and attract visitors.
• Onam is one of the oldest festivals in Kerala which dates back thousands of years.
• Archery competitions were originally part of Onam celebrations.
• The Thrikkakara Temple in Kochi is the centre of Kerala’s Onam celebrations.
• Onathallu is a traditional martial art performed during Onam, especially in rural Kerala.
• Various countries, including the Gulf countries, the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia, celebrate Onam with great zeal.

Onam Sandhya, which is te grand feast served on the banana leaves is the main highlight of the onam.

Onam festival is deeply roted in Hindu mythology with the story of King Mahabali. The festival is connected with Lord Vishnu’s Vamana avatar.

Onam takes place during the Malayalam month of Chingam, which is generally between August and September. This celebration lasts around ten days and is considered one of India’s most important festivals. 

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Bhumika Sharma

A writer with a fresh perspective on thoughts, I have an year of experience in writing the blogs on various topics. Here, you will find my blogs for the students and education purpose.

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Former School Counselor Sentenced to Prison for Child Pornography Crime

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Cory Thomas, 33, of Charleston, was sentenced today to four years in prison, to be followed by 15 years of supervised release, for possession of prepubescent child pornography. Thomas must also register as a sex offender.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on February 7, 2024, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Thomas’ residence in Charleston and seized his cell phone and other electronic devices. An analysis of the electronic devices revealed at least 109 digital files of child sexual abuse material, 75 of which were videos. The videos and image files included child pornography depicting prepubescent minors subjected to sadistic or masochistic conduct and the exploitation of toddlers.

At the time of his arrest, Thomas was employed through a subcontractor as a counselor at a public elementary school and previously worked as a substitute teacher. There was no indication from the investigation that any criminal conduct occurred with students from any of Thomas’ workplaces.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

United States District Judge Irene C. Berger imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Alexander A. Redmon prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc .

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the  U.S. Attorney’s Office  for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on  PACER  by searching for Case No. 2:24-cr-43.

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