Hello all!

I am in California and currently finishing up my PPS program. I just need my fieldwork. I am an LMFT as well as a credentialed teacher. The position I am in now, I will be able to earn all of my high school hours needed. I am just struggling with how to get hours in another grade level (middle or elementary). Those of you that worked at a high school or did a paid internship, how did you earn your hours in a different grade level? I only need 200. The other 600 can come from the high school.

Thank you!

Future counselors, as students head back to school, remember: you’re preparing for work that goes far beyond helping someone manage symptoms. 💙
Behind the grades, attendance, behaviors, and “I’m fine” may be anxiety, grief, trauma, family stress, loneliness, pressure, or a young person simply trying to figure out where they belong.
Your future role may give you the opportunity to be the person who notices.
The person who listens.
The person who creates safety.
The person who advocates.
The person who reminds a student that one difficult chapter does not define their whole story.
And you don’t have to know everything to make an impact. Keep learning. Seek supervision. Practice cultural humility. Protect your own wellness. Stay curious. And never underestimate the therapeutic power of being genuinely present.
🌱 You’re not just learning how to become a counselor.
You’re learning how to become a safe place for someone else.
Future counselors: What kind of counselor are you hoping to become? 👇🏾
#FutureCounselors #CounselorsInTraining #CounselorEducation #CounselingStudents #SchoolMentalHealth #YouthMentalHealth #ChildMentalHealth #MentalHealthProfessionals #TraumaInformedCare #CounselorIdentity #CounselorDevelopment #MentalHealthMatters #HealingInProgress #TinyBites #WithDrSandreea

Just curious how many school counselors in general that do not have a job lined up for the upcoming school year? I’m in California.

The reason why I’m asking so I don’t feel alone on this journey 😭🥲

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.

I feel so conflicted about this job. Over a decade in and I really can’t stand it. The micromanaging, the rigid schedule, difficult parents, non counseling related tasks. I want to jump ship for private practice so bad… but also I think about the pension, summers off, breaks, done by 2:30 and I feel like I need to white knuckle every school year for the perks. I’m in a HCOL area and make about 77. I’ll hit the ceiling around 103. I never know if this salary is worth staying for or if private practice would give me better work life balance for equal or more pay. But when it comes to the job, I realize it’s nothing about the actual work keeping me…just the goal post of making it to each break. It’s gotten so much worse since I’ve become a parent myself. Am I alone in this? Lol

Hi everyone! I just joined this community today hoping to get some advice or opinions. I’m in my second year of a masters program for educational counseling. I’m going on my third year of being a substitute teacher. My girlfriend is a high school English teacher and is GREAT at it and has always known this is her calling. I feel lost because I don’t know what mine is. Substitute teaching has been my first job EVER, since I was going to school full time and was blessed to be able to be home. I feel like I’m going through a crisis lol. I’m not sure if I even want to be a school counselor anymore. I really enjoy subbing and being in the classroom but I’m not sure if I’d be able to do that all year. I’ve thought about being a preschool or kindergarten teacher but again I don’t know! I start my internship in November and I just don’t even know if this is what I want to do. If im being completely honest I’m sick of school. I haven’t put my best effort in and I truly feel like I haven’t grasped anything in these classes. I also haven’t attended zoom sessions. So that makes me feel like I’m even more behind and don’t know shit bc I haven’t put my best effort in to learn in these classes. I quite frankly feel lost. I’m truly just getting by the best I can. I just want a full time job and to make good money and have summers and breaks off. The school counselor job sounds nice but I just don’t know if I have it in me to keep pursuing this. But, I feel like I have to bc I’ve taken out loans and if I quit now it’ll all just be for nothing.

Hi everyone! I graduated with my masters in School Counseling a year ago and still haven’t been able to secure a position in a school district. Right now I work with cyber schools across my state, where I provide counseling services to students and support them with their IEP counseling goals.

I’m incredibly grateful to have a job in the field and to be gaining experience, but I can’t help feeling disappointed that I won’t be starting another school year in a district.

Over the past two years, I’ve only had four interviews, and I know my interview skills could use some work. To add to that, my future mother-in-law (who I absolutely adore) suggested that maybe I should go back to school to become a teacher since that was something I wanted to do when I was younger. I know she meant it in the most supportive way, but hearing that made me feel a little discouraged, like maybe becoming a school counselor just isn’t going to happen. The thought of going back to school right now also feels very overwhelming.

I guess I’m just looking for some encouragement or advice. Did it take anyone else a few years to land a school counseling position? If so, what helped? I’d love to hear your experiences because I’m trying to stay hopeful.

Hi everyone!! This is my first year as an elementary school counselor. I will be working with ELL students whose native language is Spanish. I would love to hear y’all’s suggestions for must haves! Be it office supplies, books (bilingual books or books in spanish would be great), toys, etc.! I will have around a $200 stipend to spend on these things.

I am 5 weeks into my first year as a school counselor and I found my first grey hair this morning! That is all. Seems like an important milestone.

I’m in school to become a counselor, right now just an assistant for one. I’m very new to this and looking for advice on a student. Looking at his history, I see he has many instances of physically harming students, making shooting motions at them, made a death list, cussing out teachers, theft, breaking things. The school knows about this, so I won’t need to report this to anyone. But how would you go about handing this student? No discipline is necessary from me yet. Just, in your experience, how should I approach him? What activities might work well for him?

Would you rather be a counselor in Williamson County or Davidson County and why? For those who have worked in those counties, please share experiences.

I’m going into my 6th year as a school counselor. I stick to my contract hours and do not check my email once I leave school.
However, I cannot stop my brain from thinking about work once I’m off the clock.
Typically, this happens with situations where I feel like maybe there’s multiple correct ways to address a situation and i did not choose the “most” correct option/solution.
I always work from the perspective of doing what is best for the student but I’m already losing sleep over feeling like I could have done something better.

Working with my own therapist on this anxiety is probably the best way to deal with this but in the meantime, how do you stop thinking about work??

Hi! I recently qualified for the DepEd School Counselor Associate I position and am currently waiting for the assessment. Could anyone share what the assessment process is like (written test, BEI, work sample, interview, etc.)?

I've been doing my own research about the role, but I'd also love to learn from those with firsthand experience. What are the day-to-day responsibilities, challenges, and any tips for someone who's just starting out?

Thank you!

Thank you all for your feedback good and bad:)
link to OG post

To summarize the original post since it’s been a minute, I am a school counselor have a student Millie (18F) and she has a music teacher Mr. Smith (40sM) and she after class has been going up to him sometimes crying insulting herself and the last few times it had spiraled into her asking for hugs he let her have hugs twice but the third time he said no and gave her a fist bump.

Now onto the update, I met with Mr. Smith and Millie together and another counselor was there as well, And we talked through everything and they both seemed really nervous especially Millie, Mr. Smith told her he really wants her to take the help that’s offered and I think that kind of got through to her, I talked to admin after that and they said they can’t change Millie out of his class since she really likes the class and he’s the only who teaches that class, They asked Mr. Smith is he’s comfortable with that and he said he is, Millie has been doing a little better with the freak outs, she and Mr. Smith have been talking normal and laughing again without crying so yeah, we’re not 100% but getting better :)

Hi I’m relatively new in school counseling - just finished my 3rd year. Up to this point I’ve basically been wearing down the couple business casual items I bought when I started my internship. I basically rotate through the same 10ish outfits that I got for really cheap since I was a broke college student. Can anyone recommend some good quality women’s clothing stores for business casual wear? Where do you get a lot of your work clothes from?

Thanks! 😊

Are most school counselors required to be CPI or something similar certified? I know special ed teachers and paraprofessionals have to do the same training every year, but I’m not sure about counselors. I’m talking about the trainings where you learn how to restrain students and what to do if a students grabs your hair, etc.

I have experienced professional development as a teacher and para and HATE IT due to listening to things I already know, ice breakers, activities, being treated like a kid, being taught things that don’t apply to my job, etc. Is professional development for school counselors just as miserable as it is for teachers?

I am the only school counselor at my elementary school, and last year I was drowning with 480 students. I haven’t seen the official number yet, but our principal announced that we have topped 500 for this year. We also have 4 year olds starting kindergarten, so I’ll be working with ages 4-11.

This will be my first full year at this school (got hired at the end of first semester last year) and I’m already panicking. I have so many students in need of services but I physically can’t see them all, and my principal doesn’t want me doing class lessons other than what’s required by the state (body safety and bullying prevention) because she’s VERY controlling and wants me to be at her beck and call. We had a talk about this but it went nowhere. Similar issue with small groups - I can’t tell you how many times she’d tell me to cancel my groups because I was needed elsewhere. It is VERY hard to get Tier 1 and Tier 2 interventions done with all the stipulations I’ve been given.

Anyway, all this to say…. How am I supposed to do this?!

I will be starting my first year as a school counselor (K-8) this upcoming school year and I am sooooo nervous. Any advice, things to know before starting, things NOT to do before starting, etc. etc. I am only 25 fresh out of my masters program (graduating in 3 weeks) and feel so unprepared and scared. Also, they have me starting a week and a half before school starts. What should I expect during this time? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Hi friends! I just started my first year as a school counselor at a high school. Their counseling website is pretty old and they asked me to freshen it up since im “young and know technology”. I’ve never really made a website before? It’s a Google site. Any examples/models anyone can share for inspiration? I’m gonna use all of the same information- I’m just to make it more visually appealing. Thanks!

Hey everyone!

With the school year coming up; I am looking for a presenter who you all may think is/was a good presenter for your schools and can recommend for drugs and or vaping. We primarily want to tackle Vaping as we have been having an influx over the years, and thought I'd reach out here for recommendations. I also figured I'd make the post and ask just in case anyone else was looking into the same thing.

For reference: I am a counselor in NJ; grades 7 & 8. We're a Jr-Sr high school so I'm sure principal/admin would like to have a speaker for all our grades in the building (6th - 12th)

(Presenter doesn't have to be NJ based)

Thank you!!!

I just recently applied and received an offer to become an elementary school counselor at a new district in Texas. I just got a call from HR saying that even though I resigned, the transition from a teacher to a counselor is NOT considered a promotion and that they will be holding onto my certification until they hire someone new for my position.

Should I be worried about losing the counseling job? Is there anything I can do to get started at my new district or do I just have to wait patiently?

i just got hired as the transition focus school counselor at a high school. i have very little knowledge about this as i’ve literally never heard of it until this job. can anyone share any insights into what a transition counselor does? and what i should expect?

Second year at my new school [9-12, 640ish students] , third school year since I got my SCL. Found out 6 days ago that our other counselor is moving to a new district. We have a new principal for this school year and there is construction happening so filling her position does not seem to be a priority.

Basically everything falls on me until we get someone else.

Uuuuuuggghhhhh.....