School Counselor

Professional School Counselor

Becoming a professional school counselor has always been a dream of mine since the days of counseling classmates in the hallways about tribulations with others. I became a teacher thinking that my goal in life was to support children by teaching them knowledge to become successful and achieve their personal goals. Unfortunately, the education world was much colder than I ever imagined with rigorous testing and verbal berating of students by administration if they did not meet their academic goals. Students who developed testing anxieties had no one to turn to because the counselor was always occupied with duties outside of her realm of responsibilities. This paper looks at the professional identity of the school counselor and what it entails to be successful. It also details particular organizations that are helpful to join as a school counselor; with a brief discussion of the values each one holds. Also discussed is how a school counselor needs to have a plan of action when social change occurs. Ethics are important to the mental health profession, and this is no different for a school counselor. In conclusion, I will discuss an interview that took place recently regarding the profession of mental health counseling and how my attitudes changed regarding the profession.

Professional Identity as a School Counselor

Establishing a professional identity in counseling constitutes a problematic situation when there sometimes are differing views of the roles of a mental health professional. When one is establishing a professional identity in an educational environment, it can become even more difficult. The role of the school counselor can sometimes be confused with that of an educator. The confusion rises because a professional school counselor usually has an education certification as well as a certification as a professional mental health professional. If an administrator feels that the counselor needs to fill a position...