First (full-time) year counselor here and first post! just wondering if any other counselors have That One Student that never fails to make you feel like an absolute failure… like you just can’t seem to get a win with them no matter what you try. I love this student as much as any other but I always feel so dejected after our meetings. Imposter syndrome central over here today 😩

Hi! Has anyone used an interpretation tool that has been helpful in counseling sessions? My current school does not have any existing services / has not approved me to purchase something like Language Lab so I am looking for a low cost option to use. Maybe an app?

Thank you!

Hey all! I'm looking at CPD/CE courses on PESI and saw some certifications offered by Evergreen Certifications. I can't seem to find too much info on them. Any insight on Evergreen Certifications and how valuable/Legitimate they are?

Thanks!

I’m an elementary school counselor. I have had 3 students, who have never had issues coming to school, break down sobbing and refusing to leave their parents at morning duty. That’s just outside, I don’t know how the buses were. I’ve had an increase in comments from students, most likely repeating what their parents have said, and even students coming to school wearing pro-Trump attire. And at least two who dressed up as him as Halloween.

I am not sure how to handle students who are scared of the future when I’m just as scared. I’m not sure how to handle the derogatory comments. I am smiling and trying to make it through the day, but it’s hard when you know your school may loose funding and you may not be able to help your students.

I feel helpless and defeated. I could use any support or uplifting messages you can spare. Thank you friends 💜

Over the last six weeks, my school has suffered a few losses and there’s been a few students who have lost very close loved ones. I feel like I am doing an OK job helping the individuals manage their grief. However, I’m always interested in learning ways to do better.

What I don’t have our activities to help with expressing feelings around grief.

What are the activities that you do with high school age students when they have experience the loss of a loved one either from old age, illness, or suicide?

I currently live in Texas but Im from California and would like the option to practice there if I wanted to move back. I know CA has stricter requirements and so I was wondering if anyone here would be able to give me some ideas on how/where to study, while living in TX, that would allow me to move back to CA and work. I live near TX A&M and could study there in person, but I'm open to doing it all online if that's what's necessary.. I'm just not sure what I would need to do. I hope this makes sense.. any guidance from someone that has had experience with this or knows what I'm talking about is greatly appreciated!

Hi! Do you have any resources to provide for a high school student who is using alcohol? Looking to put together a packet for future use as well.

Unfortunately I have to supervise lunch for third grade each day (with three other adults mind you). My district supervisor wants me to do small groups. I don’t have time to do small groups except during lunch. My principal wasn’t happy when I asked to not do lunch duty twice a week to do lunch groups but then isn’t willing to let me pull from academic time. But he wants me to help kids. I’m just going to do lunch groups and take the consequences because I’d rather help kids than open milks. Some parts of this job are so stupid

Hi, everyone! This is going to be a really long post, so I apologize for that. I want to provide some context on my journey as a school counselor, and get advice on what I should do.

This is my second year as a school counselor. Last year I was at a high school working with a team of 7 counselors including a director. At the end of last year, five counselors (including me) decided to leave. Our director had never been a director before, and was quite often unaware of yearly tasks that needed to be completed, which were then thrust on us at the last minute with a very unrealistic deadline. There were very unclear expectations and a ton of confusion. I was working with two other first year counselors in the department, and unfortunately they did not do their share of the work. I wanted to go out of my way to impress, and knew that I’d be helping students by stepping up to the plate, so I often had a ton more work put on my plate than I could realistically handle. I felt like all day I was pushing paper and not making a difference. We had five or six bomb threats at the beginning of the year, several teachers fired for sexual misconduct… It was a disjointed, bleak environment and I felt burnt out, and made the decision to switch to elementary to focus on what fuels my fire, which is building relationships and social-emotional work.

This year, I am working at a title one elementary school with 400 kids. I asked admin for their vision, and they basically told me the world was my oyster. They had no clue what ASCA was. I had no data coming in, and basically created a skeleton curriculum plan to plan out my year. My plan was to do every three weeks in the classroom since my admin said that the “only counselor they ever saw who worked” did classrooms every three weeks and it was a good balance. Because of weather, unexpected crises, mandatory lessons from the district, and my own absences, I am behind in lessons and am now between 2-4 lessons a day. Admin recently added in extended planning for teachers which I push into classes for, increasing my lesson count.

The first few weeks of school, I did about 40 threat and suicide risk assessments. The level of need is astronomical, and I am so burnt out. I meet with students in between the crises, the school wide activities (red ribbon week, Veterans Day) the admin want me to run, and am really trying my best to not let things fall through the cracks, but I am exhausted. I was finally able to start a group this past week, but couldn’t hold my second group because three students from the first group needed suicide risk assessments done. I am thankful to have built a great rapport with the students, but it doesn’t feel like enough.

I have a great social worker who I work alongside. I consult with her regularly, and she had the idea to move into my office. After she moved into my office, she got an intern, so now there are three of us in my small office for two days a week.

I feel so unsupported by admin. I am constantly told not to talk to or look at students by my administrator when they are with a student who is being discipline, and am generally treated like my empathy is a weakness. The feedback from admin is that I need to write discipline referrals, prioritize more efficiently, start a parent university, run more groups, schedule individual meeting times and not falter from them, track all interactions with students…

I don’t know what to do. Im overwhelmed and exhausted and am almost paralyzed by the level of things I feel I need to change or do better. This is mainly a vent post, but I need advice. I love working with kids, and I don’t want to school hop. But my mental health is suffering and I need advice on what I should do going forward.

I'm a first year counselor at a high school. Many of my students have asked me for my number as supposedly the counselors they've had in the past communicate with them over text. Do you text students via your personal number or any other way? Trying to see how different counselors do it. Thanks!

I’m in my second year of elementary counseling after teaching in the same district in middle school for 10 years. I’ve encountered 3 potential SA cases in kindergarten girls this year. One case I wrote a police report for and is being investigated. Does anyone have a good resource for how to ask questions that can like elicit good evidence without being insanely triggering? I know the basics of not saying did someone hurt you, etc. I unfortunately live in a county that seems to require a dissertation to act. I still report everything, but feel sometimes I don’t go far enough in questioning for fear of hurting the student more than I’m helping. When they’re that young and adults are still helping in the bathroom, it’s so difficult to discern what is happening. Do you have go to questions you ask or behaviors you look for?

First year counselor in a 2-counselor elementary building (due to how my school allocates their Title 1 funds).

I loved my practicum. I loved my internship. I loved my groups, my lunch bunches, my 1:1 support, my class lessons. I loved the spiciness from interning at a title school. I loved when wild things went down. All this to say, I have a high chaos threshold, and tend to thrive off that rush. So for me to be struggling as much as I am right now says a lot. But from 8-3 it’s nonstop. It’s crisis after crisis, the kinder cohort this year has many high-flying kids, leading me to be reallocated as a 1:1 para, just trailing these kids/getting them back to class after yet another elopement. I’ve missed lessons because of these students. This school has so many deeply traumatized kids, and I feel like I can’t keep up. There’s no tier 1 because the amount of crisis management so far outweighs the amount of time we have. Admin (i think) is doing all they can, even though it’s not a lot. My co counselor is just as inundated with kids, so we’re like two ships in the night, and I don’t hear a ton from her at all. Our district supervisor has said ‘just do tier 1 and not be reactive, that’ll fix everything’, so central office support is out of the question.

I’ve cried on Saturdays in fear of work on Monday. I never cried in therapy before this job, and now it’s a weekly occurrence. I’ve told people to stop telling me to have a good day at work because it feels like a sick joke to hear- every day is a sprinting marathon of back to back to back chaos. I feel like a shell of a person. I don’t want to quit, but I don’t know how to get help. There’s such a staff shortage at my school that getting others to be 1:1 with these kinders are simply not a feasible option. But what things can I reasonably do aside from throwing in the towel three months in? Any words of wisdom?

Just started my first year as an elementary school counselor, and I am the only counselor.

Granted, I am still adjusting to the role but I would love some tips on how folks manage being the only counselor. I want to be proactive and run groups and things like that, but I feel like I’m constantly putting out fires all day and it gets in the way of being able to plan stuff and get ahead.

I would be super grateful to hear your tips on navigating being the only counselor and wanting to move from reactive to proactive counseling.

Thank you :)

Hi everyone, I had a question about grad school at National University. I was wondering if any teachers in CA had gotten their masters from here and could shed some light on how the program was?

I completely understand an online degree will have many differences from an in person one, but its not possible for me to go in person for medical and financial reasons. The cost of this program is also "only" 10k off of nearby public schools like csudh and csulb.

Im currently working as a teacher at a highschool. Does anyone know if the intern hours would be doable while keeping my current job? Thank you!

I'm not looking for general recommendations but more recs that include practical advice for language to use when talking to children (under 10) and also strategies for resolving common conflicts among peers in a satisfactory way.

Thank you!

hi yall! im currently applying to grad schools in California. a couple of schools offer the LPCC licensure and others offer the PPS. i'm wondering of the difference? is one more useful than the other? any insight would be appreciated!

Hello to the education world. I recently re-took my praxis 5422 exam and I currently am struggling on manage and assess. I am currently using a study guide I purchased online and that did help for my second time around taking it however I was 3 points away from passing. Is there anyone out there that could help me. I have watched all the YouTube videos. Read the red book and barely was able to retain that book in general. I know I have also taken some practice test on other websites like matrix. I know there are some quizlets. I just feel defeated.

As the title states , what should we expect ? With the election now past us and a new president upon us. What should we as counselors expect from this change of power? I keep hearing about the DOE being abolished , giving states more power and authority over education. I live in New York, a more liberal state , are there any things we should be concerned about ? Such as being laid off and losing our jobs ? Just some food for thought. Not sure what to think of if the DOE was abolished and states were in charge.

I’m currently in a school counseling masters in CA. I’ve been in this program since this June, and have really been enjoying my classes. I chose school counseling since I work in a school and see a lot of unmet needs for students. I do realize that a school counselors job can entail much more than what we are taught in our programs (and what I see at my own school site).

After one of my classes this week the professor pulled me aside and asked me why I wasn’t in school psychology? I was sort of shocked. My professor went on for 30 minutes attempting to convincing me to switch to school psychology. Now I’m suddenly unsure, my heart was set on school counseling, but my brain is going through the possibilities.

The professor is a former school psychologist and co-chair, so I mean if they see potential in me… I guess I could switch?

I don’t really like the idea of assessing students, but I also have no experience of what that really means? School psychologists make more money, have a defined role, a structured day, and have the ability to get an LEP later. School psych seems to have more oppritunities, but I would never be considering this switch without my professor prompting me like this.

I realize this sub may be bias towards school counseling, but I’d like to hear others thoughts.

Yay, it's Friday! To celebrate share one (or more!) thing that made you smile this week. This could be a school counseling "win" (big or small!), a moment of connection with a student, something that made you laugh, or anything else that made you feel all warm and fuzzy this week. :-)

Our job comes with a lot of hard. Let's take some time to be intentional about our joy.

Hi all. The mod team has seen an influx of posts in the past several days that violate our community rules, and so we want to take a moment to go over them with everyone and make sure the norms for participating in this space are clear.

r/schoolcounseling rules:

1. This subreddit is for professional school counselors. It is a place for school counselors and counselors in training to discuss our profession with each other. If you are not a school counselor, your post is subject to removal. This includes teachers (please utilize the many other subreddits that are available to you all, like r/Teachers or r/teaching)

2. Maintain confidentiality. Do not name students, staff, or school names when discussing on this sub. School counselors have an ethical duty to maintain confidentiality, even in online spaces.

3. Discuss students with respect. Homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic, racist, or sexist language is not tolerated here. Period.

4. Support one another and be kind. Posts that are mean and/or unsupportive towards others will be removed. Period.

5. No spam. Low-effort, repetitive posts are not allowed.

6. No advertising. Advertising is not allowed. If you are not sure whether your post will count as advertising or not, message the mods to ask.

We will ban folks who break subreddit rules repeatedly and are here in bad faith. Please continue to use the report function to bring them to our attention.

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend.

High school academic counselor here for a little less than a year and this seems like a stupid question, but how do you call down students for academic talks?

I switched from elementary teacher to HS counselor with an admin degree. It wasn't part of the plan, but I'm really enjoying it. Basically, I trained for about a week with the retiring counselor. They just called in the middle of class for students to come down and I've continued that practice, but I HATE it. I hate interrupting class and trying to decide which class is least disruptive to pull a student from. There has to be a better way, right? Do I just send passes down for teachers to put times in? Then I hate to have the sit and wait if something else comes up. Suggestions?

I’ve been putting together an application to the UVM MS in Counseling Dual Program, but now, I’m worried about the vocational stability given that Trump with a full Congress and Supreme Court wants to dismantle the Dept of Ed and slash Medicaid funding.

I want to be a helper still. I feel that the NEED for mental health services is only growing. Can some of you weigh in on whether I’m signing up for financial ruin in pursuit of being a licensed counselor.

I work at the elementary level and I’m on year 2. We have a student who is prone to violent outbursts, strangling and kicking fellow students, punching and biting staff to the point of drawing blood. Our admin isn’t doing anything about it, other than coming as backup to a crisis call when I specifically ask for it and standing witness.

Is this response normal? Shouldn’t there be protocols in place for this sort of thing? Does this student need outplacement? How have you helped similar kids in the past?

I know a thicker skin is necessary. I am working on it.

So. . . I’m an intern with 6th - 8th. One thing my school requires is we complete an original lesson plan and deliver it. I picked self-care and was super excited to deliver it. I had prizes for kids who participated.

They. . . Didn’t seem to care or even reach the objectives when we ended.

I know it was my first lesson I ever created. I know these are 7th graders who were eager for the day to wrap up.

I feel as though I let myself (and them) down with my lesson

Thinking about going back to school to finish my bachelors then pursue my masters in counseling. After doing the math it would cost me about 56k all together to finish my bachelors and the masters school counseling program I am looking into. All of that to say, is it worth taking that amount of loans out? (There’s a good chance I might be eligible for some decent scholarship(s) at least in undergrad). I am super passionate about the field, and feel called to get in this specific line of work, but could also use all the advice I could get. TYIA

Hi! I am currently finishing up my masters program in Virginia and will be completely done this May. I just received the news that my husband’s next duty station will be in Florida (he is active duty navy). Are there any FL school counselors that could give me some information on the qualifications needed to start working?

How do you help a student who views any concession to others as “taking shit,” even when it’s correction from a teacher? And sees that as a good thing / is unmotivated to change that.

This hasn’t come up with my students yet, thankfully, because I don’t even know what to say. My high school has a large ESL population, mostly Hispanic students from countries like Guatemala and El Salvador, many of which are undocumented. These kids came here to escape horrific conditions and violence in their home countries, some of them even leaving their entire families behind. I don’t know what to tell them if they come to me upset about all of this. I’m terrified for them and it just feels like there’s going to be nothing we can do to keep them safe. I know there are a lot of unknowns right now and I hope this is okay to post. Just so worried for my kids.

EDIT: Just want to clear up some points because some of these comments are really pissing me off.

1. I am a school counselor. My job is to support my students, especially when they are emotionally distressed. You know what’s emotionally distressing? Not knowing if you’re going to be deported. You can have empathy for the feelings a child is going through regardless of whether or not you think they should be in this country. They’re here. I have to support them.

2. I did not ask how to prevent my students from being deported. I did not say I think people should come here illegally. I did not say anything about my political views. Why? Because none of that matters right now - I am asking how to emotionally support my kids that are HERE NOW.

3. I really hope some of the people commenting wandered into this sub by mistake. If you are a school counselor and you can’t have empathy and care for ALL of your students, (dis)respectfully, change your career. It’s that simple.

I'm a first year school counselor. One of our students committed suicide recently. I didn't expect to encounter this so soon in my career and it has been a rough time for everyone so far. I'm just trying to be there for the kids and support as much as I can - which is somewhat difficult because I'm still getting to know these kids/earn their trust. Any advice for navigating this? I would appreciate some support.