New School Counselor? Here's What to Expect

New school counselors, let me tell you up front: I was not an awesome school counselor my first few years. Although I struggled, my first two years as a school counselor set the stage for my growth as an educator. Growth was not easy at all and at times it was very painful. I made a few mistakes and they really caused me to doubt myself. I wondered if I was actually good enough to serve students. I have never lost sight of my struggles because of the lessons that I learned. That is why you, the new school counselors, are on my mind right now. You are full of ideas, passion and potential but it will most likely take you some time to bring all of those bright ideas to fruition. Fortunately, many of the skills you learned in school will serve you well in your new role!

There is so much to learn as a new school counselor. You need to learn school building procedures like the course guide, where to get a parking permit, the daily school schedule, and more. Course guides at many schools across the state are extensive. Many courses have prerequisites. You may have a caseload of more than 400 students. The combination of having a high caseload and wide course offering make scheduling courses quite tedious. As a new school counselor, you may be without a solid routine and most important, without experience. It might take you a little longer than other school counselors to fix schedules. That is okay! Managing your student schedules will get easier with time, mistakes, understanding and established routines.

You will also have many opportunities to make mistakes and you should not shy away from them. Yes, I said it: You are going to make mistakes and that is totally okay. Give yourself grace and find the lesson. Improvement really is not possible without those subtle, painful little reminders that we can improve our practices. Many mistakes are painful but fortunately they are often not all that difficult to repair. It may take you longer to figure out answers than your more experienced colleagues. It is totally okay to not know the answers! Do not shy away from the clumsy process of learning. New school counselors have the opportunity to learn while helping students. I remember feeling like I was on the same team as my students as we navigated the admissions and merit-based scholarship process.

Remember those counseling skills that you learned in school? Well, guess what, they actually work! All of the skills you learned – such as active listening, reflecting, paraphrasing, etc. – actually work in the school setting. Often, the easiest thing for new school counselors to do is counseling. New school counselors and interns are usually capable of jumping right into sessions with students using solution-focused and CBT approaches. The only hang ups are usually procedural issues.

Listen, you are only going to get better with time. So please be patient with yourself as you navigate fear, anxiety, mistakes, uncertainty and more. Remember, you are going through the process of transitioning from being a graduate student to becoming a professional school counselor. Transitions are almost always difficult. Think about some of the other transitions that you may have experienced before. such as becoming a high school/college student, a parent or a spouse. Did you have all of the answers right away? Probably not. This will not be any different.

These tough times will not last. If you stick with it, one day you, too, will be a veteran school counselor. Please remember your mistakes, how you repaired the situation and how you healed yourself. Also, please help the school counselors that come after you. Remind them to give themselves grace and that mistakes are only natural. Remember to be gentle with them while they are experiencing growing pains. If you are so inclined, maybe one day you should write an article for ISCA to inform and uplift new school counselors!

Contact TaRael Kee, ISCA president, at president@ilschoolcounselor.org.