School counselors provide support for students regarding various concerns: to help students explore concerns, to make plans of action, and to help students be successful in following through with their plan. Typically, the counseling provided is preventative and developmental in nature.
Individual counseling may occur during a single session, or a few consecutive sessions. Because of the nature of being in a school setting, school counselors meet with students individually 4-6 times. Sessions usually last about 15-30 minutes.
If your child’s classroom teacher feels as though he/she needs to see the school counselor, the school counselor will ask that they contact you for permission. However, if your child makes a self-referral, the school counselor will probably not need to contact you unless there is a particular issue that is recurring or affects the child’s safety and well-being. In these cases, the school counselor will certainly contact you.
Here are examples of topics covered in individual counseling: