Blog 14

The article “Listen to the Voices: School Counselors and Comprehensive School Counseling Programs” was an interesting read and for me emphasized how important professional development is for school counselors. I feel fortunate to have come into the profession at the time when the 3^rd edition of the ASCA National Model was released. I also have been fortunate to be a in graduate program where this model was emphasized and explored. While many current counselors may be struggling with the model and how to implement it, I know of nothing else. I will come into a school with this perspective and not carrying baggage of “this is how I used to do it”.

                While this article notes the studies show that students who participate in a comprehensive school guidance program reap many benefits, it also notes the lack of professional development for counselors in learning how to implement such a program. This is not good and needs to be remedied in my opinion. As this article is almost five years old, I am curious if the outlook is the same now. I hope not. I hope that perhaps ASCA has provided more training opportunities and I hope that school counselors have received the message that they need to be proactive and be trained about what ASCA has proposed as a framework for a comprehensive school counseling program.

                I personally benefit greatly from professional development opportunities. I love to learn new things and get energized from being around other people all talking about something I am passionate about. When I worked for the church, I sought out training opportunities. I also scraped money together every year to take my main volunteers as I felt it was helpful to them too. Working with youth takes a lot of energy and burn out is common. When I went to the professional development trainings, I came back energized and focused. I remembered why I was doing this in the first place. Professional development helps challenge me and center me. I am looking forward to tonight’s LCSCA meeting. This will be my first time I am able to go to a meeting. I am looking forward to making new contacts and networking. I am also excited to go to the PSCA conference on Thursday and Friday. This will be my third year and I have always come away with new ideas and things to ponder. It is a great place to gather resources too. I hope one day to attend the ASCA National Conference as I am sure it would be more of the same. As the authors of this article write, “Through targeted professional development, school Counselors will gain the confidence needed to reaffirm their beliefs, reassess their priorities, and transform their practices and thus build higher levels of capacity to implement comprehensive school counseling programs.” (Dahir, Burnham, & Stone, 2009, p. 188). In my opinion, the risks of NOT participating in professional development opportunities are too great and I feel like it is our responsibility as ethical school counselors to ensure that we are adequately trained and educated in our field.

 

 

Dahir, C.A., Burnham, J.J., & Stone, C. (2009). Listen to the voices: School counselors and comprehensive school counseling programs. Professional School Counseling, 12(3), 182-92.