Guidance counselors are the unsung heroes in schools. They work to provide help to students in many different ways: providing instruction on psychological and social issues, guidance with college and other careers, counseling, intervention, special needs services, and more. This assistance is so important in ensuring that students are prospering in the best ways that they can. Let’s take a look at other ways that guidance counselors can support students.
Academic Support
There’s a lot of stressors during high school years: classes, preparing for higher education or careers, navigating new feelings and friendships, and so much more. This is where the help of guidance counselors comes in. They can help students navigate the scary and stressful processes of scheduling, transcripts, and college applications. Plus counselors can encourage those students who aren’t quite sure what to do with themselves to explore passions and talents.
If a student is struggling with a particular class or lesson, they can approach their counselor so they can perform better. Counselors can work with teachers to ensure this as well.
Social and Emotional Support
When most people think of school counselors, they think of the emotional and social support they can provide to students. This one-on-one support is helpful when a student needs to discuss bullying or seek crisis counseling. Since mental health issues such as depression and anxiety are becoming more normalized in society now, counselors may be seeing an increase in students approaching them about these feelings.
Despite this, it’s important to remember that school counselors are not therapists. However, they can provide resources and make referrals to students if they feel that their issues are something that a different professional should handle.
Resources For Parents
One thing that guidance counselors can help with that many people don’t consider is helping parents. School counselors can offer families strategies for parenting and helpful advice on how to connect with their children.
School counseling has shifted a lot over the years; before it was seen as a more reactive career, where they waited for students to show up for help. Nowadays it is more proactive, where counselors want both parents and students to know they are a resource who want to help.
Final Thoughts
As we’ve said, guidance counselors are an important part of the school system. They want to help students so they can thrive emotionally, academically, and socially. Counselors can work with teachers to ensure this as well. Many of our programs can help schools achieve this success for their students, including Onspire, aSAP, and HIBster. You can contact us on our website and check our social media to learn more about us.