A response to common themes in school counseling

Professional School Counseling, June, 2002 by Keith Anderson

Interestingly, Paisley and McMahon (2001) suggested that, "The most significant challenge for school counselors rests in the ongoing debate over role definition" (p. 107). Even with the current emphasis on comprehensive programs, it is counselors that must daily cope with varying priorities, expectations, and demands. Paisley and McMahon listed no less than 13 roles that a counselor within a comprehensive program may be asked to fulfill in a single day. They range from individual and group counseling to "maintaining the necessary levels of expertise in all of the above areas to ensure quality in all interventions and programs" (p. 107). They mentioned that even with ideal counselor case loads "fulfilling all of these expectations would be incredibly difficult" (p. 107). Counselors are asked to be successful with national counselor-to-student ratios ranging from 313:1 to 1,182:1 students per counselor. In addition, the increase in diverse populations requires counselors to be more effective in a more complex environment.

As Green and Keys (2001) indicated and Paisley and McMahon (2001) insisted, technology brings with it certain blessings and roadblocks. Technology seems to bring increased efficiency and effectiveness, but only to those counselors who are comfortable with its use. In terms of program delivery, school counseling can "take advantage of technology in its delivery of preventative and developmental school counseling programs" (Paisley & McMahon, p. 108). But, technology is expensive. Dependence on technology in delivering counseling services may exacerbate the "digital divide" between families with Internet access from those who cannot afford computers. Additionally, there is the effect that "technology could have on the personal relationship between counselor and students. In an era when so much is done without human interaction, the human interaction that a counselor models becomes even more important" (p. 109). An example of technology undermining counselor responsibilities would be the potential for students to take "career exploration and other self-directed assessments without proper supervision or instruction" (p. 109).

Society is bombarded daily from the impact of technology. Email, Web sites, cellular phones, and handheld computers are just a few examples of technology that are taken for granted today. Culturally, technology has gone beyond being a tool to becoming an integral part of daily living. It can streamline the clerical work of school counseling as well as help in gathering data and delivering information and even assisting with on-line counseling. But, increased dependence on technology is a major reason for school counselors not to diminish individual and group counseling as their primary roles. Educationally, school counselors are beginning to utilize the World Wide Web for knowledge and on-line courses for learning. On-line counseling has become so familiar that the American Counseling Association (1999) developed ethical standards for professional practice.