The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how school counselors describe Social Emotional Learning (SEL) strategies and best practices. The research questions focused on understanding licensed school counselors' firsthand experiences with SEL implementation during transactions with students at K-12 Title I schools in the…

Religious and spiritual (R/S) identities are not stagnant constructs, as may often be believed (Strawn, 2019). The landscape of religion and spirituality is shifting rapidly, and these changes point to individual experiences of R/S transition. One place these kinds of individual changes are occurring is within counselor training. Counselor…

Grief and loss is a universal experience that impacts individuals in a multitude of ways and emotes various emotions while working through the grief journey. It is reported that by the age of 16, one in 20 children will experience the death of one or both of their parents (Parsons, 2011). School counselors working with grieving students have the…

The Professional School Counselor (PSC) is charged with the academic, social/emotional, and career development for all students within a school. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) suggests that a minimum of 80% of the PSC's time be spent providing direct and indirect student services (ASCA, 2019a). These services include, but are not…

Special education assessment has a significant impact on the lives of children with disabilities and their families. However, traditional assessment practices have been critiqued as being deficit-based, overly focused on "labeling" students, and failing to provide a holistic understanding of the student. Assessment models such as…

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted educational systems worldwide, presenting unprecedented challenges for families, students, teachers, and professional school counselors (Akgul et al., 2021). Professional school counseling underwent changes as all attempted to adapt to new ways of reaching and supporting students (Anicich et al.,…

Parent refusal of Student Assistance Program (SAP) referrals limits their child's access to critical behavioral and mental support services offered by the school district, which may put the child at risk academically, socially, and emotionally. In a county in an eastern state, the problem that was addressed in this study was that students were not…

Approximately 25% of United States mental health practitioners are employed in private practice settings (BLS Data Viewer, 2021). However, the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs, which sets standards for graduate level counseling programs, neither specifies private practice settings as a specialization nor an…

School psychologists can be essential team members in driving systemic change towards achieving educational fairness, as their experiences, perspectives, and actions significantly contribute to this effort. This qualitative phenomenological study delved into an in-depth investigation of the lived experiences of school psychologists who have…

The objective of the qualitative study was to investigate the perceived competency of school counselors in working with at-risk students who engage in self-injury, and their use of professional standards to effectively navigate their intervention. Self-injury (SI) is a behavioral concern defined as the intentional injuring of body tissue without…

This study examined school counselors' perceptions of how leadership styles affect work output, staff comradery, and employee morale. The research problem examined in this qualitative descriptive case study was work output, staff comradery, and employee morale differ greatly depending on the leadership style that the immediate supervisor…

Obtaining a postsecondary certificate or degree has been correlated with improved job opportunities, increased earning capacity, and better overall quality of life. Despite these benefits, a considerable proportion of students from rural schools exhibit a lower likelihood of pursuing postsecondary education than their urban counterparts. The…

A school counselor's education and training are often inconsistent with the job duties assigned by the school. These discrepancies from perceived appropriate job duties can lead to uncertainty and negatively impact the school counselor's sense of self-worth. This study explored the research question: "What are the experiences of school…

This dissertation investigates the major pathway selection process of students at a California community college from the perspective of counselors in light of the Guided Pathways movement. This study seeks to understand counselors' perspectives on how Guided Pathways shapes students' choices in selecting their majors. A qualitative research…

School counselors are often isolated in their role because of the unique nature of their job. Lack of connection, lack of relevant professional development, role ambiguity, high stress, high student-to-school counselor ratios, and lack of professional connections are all contributors to school counselor burnout. School counselors use Twitter, a…