The School Counselor and School Counselor Supervision

(Adopted 2021)

ASCA Position

School counselors engage in quality school counseling supervision during their training and professional practice to enhance the implementation of their school counseling program. Supervision by individuals who have a background in school counseling or certification in supervision enhances school counselors’ professional growth and leadership development in their roles as practitioners and potential supervisors.
 

The Rationale

School counselors pursue consultation and supervision in their school counseling training program and throughout their professional career to strengthen their school counseling skills and remain culturally supportive and ethically compliant (ASCA, 2019; ASCA, 2020; ASCA, 2022). Supervision provides opportunities for novice and experienced school counselors to develop and refine the skills required to address the needs of pre-K–12 students through typical stages of development and as they navigate societal challenges (Bultsma, 2021). Supervision is also helpful in adapting to changing cultural and environmental demands.
 
To meet the needs of future students, to support current school counselors in the field, and to sustain the school counseling profession for the future, school counseling ethical and professional standards highlight the need for school counselors to seek supervision and training as supervisors (ASCA, 2019, ASCA, 2020; ASCA, 2022; CACREP, 2016). Effective supervision infuses knowledge of supervision models specific to school counseling,ethics, social justice, professional development, leadership, advocacy and other professional roles such as gatekeeping (ASCA, 2017; ASCA, 2019; ASCA, 2020; Levitt, et al., 2019). Trained school counseling supervisors provide necessary professional development to assist school counselors and school-counselors-in-training to be well-prepared, skilled and competent practitioners (Bernard & Goodyear, 2019; McCoy & Neale-McFall, 2017).As gatekeepers, supervisors also intervene with professional colleagues when the safety and welfare of pre-K–12 students is in jeopardy (ASCA, 2016; Schuermann, et al., 2018).
 

The School Counselor's Role

Effective school counselor supervision is an intensive, interpersonally focused, individual or small-group intervention delivered by a more senior member of the profession to a junior member to facilitate continued professional growth (Bernard & Goodyear, 2019). School counselor supervisors work to: 
  • support and encourage school counselor development
  • foster the continued development of instruction, appraisal and advisement, and counseling skills 
  • facilitate personal and professional growth for operating in complex educational settings, including cultural competence and anti-racist work 
  • promote adherence to and integration of school counselor standards and competencies related to leadership, advocacy, collaboration and systemic change
  • model the development of data-informed and accountable school counseling programs 
  • serve as gatekeepers for future professionals’ entry into the school counseling profession 
  • safeguard students and families with whom the supervisees work
  • promote ethical behavior of supervisees under their supervision 
  • remain current on trends, techniques and strategies within the field of school counseling
  • obtain professional development in supervision (ASCA, 2019; ASCA, 2020; ASCA, 2022) Bernard & Goodyear, 2019)
School counseling site supervisors must adhere to the requirements and standards of integrity, leadership and professionalism while supervising practicum students and interns (ASCA, 2022). Graduate programs training school counselors are expected to assist in training site supervisors (CACREP, 2016). 
School counseling supervisors must have the following qualifications:
  • a minimum of a master’s degree in school counseling or related profession with equivalent qualifications, including appropriate certifications and/or licenses 
  • a minimum of two years of professional experience within school counseling 
  • relevant training in school counseling supervision 
(CACREP, 2016; Neyland-Brown, et al., 2019)
 
New school counselors should maintain professional supervision (McLain, 2019). Notwithstanding, all school counseling professionals benefit from formal or informal mentoring from those school counselors with specific experience and competencies (ASCA, 2019; Brott, et al., 2016; Tang, 2020). 
 

Summary

School counselor supervision involves the continued personal and professional development of currently practicing school counselors and school-counselors-in-training regarding the knowledge and skills needed for providing effective school counseling programs. Supervision focuses on the development and growth of school counseling skills and the integration of school counselor standards and competencies in practice. School counselor supervisors have the appropriate background, experience and training needed to prepare school counselors to meet the ever-changing needs and challenges of students, families, schools and communities. 

References

American School Counselor Association (2022). ASCA Ethical standards for school counselors. Alexandria, VA:Author.
 
American School Counselor Association. (2017). The School Counselor and School Counseling
Programs. Alexandria, VA:Author
 
American School Counselor Association (2019). ASCA Standards for School Counselor Preparation Programs (ASCA CAEP SPA). Retrieved from https://www.schoolcounselor.org/getmedia/573d7c2c-1622-4d25-a5ac-ac74d2e614ca/ASCA-Standards-for-School-Counselor-Preparation-Programs.pdf
 
American School Counselor Association (2020). Making supervision work. Alexandria, VA:Author.
 
Bernard, J.M. & Goodyear, R.K. (2019). Fundamentals of clinical supervision (6th ed.). Pearson.
 
Bledsoe, K. G., Burnham, J. J., Cook, R. M., Clark, M., & Webb, A. L. (2021). A phenomenological study of early career school counselor clinical supervision experiences. Professional School Counseling. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X21997143
 
Brott, P. E., Stone, V., & Davis, T. E. (2016). Growing together: A developmental model for training school counseling site supervisors. Professional School Counseling, 20(1), 139-148. doi:10.5330/1096-2409-20.1.139
 
Bultsma, S. A. (2021). Supervision experiences of new professional school counselors, Michigan Journal of Counseling, 39(1), 4-18. doi:10.22237/mijoc/1325376060
 
Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs [CACREP]. (2016). 2016 CACREP standards. Retrieved from http://www.cacrep.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/2016-Standards-with-citations.pdf
 
Levitt, D., Ducaine, C.S., Greulich, K., Gentry, K., & Treweeke, L. (2019). The Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision, 12(3). https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/234958505.pdf. 
 
McCoy, V., & Neale-McFall, C. (2017). Online site supervisor training in counselor 
education: Using your learning management system beyond the classroom to provide content for site supervisors. Vistas Online, 4, 1–6. Retrieved from 
https://www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/vistas/online-site-supervisor-training.pdf?sfvrsn=6e9e4a2c_4 
 
McLain, G. E. (2019). Mentor academy for school counselors: A model plan. Journal of Professional Counseling: Practice, Theory, & Research, 46, (1-2), 39-47. https://doi.org/10.1080/15566382.2019.1671098 
 
Neyland-Brown, L., Laux, J.M., Reynolds, J.L., Kozlowski, K., & Piazza, N. J. (2019). An exploration of supervision training opportunities for school counselors. Journal of School Counseling, 17(1), 1-2. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1203244.pdf 
 
Schuermann, H., Avent Harris, J. R., & Lloyd, H. J. (2018). Academic role and perceptions of gatekeeping in counselor education. Counselor Education and Supervision, 57(1), 51–65. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ceas.12093
 
Tang, A. (2020). The impact of school counseling supervision on practicing school counsleors’ self-efficacy in building a comprehensive school counseling program. Professional School Counseling, 23(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X20947723
 
Wilson, T. A., Schaeffer, S., & Bruce, M. A. (2018). Supervision experiences of rural school counselors. The Rural Educator, 36(2). https://doi.org/10.35608/ruraled.v36i2.341

​*Note this position statement includes minor updates to reflect the revisions to the 2022 ASCA Ethical Standards for School Counselors.