Looking for a Challenging Career? How School Counseling Has Changed.

Sometimes, the first clue to a dramatic shift in the focus of a profession is a name change.

“We cringe when we hear the term ‘guidance counselor,’” Terri Tchorzynski told National Public Radio in 2017 after being named School Counselor of the Year. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) honored Tchorzynski for her work at the Calhoun Area Career Center in Battle Creek, Michigan. “It’s kind of that older-fashioned model from years ago, the ‘I’m gonna guide you toward your career or college.’ It’s from when people didn’t really understand what was going on with the whole realm of school counseling.” ¹

While school counselors are still instrumental in assisting students with post-high school educational and vocational choices, they are now involved holistically in a school’s comprehensive educational plan and serve as a resource to teachers, administrators, and students. Their varied duties include leading efforts to combat bullying, raising awareness about mental health issues, providing trauma counseling in the wake of gun violence and other tragedies, and promoting understanding of LGBTQ+ issues, to name just a few.

Here is how the ASCA defines today’s counselor role: “School counselors are highly educated, professionally certified individuals who help students succeed in school and plan their career. An integral part of the total education system, school counselors help students form healthy goals, mindsets, and behaviors. With the aid of a school counselor, students learn to develop effective collaboration and cooperation skills, to practice perseverance, to develop time management and study skills, and to learn self-motivation and self-direction habits.”²

How Guidance Counseling Has Changed

The American Counseling Association has charted some of the significant differences between the profession 20 years ago and today. Here are some of their conclusions: ³

• Then: Guidance counselor. Now: Professional school counselor.
• Then: A small percentage of students were identified as having special needs and acute mental health issues. Now: Counselors address the needs of all students and are responsible for assisting with increasingly complex social challenges.
• Then: Almost all counseling took place individually in the counselor’s office. Now: Counselors are fully integrated into the natural flow of the school day.
• Then: Most school counselors were in high schools and middle schools. Now: Today’s model recommends multiple counselors in every middle school and high school and at least one counselor in every elementary school.

How to Become a Counselor

If you have strong communication and problem-solving skills, enjoy working as part of a team, are empathetic, and thrive in dynamic environments, then you may want to consider a master’s in school counseling online. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects faster-than-average job growth through 2032, with 18,400 jobs expected to be added during that time.⁴ According to the BLS, an MS in counseling or a related field is typically required, and additional certification and licensing may be required.

In selecting an online counseling degree program at Walden University, you may choose to enroll in the General Program or pursue a specialization in:

• Addiction Counseling
• Crisis Trauma
• Marriage, Couple, and Family Counseling
• Military Families and Culture
• Telehealth Counseling, Private Practice, and Supervision

There is even an optional accelerated track that allows students to earn a degree more quickly.

Walden’s MS in School Counseling program is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), a specialized accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).

Is school counseling your calling? If so, there are students, schools, and educators waiting for you. “We need the right people, people who truly want to help students,” said Katherine Pastor, a former School Counselor of the Year speaking about her work at Flagstaff High School in Flagstaff, Arizona. “You have to constantly think of how to be better because you’re doing it for them. One adult believing in a student makes all the difference to that kid.”⁵

If you’re interested in a broader scope of career opportunities, you may wish to consider earning Walden’s MS Dual Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and School Counseling.  Upon successful completion, you will have earned two degrees from two accredited programs and be able to pursue licensure or certification as both a mental health counselor and a school counselor.

Walden University is an accredited institution offering an MS in School Counseling degree program online. Expand your career options and earn your degree using a convenient, flexible learning platform that fits your busy life.

¹Source: https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2017/01/06/492874846/9-questions-for-the-nations-top-school-counselor
²Source: www.schoolcounselor.org/About-School-Counseling/School-Counselor-Roles-Ratios
³Source: https://www.counseling.org/images/default-source/default-album/school-counselor-infographice5081ef16116603abcacff0000bee5e7.jpeg?sfvrsn=0
⁴Source: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/school-and-career-counselors.htm
⁵Source: https://www.schoolcounselor.org/school-counselors-members/school-counselor-of-the-year-award
⁶Source: https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2016/interview/school-counselor.htm

Note on Licensure

MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling: Walden University’s MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), a specialized accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), which is a requirement for licensure in many states. The MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program is designed to prepare graduates to qualify to sit for licensing exams and to meet the academic licensure requirements of many state counseling boards. Because no graduate program can guarantee licensure upon graduation, we encourage students to consult the appropriate agency to determine specific requirements. For more information about licensure, students should visit the National Board for Certified Counselors at www.nbcc.org/search/stateboarddirectory, the American Association of State Counseling Boards at www.aascb.org, and contact the appropriate licensing body. International students are encouraged to identify and contact their appropriate licensing body. Learn more about professional licensure.

MS in School Counseling: The MS in School Counseling program is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), a specialized accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), which may also be a requirement to become licensed or certified as a school counselor in some states. In addition, some states require school counselors to have an existing teaching license or certification, and teaching experience, in order to be eligible for a school counseling certification/license. Learn more about professional licensure.

Further, many states require school counseling programs to be approved in at least one state, either their own or another state. The MS in School Counseling program is approved by the states of Minnesota and Ohio, and while this approval is accepted by the majority of states which require state approval, it may not be accepted by all states.

Walden is not approved to offer the School Counseling degree in Arkansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New Mexico, or Tennessee, so if you reside in one of these states, you will not be eligible for the dual degree.

Walden University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (www.hlcommission.org), an institutional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.