Fellow School Counselors: Resources Beyond Your Building
By Janine Menard | September 2017
I have been a school counselors for the past 14 years. During those 14 years, I was usually the only counselor at my school. This meant that, most of the time, I had to be the one to make those sometimes hard decisions such as calling in a crisis team or making that call to DCS. Although I am confident in what to do, sometimes it helps to bounce thoughts and feelings off another counselor who can understand exactly what we go through on a daily basis. It’s not that we don’t know what to do; it’s that we want some validation that what we did was best even when none of the options seemed so great.
That is why our fellow counselors can be our best resource. We don’t always have time to call and chat for long periods of time. I get it. We’re busy. We have large caseloads and don’t even get me started on our ratios. But reaching out to fellow counselors can be as simple as a quick email or text. This year, the Arizona School Counselors Association has a goal of reaching out to school counselors around the state and letting them know th AzSCA is a resource. Shiloh Wheeler, one of AzSCA’s directors-at-large, is our contact person if you would like to reach out to fellow school counselors. Shiloh’s goal is to create some type of forum to connect with counselors in isolated areas to share ideas, best practices and resources. AzSCA would like to identify the needs of all counselors, statewide, and connect those needs to the resources AzSCA can provide. If you would like to reach out to Shiloh Wheeler, contact her at wheeler.shiloh@thatcherud.org.
Other Community Resources in the Valley/Phoenix Area
ChildHelp is a national non-profit organization dedicated to the prevention and treatment of child abuse. www.childhelp.org
TeenLife Line (statewide) provides a safe, confidential and crucial crisis service where teens help teens make healthy decisions together. 800-248-8336 or visit www.teenlifeline.org
Valle Del Sol is a mental health clinic that combines primary care and mental health services, allowing an integrated health care team to treat the whole person. 602-258-6797 or visit www.valledelsol.com
TERROS provides a wide variety of primary care, outpatient and residential drug and alcohol treatment, crisis, recovery, and mental health services. 602-685-6000 or visit http://www.terros.info/services
Chicanos Por la Causa are committed to building stronger communities and provide direct services as well as preschool, K-12, and adult learners, educational programs that provide student-centered for low income under served individuals. www.cplc.org
Touchstone partners with individuals, families, schools and other services providers to deliver health education and social services, with an emphasis on services that support individuals and families to acquire the skills to live productive and responsible lives. 866-207-3882 or visit www.touchstonehs.org
Keogh Health connects people to health insurance, nutrition assistance and financial support in time of personal struggle. Keogh’s extensive network of partners allows us to help clients navigate the complex health care system and directs them to critical resources. 602-266-0397 or visit www.keoghhealth.org