Life Skills and Wellness

School counselors serve as a first line of defense in identifying and addressing student needs within the school setting. School counselors have unique training in helping students develop skills that can help overcome barriers to academic success. Within the context of a school counseling program school counselors develop school counseling curriculum, deliver small-group counseling and provide appraisal and advisement directed at improving students’ overall well-being.
 

School counselors play a critical role in supporting students’ development as they:

• Collaborate with classroom teachers to provide the school counseling curriculum to all students through direct instruction, team teaching or providing lesson plans for learning activities or units in classrooms aimed at skill development 

• Understand the nature and range of human characteristics specific to child and adolescent development

• Identify and employ appropriate appraisal methods for individual and group interventions that support K–12 students’ social development

• Know and utilize counseling theories to inform both direct and indirect services providing support to K–12 students

• Use assessment in the context of appropriate statistics and research methodology, follow-up assessment and measurement methods to implement appropriate program planning

• Select and implement technology in a school counseling program

• Serve as a referral source for students when students need mental well-being support greater than the school can provide.
 

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