The role of the school counselor has evolved to meet the needs of today’s students.

What is a school counselor’s primary role?
Like all educators, school counselors wear multiple hats, but their primary role is to establish a comprehensive school counseling program, based on data-driven goals to foster student development in career, academic and social/emotional areas.

The South Dakota Comprehensive School Counseling Program Model serves as a guide for school counselors to plan and implement a comprehensive school counseling program in their schools.

Are school counselors therapists?
No, school counselors aren’t therapists. In South Dakota, certified school counselors have either earned a master’s degree in school counseling or a master’s degree in counseling with one year of supervision by a mentor school counselor and passage of the Professional School Counselor Praxis.

Certified school counselors have training to assist students with social/emotional needs, but therapy or long-term counseling to address psychological disorders is beyond school counselors’ scope of practice. For example, a school counselor has the training and expertise to support students with stress-relieving strategies during testing.

When social/emotional issues are beyond their scope of practice, school counselors may assist with student referrals to a clinical mental health counselor or therapist. Examples of appropriate social/emotional counseling provided by a school counselor are social-skill building, relaxation techniques for test anxiety and short-term counseling for a student experiencing a rough day at school.  While they cannot provide long-term therapy, school counselors may provide individual and small-group counseling services to students.

Why is the term “guidance counselor” considered outdated?
The term “guidance counselor” has the connotation of simply guiding students into what they’ll do after high school. The goal of the contemporary term, “school counselor,” is to highlight the broader role of fostering student development in career, academic and social/emotional areas.

For more information on celebrating National School Counseling Week, please visit the American School Counselor Association website.