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“There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up,” quote said by John Holmes, and that is exactly what it means to be a guidance counselor. A guidance counselor is a person who usually is to be employed in a school, and is there to help and give advice to students on all different problems. These problems can either be academic or real world, and they also help troubled students and assist students in making career or college plans. Most people don’t realize the role that school counselors play on all of their students. Counselors are one of the first people that new students meet and is the person who helps new freshmen throughout each of their four years of high school. School counselors, more or less, help to improve, maintain and improve the emotional, social, physical, mental stability of their students.
Classes and Courses To Take
Pursuing counseling as a career does include many years of schooling, classes, and certification or licenses. After getting the licenses to pursue and practice as a professional and well educated counselor, it is mandatory to maintain and stabilize the involvement and the certification with the certain associations in order to hold your license. Most often the counseling jobs do require more of the education and professional practice in order to maintain membership in these places (How). It is more than obvious that counseling does require a large amount of commitment and also dedication in order to be a good counselor. There are many classes that should be taken if wanting to pursue in becoming a high school guidance counselor. One of the classes or courses that would be best to take is Lifespan Human Development. Lifespan Human Development is the study of social, personality, and also the physical development of humans ranging from childhood to adulthood (Writers). The next class is Abnormal Psychology, which would consist of analyzing most of the abnormal behaviors in larger groups of people, and then would be diagnosing them through diagnostic categories, the causes of these disorders, and the many different possible ways to be able to treat them (Writers). The third of course is Counseling Techniques, which does introduce the many different stages of the counseling process, which begins with using many counseling goals, interviewing and involvement skills, and then the various intervention strategies (Counseling). Students may learn the best from in class and real life problem discussions, role playing and acting, videos and also peer evaluations (Writers). The other various sources that could be taken to getting a major includes Introduction to Addictions and Substance Use Disorders, Professional Counseling Orientation and Ethics, Counseling Theories, Group Counseling Theory and Practice, Social and Cultural Diversity Issues in Counseling (Counseling).
Counseling Skills
There are many traits and skills that it takes to be a good school counselor. The counseling skills that are needed, said by Ashley Miller, include being a good listener, someone who can actively engage, empathize and pick up on pertinent social cues,” for those moments when a student needs someone to confide in and trust with things that nt very many people may know about. Good counseling skills also includes having the ability of persuasion, negotiation and creative problem-solving, because being able to assist students when they are under stress from academic and social pressures, or when they are struggling with emotional issues, family problems, learning deficits or other personal life obstacles (Miller). They have to be very energetic and social to be the most successful, and also must be very open to the students in order to get them to feel the most comfortable. Lastly is being able to develop critical-thinking skills to help students plan academic and career goals, for trying to figure out the easiest and most possible ways for every student to reach their goals in life (Miller).
In conclusion, the pathway to becoming a school counselor is not an easy trip. In persuing this career, there’s lots of schooling, classes, courses, and also lots of practice that has to go into this career, letalone all the time and effort. In the long run school counselors help students with the four most important years of their lives. The school counselors are the ones that keep students academically and also mentally stable with their everyday life and help them on the pathway to building their futur. Such challenges can be either educational or real world, as well as supporting struggling students and helping students make career and school plans. The position that school counselors play on all their students is not understood by most people. More or less, school counselors help improve, sustain and enhance their students ‘ personal, economic, physical, and mental health.