Elementary school counselors working in high-poverty schools experience several challenges due to the multiple barriers associated with serving children from low-SES families. Research shows that children from low-SES families are at risk of adverse consequences to their developmental and psychological progress due to negative environmental factors (i.e., violence, crime, abuse, homelessness, inadequate schools). This qualitative study was conducted to understand the lived experiences of eight elementary school counselors from various school districts across the U.S.A positioned-subject qualitative approach was used to provide multiple perspectives of elementary school counselors that served to contextualize their views and perceptions and offer an explanation as to how they interpret their work with children from low-SES families (Conrad et al., 2001). Additionally, the principles of autoethnographic methods were utilized to offer the researchers' perspectives as a former elementary school counselor who was reared in a low-SES family. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and open-ended questions were used to elicit responses of depth from the participants (Charmaz, 2014). A virtual protocol format, Adobe Connect was used to conduct the interviews. Findings indicated that motivation to advocate, prioritizing mental health, complex trauma, school-based (micro-level advocacy) and school district (macro-level advocacy) supports, and preparedness, affect the school counselors' advocacy efforts for children of low-SES with mental health issues. Most of the counselors experienced minimal success while advocating for mental health programs in their schools while others shared their experiences as counselors working in schools with school-based mental health (SMH) programs. The counselors with existing programs discussed how incorporating SMH have enhanced their school environments. The findings suggested implications for professional school counselors, best practices, theory, as well as advocacy and policy. Increased attention to the professional identity development and certification/training related to trauma informed practice for elementary counselors serving in high-poverty schools would be valuable for professional school counselors seeking to advocate for mental health programs in schools. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]