5 Things You Need as a New School Counsellor

I do not think I fully understood what a school counsellor "did" until I actually started doing the job. It is like when you start practicum thinking you know what it will be like because you've done all these education classes and then, BAM! It is nothing like what you thought.

Becoming a school counsellor requires being open to learning new things every day. One of my favourite aspects of the job is how each day is totally different. Both Julia and I began working as school counsellors in the fall of 2015. Over the past six years, we have come up with a list of strategies and processes that we believe will be helpful to a new school counsellor.  

We understand that every school, district, and country likely has different expectations in terms of what your role is as a school counsellor. For us, we do a combination of clinical counselling (typically short-term individual with some groups as well), as well as more of the traditional "guidance counsellor" work: grad planning, course programming, career planning, etc. That said, these are five things that have helped us.

1. Sticky notes. Lots of sticky notes.

It does not matter if you are a paper person (me) or a digital person (Julia). It also does not have to be sticky notes specifically, but unless you have a photographic memory, I suggest having some sort of system in place to document the million things that will be happening all at once. I am often interrupted mid-task, and if I do not write tasks down as soon as the phone call or email comes in or the student leaves, something else will inevitably come up and I will forget. I like to create a weekly to-do list for larger tasks and have a running sticky note each day for the smaller under-five-minute tasks. This is a fast-paced gig, and you will have people coming at you from all different directions, so figuring out this system is key.

2. Get to Know Your Staff

One major difference I noticed when making the shift from teacher to counsellor was how much more we communicate with the entire staff. As a teacher, I found that I mostly communicated with my department or the teachers who shared my classroom, and then often with my grade's counsellor and vice-principal. However, as a counsellor, we are calling, emailing, and visiting teachers all day, following up on kids, and constantly speaking with the admin. If you can build positive rapport with the staff right away, you will have a much easier time staying on the same page about supporting students, and they will be much more likely to reply to your emails, too! 

3. Community Resources

Every district will likely have a different set of resources available for your students. If you can get your hands on a list of common resources used in your community, you are golden. Either way, though, do not be afraid to call around. Find out who they serve, what kind of referrals are accepted, do they have a waitlist, is it meant for short term or long term, etc. 

I find that I like to have at least one go-to for each of the following categories, as they seem to come up the most for us:

• Low-Moderate Mental Health Concerns
• Moderate-Severe Mental Health Concerns
• Crisis Intervention/Support
• Eating Disorders
• Psychosis
• Family Counselling
• Grief or Loss
• Immigrant Services
• Substance Use

4. Learning Services

Like community resources, every school runs their learning services department slightly differently. Find out how your school works. How do referrals work for the department? Do they focus more on "push-in" or "pull-out" style services? Can students go to learning services to write tests? Do they have blocks there or is it more drop-in/as-needed? What students do they case manage? What is the process for students dropping a course? For learning support? The list goes on.

5. Grad Program

The Graduation Program is something I recommend knowing like the back of your hand: what do students need to graduate in your province/state/district? What are the different graduation pathways available to students? What are their options if they do not finish all their courses by the end of grade 12? Be mindful that graduation requirements differ from university or college entrance requirements, and this is something you will need to know as a senior counsellor.

Much like our tips for practicum post suggests, start collecting resources and referral sources so that you have your own toolbox of things that work well for you and your students. To help with this we have two templates for you that we hope you will find helpful:

Gratitude Log and Grounding Strategy

There are some things that remain the same regardless of where you land: maintaining professional boundaries, unconditional positive regard with your students, and focusing on validation, reflective listening, and normalizing their concerns. If all else fails, this will go a long way towards building a strong counselling program and positive relationships with your students.

Any other tips for new school counsellors? Let us know in the comments!