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Essay Instructions: What is a school counselor? The idea is to educate the public what a school counselor does and what important developments have happened in the field. Discuss the rigors of pursuing a degree in School counseling. What does it take to do well? How can a blog serve as an educational tool-- a tool to educate the public.

Essay Instructions: Write a two page content paper on the role of school counselors. You may use information from books, journals or from the web

Essay Instructions: The paper must be 15 pages long. It must be on the subject of School Counselors and the Improvement of Academic Achievement in Students with Special Needs. Five of the articles used for reference should be empirically based research. The other seven articles can be from refereed journals in the field of school counseling or a closely related field. The paper should provide both an overview of the topic as well as specific implications for school counseling practice (prevention & intervention). The paper should also incorporate the ASCA National Model for School Counseling Programs and the South Carolina Comprehensive Developmental Guidance Model into the paper. The paper formatting should follow the proprer current APA style. The Bibliography page must be APA style also.

Essay Instructions: This class is called called Guidance and Counseling. It has to do with counseling and psychology.

I have to conduct an interview with a school guidance counselor (the interview questions and answers are provided at the end of this description). I then have to write an essay (APA format) in which I will report as well as discuss the answers of the interviewee. My discussion should be supported by the results and information from 3 research articles. An appendix of the interview questions (without the answers) should be included at the end of the paper.

My essay should be divided into 4 headings: 1) Role of the Counselor, 2) Counseling Techniques, 3)Confidentiality, 4)Group vs. Individual Counseling.
In each heading, I have to paraphrase what the interviewee said and then give my opinion (no preference on opinion) and reflect on it by supporting or refuting what the interviewee said using outside sources.

The paper should be double spaced, 12 font Times New Roman, and should include a title page, table of contents with the 4 headings mentioned, as well as the citations page and the appendix (interview questions without the answers).

Interview questions and answers:

1. What is your educational background and what influenced you to become a school counselor?

Background is in educational psychology. She chose to become a school counselor instead of a private or family counselor because she loves kids and loves to help them. It’s the satisfaction of giving back to society.

2. What do you see as the main role of the school counselor?

Main role is to help the students with their problems and listen to what they have to say. Its important to empathize with the student to try and get him close to you so he can open up to you.

3. What is the average age of the students you meet with?

Infant to Junior year in elementary school. (between the ages of 3 and 12 years)

4. What is the role of the school counselor in relation to teachers, parents, and administrators?

The role of the counselor is to abide by the school policies but is free to practice his own techniques. The rules are usually procedures a counselor must follow when reporting on a student or when meeting with a student’s parents. The counselor is the mediator between the school's administration and the parents.

5. What types of problems do you face as a school counselor concerning students and parents?

There are always problems, especially in Lebanon. The culture plays a big role. In the Middle East, counseling and therapy are still practices that are not fully accepted yet. Whenever a parent is asked to be involved in a session he/ she says that her kid is not crazy or sick and does not need counseling.
However, not all parents are like that, some are understanding and cooperative. It all depends on the person's background and culture and what society you live in.

6. Do you conduct group or individual counseling? Or both?

Conduct individual counseling because students are hyper as it is. It is hard to have a student talk about his problems with other students with him. It is better to have the students counseled individually. Another point is that you cannot trust students at this age to keep what is being said in these sessions in confidence. They might break their confidentiality agreement.


7. What kinds of techniques do you use as a school counselor?

Play theory (play games with the students to make them feel comfortable).
CBT (cognitive behavioral theory). Play theory is more effective.
No psychoanalysis because child is too young at this age.
But it is hard to have the students open up to you because they are young so it takes around 3 sessions to make them feel comfortable.


8. Did you ever have to break your confidentiality agreement with a client in order to help them?

Does not break confidentially but only in emergency cases. She tells the student that everything that is said in this room during the session is purely confidential but if there is something very bad that comes up then she is forced to tell the school administration and take action. But it usually never happens with children this age.

9. What would you do if one of your students tells you that they are being abused?

First she would have to tell the student that she will have to break the confidentiality agreement because abuse is a serious matter. Then she would inform the school administration and contact the parents. They would call for a meeting where they would inform the parents of what they discovered during the session and then leave it up to the parents to decide what to do. This is what is troubling in Lebanon; because there is no good childcare service, then the school is forced to leave the decision to the parents.