School counseling for the 21st Century: challenges and opportunities

Professional School Counseling, Dec, 2001 by Pamela O. Paisley, George McMahon

Professional Development

A second critical component in transforming challenges into opportunities will be professional development for practicing school counselors. Professional development is not something that happens during graduate school; in fact, graduate school is just a beginning. Becoming a master school counselor is a lifelong process. Across disciplines, professional development is considered to be a process that continues after formal education as professionals identify with their jobs; yet, there has been little focus on post-graduate professional development either in the professional literature or in policy (Brott & Myers, 1999). In order for school counselors to continue to adapt to the needs of the community and to continue to develop professionally, school counselors must take part in two types of continuing education: specific skill development and supervision.

Professional skill development is necessary for school counselors to learn more about specific skills that will help them to more effectively meet the needs of students, but which they may not have acquired during their formal education. These skills may include counseling-related skills such as cultural competency training (D'Andrea & Daniels, 2001; Lee, 2001), understanding DSM-IV classifications (Hinkle, 1999), or updating their understanding of presenting issues such as sexual orientation (Marinoble, 1998). Preparation may also include skills that are not directly related to counseling but which may make their jobs easier. These may include utilizing technology (Hohenshil, 2000; Owen & Weikel, 1999) or building collaborative relationships with other educational service personnel (e.g., Murphy et al., 1998), with community counselors (Keys, Bemak, Carpenter, & King-Sears, 1998; Lockhart & Keys, 1998; Ponec, Poggi, & Dickel, 1999), or with counselor educators (Hayes et al., 1997). Although the American School Counselor Association encourages this type of continuing education, there is no effective means by which to ensure that such professional development is taking place (Crutchfield & Borders, 1997). In addition, the time demands on school counselors and the pressure from school administration for direct service hours may prevent school counselors from seeking opportunities for professional growth as often as they would like. The profession must encourage school counselors to seek opportunities for personal and professional growth, not just in areas of interest, but also in the areas in which counselors may need the most growth. School counselor educators and supervisors as well as seasoned school counselors can facilitate the process by helping administrators to see the value of such experiences and by providing formal opportunities for professional growth experiences (Brott & Myers, 1999).

Skill building alone will be inadequate, however. School counselors must also participate in continued clinical supervision in order to enhance their professional development. Receiving supervision in addition to participating in skill-building experiences can help reinforce new skills and help to generalize the skills to school counselors' daily routines. Supervision can also help school counselors identify school-wide issues and develop plans to address these concerns (Brott & Myers, 1999). Further, by providing someone to listen to and understand school counselors' on-the-job concerns, supervision can help alleviate job stress and fight burnout (Baker & Gerler, 2001). Finally, supervision can play an important role in the continued evolution of school counselors' professional identity (Brott & Myers, 1999).