School Counselor Consultation: Skills for Working Effectively with Parents, Teachers, and Other School Personnel

Consultation gives school counselors numerous advantages over individual or small group counseling. Chief among them is the far greater amount of children and adolescents one counselor can reach; by creating a more responsive school environment—consisting of teachers, parents, and others who can make decisions that children cannot—the counselor can positively affect all students who pass through that environment. However, making consultation effective requires a high level of knowledge and skill.

School Counselor Consultation: Skills for Working Effectively with Parents, Teachers, and Other School Personnel represents the most comprehensive resource available for understanding the entire consultation process. Unlike other consultation books that focus on theory, School Counselor Consultation emphasizes proven practice techniques. These include:

• What to say to parents and teachers about referring students to the school counselor
• What to ask teachers to assist in formulating successful interventions
• How to make the most of parent conferences
• How to plan for, execute, and follow-up on consultation sessions
• A five-step approach to conducting an individual consultation
• How to plan and present psychoeducational workshops to parents and teachers

This hands-on resource also features many forms and checklists—including consultation record forms, a sample agenda, surveys, and a crisis management plan—that you can use in practice. In addition, four appendices cover Adlerian theory, the American School Counselor Association and American Counseling Association Codes of Ethics, and how to best use this book to build consultation skills.

Consultation offers one of the most time-effective and beneficial services a school counselor can provide. A valuable resource for both students and practicing counselors, School Counselor Consultation is the most complete and up-to-date guide to the challenging yet highly rewarding consultation process.