Delivery
The delivery of the school counseling program is where the fun of working with students happens within the school counseling program! Direct and indirect services should compose at least 80% of my time. Direct services include the core guidance curriculum and responsive services, such as small group and 1:1 counseling. Indirect services still impact students, but are not face-to-face; they include collaboration and consultation on behalf of students.
Classroom guidance lessons, using the core curriculum, allow me to proactively present materials that will benefit all students. Each month I present classroom guidance lessons to students to introduce and reinforce developmentally appropriate learning. One of my favorite things to include in each lesson is relevant books.
Small groups allow me to focus attention in a certain area with a few students who would benefit from responsive services. Small groups are generally composed of students who teachers or parents feel would benefit from a specific, targeted intervention topic. Some of the groups I have taught include issues such as friendship, anxiety, study skills, and self control. I often include outside resources with my original material to create groups that will best meet the needs of my students.
Working one-on-one with students allows me to understand their specific strengths and struggles on a deeper level, providing an opportunity to tailor an intervention to each student. In one instance, I used an SEL resource to create a tool for a student to practice "Starfish Breathing", where he traces up and down the starfish legs as he breathes in and out.