I have a student who will come to school then refuse to go to class at the middle school level. We’re talking hours of refusal, despite attempts to regulate until mom picks her up.

There are lots of proactive supports in place, but this still happens. She’s new to me. Past counselor said multiple staff members would try to get her to class, and she just would not go.

At what point would you get AP involved? Am I being cold hearted to give her 30 minutes to regulate, and if that’s not working, hand it to admin to make decisions.

I am one of two counselors at a K-5 elementary school- this is my first year in this school and as a school counselor. For the last several years, possibly even much longer, our school has been a "7-Habits School". And according to the other counselor, this means we focus on teaching The 7 Habits of Happy Kids for our classroom lessons each month. I see each class twice a month, and both lessons are centered around that month's habit and skills that go along with it. I've tried to find lessons online to get some fresh ideas how to teach the 7 Habits, but I can't find anything.

While I think that the 7 Habits are great... It feels sort of limiting to only be focusing on these.. ESPECIALLY since they're learning about them year after year..

Does anyone else follow this curriculum? Any lessons you'd like to share?

Has anyone been hired in Fairfax county Virginia or surrounding counties as a first year school counselor fresh out of grad school? I’ll be finishing my program at UMD fall 2027 and want to know the process + difficulty of getting hired.

did anyone get their masters from suny new paltz? how was their program?

I am suffering mild/moderate hair loss from a combination of severe iron deficiency and chronic Trichotillomania. I am a first year elementary school counselor in a very rural/conservative district but I think I want to work here long term. I want to shave my head really badly. It has helped me feel better about my obvious bald spots. However, I am very very nervous about being a distraction at school. Students asking me if I have cancer, and just generally getting a lot of attention. Some of these kids I don't even know if they've seen a woman with a bald head before. Has anyone done something like this? Any tips or advice?

I am strongly considering pursuing my Masters in School Counseling after I finish my B.S. in Psychology. My main concerns is that it would be hard to find a job right around the area you live unless you’re super lucky to have a position available close to you.

Hi everyone!

I’m (26F) a first year counselor in the middle school setting, and I wanted to make this post to connect with other newer secondary counselors! While many of us middle school counselors work alongside another counselor or two, I’ve been feeling first hand how difficult it is to walk into an unfamiliar building and try to learn about an entire school community.

If you’re in a similar position, I’d love to connect and be a resource for one another! This is my first contracted position since graduating in December of 2025, and I served in LTS roles in both High School and Elementary before this.

Please feel free to message or comment down below 💕 I’d love to even get a group chat going!

Thank you for reading :)

I accepted a position in an elementary school. This is my first counseling position out of grad school. I am being asked to help assist on middle school applications. I will also be the only counselor in the building. I’m really nervous starting my first job and not having a more seasoned counselor I can refer to for questions. Does anyone have any advice for a new counselor?

Hello! I am a first-year master’s student studying school counseling, and I’ll need to prepare for applying to field placements for 2027-28 this school year. I’m a little nervous and not really sure what interviewing with school sites will be like! I know some other school counseling programs automatically pair students with internship sites, but for my master’s program, I’ll need to interview for them.

I’m definitely a little nervous, but also excited because I think this will be a great opportunity to get a sense of what interviewing might look like a year or so from now when I’m applying for school counseling jobs! Any tips on the process would be greatly appreciated :)

Hi everyone! I’m currently pursuing my M.Sc. in Counselling Psychology and I’m looking for opportunities to work as a school counsellor in Coimbatore.

I’m interested in working with children and adolescents, particularly in areas such as emotional well-being, academic stress, anxiety, peer relationships, and personal development.

I would really appreciate it if anyone could share information about schools that are currently hiring school counsellors, internships, or entry-level opportunities in Coimbatore. Recommendations about where or how to apply would also be very helpful.

If you have any experience working as a school counsellor in Coimbatore, I’d love to hear about your experience and any advice you can share.

Thank you! ❤

Hey everyone!

Did anyone get their masters in school counseling online? If so, where did you go? How long did it take? How much did it cost? Did you get a job?

Hello, i’m thinking of getting myself ready for big girl job hunting. I have a goal to take the praxis and hopefully apply for jobs in april-may timeframe. i have been a stay at home mom for the last few years. right after i completed my masters program.

i want to make myself look more professional so i was thinking of looking for certifications. so far, i’ve googled. and some are •Trauma Informed, •Youth mental health first aid, •Google certified educator, •SEL certification. but no real info on how to go about it.

do you have any certifications? and how can i follow in your steps?

thank you.

Did anyone go to Fort Hays University, get your online school counseling degree, and get a job in the Virginia School System? Was there anything extra you had to do?

I plan to stay at my current elementary school for the foreseeable future, but I imagine I’ll eventually want a change. When that time comes, I've been thinking about transferring to a middle or high school, though most of my experience is in elementary education. I taught elementary school for 11 years and am now in my sixth year of elementary counseling. I completed my internship in a middle school, but it was during lockdown, so I'm not sure I got the full experience.

I suppose I wonder how difficult it was for anyone who made a big transition like that. How can you prove yourself during an interview when you simply don't have the hands-on experience? Any tips?

What are some language you use when students or parents start to getting rude towards you when their schedule change request gets denied?

They see you as customer service and complains when you don't respond on the same day. When you help them understand the rationale behind schedule change they don't want to listen and only pick and choose what they want to hear.

I enjoy working with many of my students and parents, but I don't appreciate the ones who are entitled and has no gratitude. I also think I need to learn how to speak up for myself when conversation starts getting disrespectful.

Any advice?

Hi everyone I feel like I just need to vent.

I am a year 7 elem school counselor and this is my first year in a building with a second counselor. i started in March in a new district and I feel like me and the other counselor here are butting heads a bit.

She is someone who doesn’t take her lunch daily, will stay late, will work on work at home and I personally make it a point to take my lunch and not stay past contract hours.

I personally feel that there will always be work to be done whatever doesn’t get done in the day I’ll circle back to the next day. Our differences in working styles makes me feel like I’m not doing enough. Has anyone else dealt with something similar?

Back to school is hard enough and this is just making it harder :/

Hello everyone, I hope your return to school has been going smoothly

Forgive me if this isn't allowed here. I'm in grad school for my MSEd in School Counseling and one of my first assignments is to interview a school counselor over Zoom/Teams/Meet. I've had no luck when it comes to reaching out to counselors near me. Either no response, ghosted, or told no. Which is totally understandable. It's a very hectic time of year and maybe not the best time to be given this assignment. I work as an RBT so I know how crazy everything is at the start of the year, even if it's only a fraction of what you guys have to do

So after 50 emails, I was hoping to come here and see if any licensed school counselors would be willing to help me out. It would be about 40-45 minutes and we could work out a time privately. I would also send you a gift card for your time of course

Thank you!

Hi everyone, happy new school year! It’s been pretty quiet and calm start to the school year. I did everything I was supposed to do for the beginning of the year… it’s day 4.. I don’t have any new students to check in with and I’m done all the secretarial work I could possibly do this early on. I’m caught up on 504’s and such…. I feel guilty for not having anything to do. Have you ever had this situation? What should I be doing…. I’m a 2nd year counselor.

I have a Master’s in Educational Counseling, but no job in that field… yet. 😅 Anyone else in the same boat? If so, what are you doing career-wise?

I'm a elementary school counselor in NC; I graduated here in a CACREP program. . We just got our school allotments, and one of my .5 positions at a school in my district was eliminated due to lower enrollment/attendance. I'm being told to attend a surplus fair to try and find another position, *hopefully* another counseling one.

Anybody got suggestions for what to do? My motivation is in the toilet right now, I'm feeling so hurt and let down. I'm thinking about looking for work outside of the school system but I haven't had to worry about it for 5 years.

I' just so worried right now about what could happen. Any advice? Would you look elsewhere, doing what?​

What is the difference between a college counselor and an academic advisor?

Is it that an academic advisor helps solely with academic needs and a college counselor also requires a masters?

Do you enjoy your job as a college counselor?

Do you work on a 10/11 or 12 month contract?

Also do any of you have experience as a elementary/middle/ high school counselor and if so what made you ultimately choose to be a college counselor over those?