Feelings of empowerment among students are crucial prerequisites to their participation in change agency in both educational and non-educational settings. Educators notice a compelling correlation between student empowerment and academic achievement and other positive outcomes in K-12 educational environments. School counselors are optimally…

School counselors are often under-utilized, but they can be a huge asset as schools embark on the long road to recovery from COVID-19. Research repeatedly finds that when school counselors deliver comprehensive programming, student outcomes improve. In schools that allocate counselors' time wisely, counselors may spend their days providing…

In "Fulfilling the Promise," Mandy Savitz-Romer shows what is possible when schools and districts draw upon the talents of their counselors and put them at the center of students' school experience. Savitz-Romer offers a strategic approach to school counseling that enables educational leaders to draw on existing staff to create…

Bullying varies in frequency, intensity, duration and hence severity, and contributes uniquely and directly to mental health problems, with severe and long-lasting consequences. Almost a half of school-age students report being bullied in the past year. All school staff, especially school counsellors, are uniquely positioned to reduce student…

Nature positively impacts holistic wellness and K-12 student learning, although this phenomenon has largely been unstudied in school counseling. School counselors are in a unique position to champion nature connection in school communities to promote holistic wellness and positive learning outcomes. This article introduces EcoWellness as a…

Evidence suggests teachers, intentionally and unintentionally, perpetuate racist practices in the classroom affecting students' grades, engagement, opportunities, and mental health. Over time these collective experiences result in generational academic trauma. Within educational settings, school counselors (SCs) work in a myriad of ways to…

This article focuses on the influence of academic training, job issues, personality and demographic characteristics of school counselors on their professional identity construction, which is developed in a theoretical model based on educational-psychological theories. Most of the training in Master's degree studies in school counseling is…

In the United States, transracial adoptions make up 85% of international adoptions and 40% of all domestic adoptions, and most consist of White parents and adoptees of color. This article describes transracial adoptee population trends, provides a transracial adoptee student case illustration, and outlines suggestions for school counselors working…

Redwood City School District (RCSD) has a long history of attending to the needs of its students and their families, and it has responded to the current incidence of mental health challenges among youth by setting a goal that by June 2024, every student will receive "appropriate social-emotional supports designed to meet their needs. The plan…

This timely book provides current research and skill-building information on Disaster Mental Health Counseling for counselors, educators, students, and mental health responders in agencies, schools, universities, and private practice. Recognized experts in the field detail effective clinical interventions with survivors in the immediate,…

The suicide of a student has a rippling effect in the school environment as well as in the greater community, as a single adolescent death by suicide increases the risk of additional suicides. The process by which a completed suicide (or at times, suicidal behavior) increases the suicidal behavior of others is called contagion. When multiple…

Preliteracy skills are skills that must be mastered prior to a child learning to read, write, and consequently excel within an academic environment. A literature review was conducted to extract the preliteracy skills found to most closely correlate with later literacy outcomes. Once identified, these writers described ways in which essential…

Positive school climate and supportive learning environments have a significant effect on a range of student outcomes. There are a number of assessment instruments that districts can use to measure school climate. These instruments are available from and recommended by national organizations that promote and support school climate interventions.

Considering that one in five children has or has had a mental disorder in a given year (National Institute of Mental Health, 2010), the demand for mental health services within the school setting is immense. Bibliotherapy can serve as a preventative and responsive treatment for increasing mental health literacy within the school setting. The…

With the advent of a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) in schools, counselor preparation programs are once again challenged to further extend the education and training of pre-service and in-service school counselors. To introduce and contextualize this special issue, an MTSS's intent and foci, as well as its theoretical and research…