School Counselors
Is your teen exhibiting signs of a problem? Have there been major changes or issues in the family recently? Has he had problems at school, such as being bullied or, perhaps, showing signs of bullying himself? Has a close friend moved away?
A good place to turn when your teenager is experiencing emotional problems is his or her school counselor. At the high school level, counselors are often seen mainly as a source for help in getting the right courses to graduate, or as someone to help with the college application process and finding financial aid.
However, high school counselors also still work with teens who have emotional and social issues.
Members of the American School Counselor Association say that they are often overlooked when it comes to dealing with emotional issues at the high school level. They are ready and willing to help students in this area, but they get few such requests from parents or students.
This may be due, in part, to parents seeing counselors at the high school level as only being there to help their teens with their plans after high school. It may also be due to teenagers reluctance to seek help with emotional issues-especially when they are not that familiar with the counselor.
Just remember that, if your high school or middle school-aged teen is facing emotional problems, the school counselor is a good place to start. He or she can often talk with students or counsel them at school, and may be able to solve the problem. If they feel a student needs help-whether it be academic, or professional counseling-they can make recommendations and help you find what your teen needs.
School counselors are a wonderful resource. Make use of them.
school counselors, counselors, high school, middle school, teens, teenagers
November 9th, 2006 at 10:47 am
I recently went through a divorce and we went through the school system to get them some help. The school uses and outside group to provide the service, but it has been great to see what they have done for my kids. It’s also done in a way that makes them feel like they are getting special treatment rather than being singled out as weird.
November 9th, 2006 at 11:58 am
I think some parents forget, or maybe don’t realize in the first place, that school counselors deal with more than just problems that occur in school. They are a great resource for parents and kids.
March 14th, 2008 at 10:58 am
I actually know a guy that helps out teens and parents too! He is a corrections officer in florida. I couldn’t deal with the so many changes my teenager was facing in just everyday school life any more so I turned to these services. Take a look at this link because it really helped me when I was about to pull my hair out.
http://www.myoutofcontrolteen.com/sl.html?hop=susanherno
April 29th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
Guidance counselors can make a huge difference in a student’s life, but when their student to counselor ratio is 500-1, as it is in many high schools in California, they are only able to ‘put out fires.’ Gone are the days at these schools when overburdened guidance counselors can deal with anything other than the most acute problems. Like teachers, counselors are expected to handle more students with greater problems. I feel for them…and for the students who get overlooked.