School counseling incorporates a variety of direct and indirect student services that focus on academic achievement, success, and personal development of students. CACREP and American School Counselor Association standards guide school counselors in upholding ethical practice and the delivery of counseling services. Short-term individual school counseling can aid in student success and achievement. This chapter examines individual counseling theory and its application to empirically based practice in the school. The efficacy of person-centered counseling, solution-focused brief therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, reality therapy, narrative therapy, and gestalt/expressive therapies are demonstrated through case studies. Practical applications and interventions are provided through case studies.

As with any profession, the roles, responsibilities, and foci areas will evolve as the technological and societal needs change. This chapter begins by providing foundational knowledge about the school counseling profession and its historical pathway. Key events in the United States have shaped the profession in recent years, leading to identification of the current trends affecting school counselors. Advancements in technology, increasing responsibilities, and future directions will be discussed.

According to the American School Counselor Association, school counselors have both an ethical and professional responsibility to help all students meet or exceed academic standards by supporting them with academic, career, and social-emotional development, with consideration for both the strengths and challenges that result from working with students with disabilities or other special needs. However, students receiving special education services are often excluded from school counseling interventions. The purpose of this chapter is to address the need for school counseling interventions related to exceptional students. This chapter will highlight this issue and provide recommendations for school counselor collaboration with special education staff to ensure appropriate service delivery to all.

The American School Counseling Association (ASCA) published a list of appropriate and inappropriate school counseling duties to serve as a guide for PK–12 education related to the intended role and focus of the school counseling profession. School counseling practicum and internship students, as well as recent graduates, are often surprised and frustrated with what they experience as an incongruency between their training focused on an aspirational model and real-life counseling practice. The reality of school counseling practice is that contracts almost always include an “other duties as assigned” clause for both classroom teachers and professional school counselors that require activities that seem unrelated to the training or role of school counseling. This chapter will provide a framework for understanding how these “inappropriate duties” can be embraced by practicing school counselors (while at the same time advocating for change) in order to make connections with students, encourage collaboration, and demonstrate creative approaches to various duties.

This chapter addresses gender and identity issues in PK–12 education, including gender fluidity, students who identify as transgender and the transitioning process, students who identify as LGBTQ+, and general school-based advocacy and safety issues. This chapter offers ways to create safe and affirming spaces for LGBTQ+ students in schools. It serves as a foundation for seeking more knowledge to best serve these affinity groups. Scholarly support and practitioner recommendations for school-based support including student-led groups, staff training, parent education, and safe school culture curriculum are presented.

While the community mental health profession has provided online counseling interventions regularly in the form of telehealth counseling, this counseling platform is not as frequently offered, nor explored, in the scholarly literature related to school counseling. With the onset of online PK–12 instruction throughout the United States in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, school counselors were forced to adjust their reach to align with the virtual platform. This chapter explores the best practice recommendations related to providing school counseling interventions in an online/virtual format.

Classroom engagements and lessons are an important part of the role of school counselors. Classroom guidance allows for systemic change and collaboration with the teachers. Classroom guidance should be implemented in PK–12 settings and focus on academics, career, and personal/social domains consistent with a comprehensive school counseling program. This chapter will focus on developmentally appropriate and culturally relevant classroom guidance lessons/presentations for each level of school counseling. A discussion of relevance, scholarly support, best practice, classroom management strategies and practical application will be provided.

This chapter serves as an introduction to building a comprehensive school counseling program (CSCP). In a CSCP, school counselors serve as collaborative leaders advocating for systemic change using data and incorporating an equity lens with every decision made. CSCPs are developed, delivered, and maintained to promote student success in academic, career, and social/emotional domains. Examples of how varying school districts throughout the United States approach school counseling programs are included. This chapter also provides guidance for school counselors through the process of developing a CSCP. Scholarly support for the benefits of a CSCP are presented, and practical application of the model, including the benefits of a CSCP for multiple stakeholders, are discussed.

Implementing data-driven school counseling interventions helps ensure school counseling program efficacy. School counselors benefit from being knowledgeable regarding the various types of data available in schools and having the skills to appropriately analyze assessment results to drive school counseling interventions and implement systemic change. Data can be used to advocate for equity and inclusion and identify opportunities for engagement.

We present the benefits of collaborations with school staff to support student success from research-based and applied perspectives. We make recommendations for staff engagement regarding presentation of data, professional development training opportunities, and school community-building strategies. We discuss school counselor self-advocacy, specifically regarding situations in which school policy may conflict with ethical guidelines.

This chapter focuses on the role of professional school counselors as related to the importance of collaborating with the school and local community to promote family engagement. Systems theory is applied, and research addressing the positive academic implications related to family engagement is presented. Specific strategies and useful tips are discussed. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) National Model carefully outlines the role of school counselors in consultation and collaboration engagement with families and community stakeholders. Additionally, ASCA tasks school counselors with addressing barriers to these partnerships, such as communication and access (2016). Ideally, school counselors in training gain knowledge and skills in this area during their graduate training programs, but many gain most of their preservice experience in this area during their field experiences (i.e., practicum and internship). This is because, in large part, CACREP standards do not currently require a graduate-level course in family–school collaboration, although some programs instill this content into other courses. As PK–12 student needs increase and school counselors must partner with families and communities more than ever, it is advantageous for counselor educators to add specific family-community-school coursework into graduate training programs. The authors of this chapter will use the terms parent, family, and caregiver to describe a variety of constellations that include caregivers, guardians, home environments, and other words used in related research and broader conversations as it relates to systems in which our students live.

There are two key foci of the ASCA Student Standards. The first focus is the ASCA Student Standards: Mindsets & Behaviors for Student Success: K-12 College-, Career-, and Life-Readiness Standards for Every Student, which are standards used by school counselors to support students’ academic success, social and emotional learning, and college and career readiness. The second focus is the ASCA School Counselor Professional Standards and Competencies, which delineates standards for school counselors’ professional development and promotes the planning, delivery, and evaluation of comprehensive school counseling programs. Moreover, the authors provide examples of school counseling interventions and ways to overcome potential roadblocks for successful implementation, as well as recommendations for integrating social justice advocacy when using the ASCA Student Standards.

Home life and environment outside of school have a great impact on student wellness (socially and emotionally), academic success, and career trajectory. This chapter will highlight and address the impact home life and caregivers have on the social-emotional learning, academic success, and career and college readiness of PK–12 students. Substance abuse, poverty, homelessness, immigration and incarceration, and deployment will be addressed. Supportive and practical interventions for the professional school counselor will be provided.

Although culturally relevant interventions and social justice advocacy will be integrated throughout the text, this chapter focuses on marginalized communities, antiracism practices, and the Black Lives Matter movement as it relates to serving BIPOC students and discusses the impact of cultural mismatch and culturally incompetent school-based interventions. Resources for cultural awareness, knowledge, and skill development will be discussed, as well as the opportunities for addressing the school-to-prison pipeline, historically underserved populations, and the opportunity gap.

This chapter provides an introduction to group counseling in schools. The American School Counselor Association Position Statement related to school counseling group interventions is presented and discussed specific to application and best practice recommendations. The basics of group counseling are outlined to guide those entering the profession, including considerations for this time-effective intervention. Multicultural and social justice advocacy opportunities within group work are highlighted. Developmental considerations for running groups as the elementary, middle/junior high, and high school levels are discussed.

The chapter will serve as an overview of the ASCA National Model and provide a clear connection with the translation from an aspirational ideal of school counseling to the reality of school counseling practice. The four main components of the National Model will be presented, including define, manage, deliver, and assess. This chapter will address and provide examples as to how these components are often offered in current models of PK–12 education—both in brick-and-mortar schools and online academies.

The legal requirements and ethical obligations of professional school counselors clearly state our responsibility to the welfare of children. However, the mandated reporting process can be intimidating for both counseling students and seasoned professionals. This chapter will define the classifications of mandated reporter, guidelines for professional practice will be presented, and a framework for gathering information and documenting the report will be suggested. Other important aspects that are covered in the chapter include confidentiality, ethical and cultural implications, and the necessity for maintaining professional boundaries with colleagues following a mandated report. The authors share personal experiences throughout the chapter, omitting information and using pseudonyms to protect the privacy of our former students.

In this chapter, students will explore the concept of strengths-based counseling and related interventions as the various roles and specific interventions are applied through this lens as the very foundation to the work of school counselors. Research-based support for this perspective and practitioner guidance is included. Case studies and scenarios demonstrating the difference between a traditional “deficit-based” perspective where a clinician or counselors initial view of a student is considering a “what’s wrong” approach will be compared to a “what’s going well” approach where school counselors collaborate with school staff and partner with students to build on student strengths to ensure academic success and improvement.

Considering the documented increase in mental health concerns, violence and trauma, the role of the school counselor related to prevention and response to these and other school crisis will be discussed. Trends in current scholarly literature point to the increase in student/family depression and anxiety related to the current pandemic which scholars suspect will result in a significant increase in student suicidal ideation and mental health concerns.

In this chapter, we provide an overview of career and college readiness initiatives in the United States. We also briefly review counseling and career development theories that are useful for conceptualizing P–12 career and college readiness interventions. Finally, we discuss inequities that exist across specific student populations and how those affect career and college outcomes.

In this chapter, we discuss second and third grade students with emphasis on the development of career and college readiness capital. We explore the importance of social emotional learning for the development of prosocial behavior and employability skills and the benefits of service learning. Parent involvement in career readiness is included with strategies for assisting parents to build skills for helping their children explore careers.

Late childhood is a pivotal time in career and college readiness. We examine the role and influence of cognitive development as well as peer support and gender identity development. We also explore the development of efficacy, self-regulation, and executive functioning and discuss their connection to career and college readiness. Finally, this chapter culminates with a discussion of how to support students during the fifth- to sixth-grade transition.

Middle school students love to learn about themselves including their interests, values, and aptitudes. In this chapter, we review developmental milestones occurring in middle school, the impact of social media use, middle school career interventions, and the integration of technology in the career counseling curriculum. In addition, we explore ways to engage parents and faculty and introduce career and technical education.

Students’ postsecondary preparation is a K–12 endeavor and involves learning about oneself, career pathways, and the many options for future work and lifestyle choices. School counselors can help students and their families understand the complexity and nuance of making a postsecondary choice. In this chapter, we address some of the intricacies of the postsecondary choice process and provide resources to help students and families.

In this chapter, we review career development strategies specific to PreK–first grade. Special attention is given to students psychosocial, cognitive, and gender development related to career. We focus on play therapy techniques in classroom lessons and innovative content integration such as the use of problem-based learning and design model thinking to promote career efficacy. Finally, we highlight techniques for helping teachers develop career strategies for the classroom and for parents to begin to develop career and college mindsets in the home.

In this chapter, we focus on helping students narrow down their future plans and engage in exploratory activities to more concretely prepare for their postsecondary transitions. We review Social Cognitive Career Theory and the Theory of Career Construction as frameworks for designing career and college readiness interventions. Finally, we highlight interventions to help students identify and hone in on strengths as well as to gather more information about themselves and details associated with potential future options.

In this chapter, we review unique career and college readiness considerations related to a variety of subpopulations of students. We share career and college-related statistics and focus on identifying personal and systemic barriers and inequities that students from these diverse populations might encounter. Finally, we offer suggestions for how to identify, advocate for, and address the unique career and college readiness needs of diverse students.

The focus of this chapter is designing curriculum to meet the career and post-secondary readiness needs of P–12 students. In this chapter we discuss how school counselors develop school specific curriculum plans using national and state standards, data summaries, and the school and district improvement and strategic plans as guide posts. Finally, we conclude by reviewing methods for assessing student learning outcomes.

Eighth grade is a time of distinct change and transition. In this chapter, we discuss the significant decisions eighth graders are asked to make regarding careers and how they can be supported to make these choices. Information on high school secondary track options, how to work with parents, and examples from a school counselor and district leaders are provided.

Ninth grade is a critical transition year where students’ academic habits and choices set the stage for future possibilities. In this chapter we address the importance of career and college advising as well as assisting students in developing individual learning plans to map how they will approach preparing for their future. Interventions focus on self and career exploration as well as the development of strong academic habits and dispositions.

In this chapter, we focus on career development and environmental influences for 10th graders and we highlight how Super’s Life-Span Life-Space theory and Social Cognitive Career Theory can be useful for conceptualizing these students. We also discuss factors that influence students’ career and postsecondary decision-making and goal-setting. Finally, we offer suggestions for addressing many of the internal and external factors that can negatively affect career and college readiness.

In this chapter, we provide an overview of professional competencies that are important for school counselors or others who plan to engage in career-related work in P–12 schools. We identify relevant professional documents that address these competencies in addition to ethical and professional responsibilities related to career counseling and development. We also discuss specific knowledge and skill areas as they relate to career and college readiness counseling and provide information about professional credentials related to career counseling.

In this chapter, we discuss interventions to help students take the final steps needed for their postsecondary transitions. Also, we reference the Theory of Career Construction in conceptualizing the career developmental needs of 12th-grade students in addition to focusing on the importance of values clarification. Interventions we highlight target summer opportunities, self-advocacy, and final career and college preparation.

In this chapter, we discuss the purpose of career and college readiness assessment in P–12 schools and review numerous factors that should be considered when determining which assessments to use. We provide a selected list of formal and informal assessments related to a variety of career and college readiness constructs. Finally, we provide considerations for interpreting assessment data and using it for school counseling program planning.

This chapter helps the reader to understand the history of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), specific components of the ADA and how the ADA provides resources to older adults and people with disabilities. The ADA, while groundbreaking, was not initially intended for people with disabilities rather than for older adults. As time progressed, however, the benefits of the ADA were much more far-reaching than originally intended, especially for aging adults with disabilities. The individual titles of the ADA have had some dramatically positive and specific impact for older adults wishing to remain in their homes or in their communities as long as possible. Although the ADA is still in its young adulthood, the benefits of the ADA have only grown as new and further linkages, such as the ADRCs, have developed in all regions of the United States.

This chapter helps the reader to be familiar with the demographic and social factors that influence and shape aging and disability policy over time and to be aware of policy changes over the past century within disability and aging public policy. It explains the contrast between advances in science and technology and public policy related to people growing older and people with disabilities. Landmarks serve as essential tools to help us recall specific historical events in time. Historical landmarks, science, and technology have played significant roles in the evolution of social policies; however, aging and disability policies may not have made as many strides as other areas throughout history. The chapter briefly discusses: the role of historical landmarks in shaping social trends and public policies; the relationship between historical landmarks and aging and disability-related policies; and trends in policy, social, and political influences and landmarks in the United States.

This chapter provides a backdrop to our current social security program and an overview of some models for social security programs in Europe and Canada. It explores the genesis of the social program in the United States. The chapter also explores contents of the original social security act (SSA) and compares the titles and programs mandated through the current SSA. It offers some guidelines for the current administration of the program, examines the debate around current proposals for revision, and reviews why these proposals are current issues for consideration. The chapter then presents the current social security system, which provides for older adults, but has also grown to cover dependent women and children. Although many people have argued for their vision to privatize the system, the reality is that there is much more political support to maintain the program as a safety net program rather than a means-tested program.

This chapter helps the reader to understand the history of the Elder Justice Act (EJA). It provides specific components of the EJA and how programs and services flow for older adults and people with disabilities. The chapter discusses the limitations in programs and services within the EJA. The EJA requires the oversight and the appropriation of federal funding to protect people growing older and people with disabilities from abuse. It addresses legal issues with a special emphasis on the concept of a power of attorney. The chapter explores several legal issues that face older adults. It also address elder abuse, power of attorney, and a differentiation made between the types of power of attorney and the healthcare power of attorney. In addition, the chapter explores legal services provided to older adults as a result of the Older Americans Act, and outlines the challenges within the realm of legal issues.

This chapter briefly discusses the history of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and community and presents specific components of the ACA in relationship to community prevention. The chapter deals with specific aspects of the legislation that impact older adults and people with disabilities. It presents a short review of the ten titles: Title one: quality, affordable health care for all Americans; Title two: role of public program; Title three: improving the quality and efficiency of health care; Title four: prevention of chronic disease and improving public health; Title five: health care workforce; Title six: transparency and program integrity; Title seven: improving access to innovative medical therapies; Title eight: Class Act; Title nine: revenue provision; Title ten: strengthening quality, affordable health care for all Americans. The chapter explains some of the legislative highlights, policies, and programs that have been articulated within each of the specific titles of the ACA.