Caring for Pennsylvania School Counselors

Pennsylvania Values School Counselors

On Thursday, February 6, 2020, the Cambria County School Counselor Association held a professional development workshop. At the event, Senator Wayne Langerholc, Jr., Pennsylvania senator for the 35th District and chair of the Senate Education Committee, presented a proclamation designating February 3-7, 2020, as National School Counseling Week. View a video of Senator Langerholc’s presentation.


Click the image above to view a pdf of the proclamation text.


Senator Langerholc presents the proclamation to Beth Stem, PSCA president, on behalf of all Pennsylvania school counselors.

Save the Dates for PSCA’s 65th Annual Conference

December 3-4, 2020, at the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center in Hershey, Penn.
Be a part of PSCA history! Attend, present a workshop, exhibit or sponsor.
Visit the PSCA website for information on costs (registration and lodging) submitting a presentation proposal, key features of the conference.

Self-Care: Selfish or an Ethical Mandate?

As the school year moves into its final months, many are feeling the not just the stresses of a dreary winter but also the cumulative stresses of the many and varied demands of their school counseling role. With large caseloads and discrepancies between what a school counselor should do and what is being required of them, school counselors must monitor their own physical and emotional well-being. Indeed, it’s an ethical mandate!

The ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors (2016) state that school counselors:

• B.3.f. Monitor their emotional and physical health and practice wellness to ensure optimal professional effectiveness. School counselors seek physical or mental health support when needed to ensure professional competence.
• B.3.g. Monitor personal behaviors and recognize the high standard of care a professional in this critical position of trust must maintain on and off the job. School counselors are cognizant of and refrain from activity that may diminish their effectiveness within the school community.

School counselors working with varying degrees of stress or impairment may become potential liabilities that result in inadequate professional services or diminished effectiveness.

Suggested wellness strategies for physical and emotional health include:

• Eat regularly
• Get enough rest
• Take a sick day when sick
• Find time for relaxation and fun
• Maintain positive connections with others
• Meet with and reach out regularly to peers or colleagues for support

To quote from Karen Dickinson’s recent presentation at the PSA 64th Annual Conference, “Put your oxygen mask on first before you help others!”

Many resources about physical and emotional well-being and about school counselor self-care are available. Here are a few:

• The Importance of Self-Care | ASCA School Counselor
• The Ethics of Self-Care | ASCA School Counselor
• Why You Need a Self-Care Plan and How to Make One
• Self-Care for School Counselors: How to Prioritize Your Day