School counselors are vital to school reform and improvement efforts, as such, school districts are always searching for ways to actively involve school counselors in their own professional development. Due to the increased mental health and behavioral needs of students, there is an increased demand for more intentional and appropriate…

Since the emergence of COVID-19, few studies have examined the exploration of trauma-informed care (TIC) practices within schools in a post-COVID-19 environment. While the literature on COVID-19 and its effects is growing, there is limited information about how the implementation of TIC practices within multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS)…

School counselors are urged to create systemic change within a school system by working as an advocate, leader, and collaborator within the school. Each of these roles requires a school counselor to be skilled in micropolitics and micropolitical literacy. This article explores the main concepts of micropolitical theory and its application to the…

Anyone who works in a school setting keenly feels the impact of COVID-19 on youth and families. They can remember the exhaustion and dysfunction that rippled out during the pandemic, and they can still see it today. The School Behavioral Health Academy (SBHA) responded to the youth mental health crisis by creating an online learning management…

While social emotional learning (SEL) school-based initiatives can benefit student well-being and learning, a need remains for a more nuanced understanding of aspects affecting systemic SEL integration within under-resourced learning environments. This study considered factors affecting implementation of a community initiative to provide…

Drug use trends change rapidly among youth, leaving educators and researchers struggling to respond promptly. Widely adopted universal evidence-based interventions (EBIs), such as the Michigan Model for Health™ (MMH), and their delivery systems offer an opportunity to reach large youth populations and reduce the onset and escalation of emerging…

In January 2021 the author read "Hey, Kiddo" by Jarrett Krosoczka. The author connected on so many levels with this graphic novel memoir, and knew that it would speak to their students, as well. Krosoczka not only wrote "Hey, Kiddo," but he illustrated it, as well. The author states they knew the healing impact a book could…

In the fall of 2021, Redwood City School District (RCSD) placed a full-time, district-employed mental health counselor in each of its twelve schools in order to bolster district capacity to support student mental health and wellbeing. Stanford's John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities (Gardner Center) conducted a Year 1…

School counselors are charged with creating comprehensive school counseling programs that recognize and affirm the wholeness and humanness of students, families, and their communities (Holcomb-McCoy, C., Mayes, R. D., Cheatham, C., Sharp, S., and Savitz-Romer, M. (2020). Antiracist school counseling: A call to action [webinar]. Center for…

Adolescent Asian American males frequently encounter prejudice, discrimination, and emasculation, which result from and are exacerbated by the myth of the "model minority" group. This article provides school counselors with a group intervention, based on a collectivism and resiliency framework, for working with Asian American adolescent…

The Connecticut Comprehensive School Counseling Framework was released in November 2020--8 months into the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to explore the progress made by principals and school counselors in implementing the new framework, and to understand the impact of the pandemic on their efforts to do so. We…

This qualitative study examines the roles, practices, challenges and demands of school counselors (known as guidance counsellors) in Barbados. A focused ethnographic approach is used to provide a comprehensive and nuanced view of five school counselors' experiences. Using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) to code and analyze the data…

Students with emotional/behavioral disorders have identified disruptive behaviors that negatively impact their academic performance. The US Department of Education and the American School Counselor Association have supported the use of school-wide multitiered systems of support (MTSS) to reinforce pro-social behaviors for all students, but to also…

Animal-assisted interventions intentionally incorporate the power of the human-animal bond into the therapeutic process. Research findings indicate that therapy dog programs can reduce student stress and build connections within the school, strengthening student response to school-based interventions and providing a foundation to achieve a diverse…

This brief is one in a series aimed at providing K-12 education decision makers and advocates with an evidence base to ground discussions about how to best serve students during and following the novel coronavirus pandemic. It addresses one central question: How can schools and districts ensure that all students benefit from school counseling…