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Professional Exploration in the Field of School Counseling

Breanna A.C. Gardner

Department of Psychology, Mansfield University of Pennsylvania

PSYC-337-99: Child Psychological Disorders

Dr. Mary Katherine Duncan

November 20, 2023

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Professional Exploration in the Field of School Counseling

School counselors play an important role in the development of a student’s academic,

social, and emotional well-being. It is their job to support and assist students through their

academic planning and provide counseling services to support them with their personal growth

(Moran, 2023). In this profession, it is important to stay in contact with parents, teachers, and

administrators so that all are informed of where their student stands while creating a positive

school environment. Depending on age range or size of school district, school counselors can

engage in individual sessions or group sessions with students to talk on subjects such as

behavioral concerns, academic performance, or responses after traumatic events (Troy, 2022).

Counselors can also guide students through workshops or programs that can cover subjects like

substance abuse, mental health challenges, and bullying. Through these programs, it can raise

awareness on mental health and enhance life skills.

There is a demand in counseling services and for school counselors it is expected to grow

reflecting on the increased awareness and importance of mental health education. The United

States Department of Labor predicts a five percent increase in employment of school counselors

over the next decade (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2019). For this position the minimum

requirement is having a master’s degree in psychology, where some jobs may require further

education or additional certifications (O*Net online, n.d.). With these qualifications, many

schools also require having additional hours of experience with working in the psychology field

and having the skills required to provide the proper services. The estimated median income can

vary, projecting from $42,000-$68,000 depending on placement of school and position (U.S.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2019; O*Net online, n.d.). These professionals emphasize the
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importance of guiding students academically while supporting them through their emotional and

social development.

Interview
Question #1
Tell me a little about yourself (who you are, what you do, etc.)

Nicole Shnyder: I am a licensed professional counselor. Technically, at the school, my title is a

school-based outpatient counselor, so I do outpatient counseling just in the school districts.
Currently, I am working at Montgomery Area School District four days a week, as well as
Muncy Area School District once a week. I work with all ages, from kindergarten through
twelfth grade, in both schools. I feel like there's a huge barrier for kids to get to the offices for
appointments, especially in the evening so, I could have opened my own practice but by being in
the school, it makes it easier for students to access my services.

Question #2
Can you please walk me through your educational and professional journey: what led you to
become a student counselor, highlighting any key milestones or experiences that lead you to
where you are?

Nicole Shnyder: I got my license around 2019. I've had a couple of jobs since this one, but
thinking back, I went to Lock Haven University for my undergrad. I eventually majored in
clinical psychology with a biology minor. I then did my graduate degree at Lock Haven, but it
was their online clinical mental health counseling program. I really wanted to get my PhD, but I
found out I was pregnant my senior year so I took a semester off. Then I started my master’s and
I had a grad assistantship during that time too. So that actually worked out for me because it paid
for two years of my graduate program. But yes, so the first two years of my grad program were
online, so we would do a lot of zoom meetings and then my whole third year was internships. I
had gotten a job at a residential treatment facility where we would work with adolescent boys.
So, I worked there with that company for a couple years. When I graduated, I was a behavioral
specialist consultant for a couple years. I applied for this opening to be the school social worker
here at Montgomery, got that. And then I was offered to stay as a counselor if I got my license,
so I did that and have been here for three years.

Question #3
How do you establish trust and rapport with the students you work with, especially when
dealing with sensitive and personal matters (depending on the age)? Or walk me through the
process of how meetings start and progresses.

Nicole Shnyder: I actually feel like I'm really good at doing that with kids and teenagers. I've
found that from working at my residential that they want to feel like you're on the same level as
them. They don't want you to preach to them but they want to feel like you're there with them. I
feel that I'm pretty real with the students and I’ll sometimes use self-disclosure when I feel it's
appropriate to kind of get them to get to know me and I can get them to open up. So usually if I
get a new kid, I will do a get to know me. I have this packet of random questions and I'll have
them fill them out and then I'll sit there and I'll talk to them and they'll read me their answers and
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I'll read them the ones I put. We usually get conversations going from whatever the answers are.
I feel like that usually is a nice ice breaker. With younger kids, I'll often spend a couple sessions
playing games with them and just talking about whatever with them to get to know them. Kids
can have a hard time just sitting and talking while some of the older kids find it easier coming in
and talking to me the whole time. But a lot of them need they need some type of material. They
need like a workbook. Like pieces of a workbook will go through different exercises. And I do a
lot of, like, psycho educational stuff with them. I like to teach them about, you know, anxiety,
why we get it, all that stuff. I like to teach them about it so it's easier for them to understand
when they're trying to deal with it.

Question #4
Can you share some of the most rewarding aspects of being a school counselor, as well as the
challenges that you’ve encountered in your career?

Nicole Shnyder: I'm not going to say it's an easy job, but a lot of the time I feel like I'm not doing
enough or that I should be doing more. It's really challenging and this profession is accepting that
you can't do it for them. You can give them all the tools but essentially, they need to want to
make the changes on their own. It's almost like it's called imposter syndrome. Sometimes I feel
like I'm not doing anything to help. Or other times the student’s home environment plays a factor
in issues and you can’t do anything about it. But it definitely is rewarding when you see students
implementing the stuff that you work with them on and talk with them about. I've had kids tell
me that they look forward to coming down here and talking to me and it reminds me that I am
helping. I’d say it very rewarding to hear that and be reminded and continue to remind myself
that what I do is important for these kids.

Question #5
What advice do you have for someone considering a career in school counseling? Or maybe
something you wish someone told when you were pursuing this career?

Nicole Shnyder: I wish someone would have told me you have a lot of steppingstones to get
through before you get to where you want to be. You are going to have low paying jobs to get
the experience under your belt before getting the exact job you might be looking for. You kind of
work your way up and get the experience as you're getting your hours that you need. You can't
just come out of school and get the exact job that you want a lot of times. I mean, I'm sure you
probably could, but it typically doesn't work out that way. I went through different internships,
paid internships, to different leveled jobs to where I am today and it’s about the experience
gained with time. You just got to keep that big picture in your head and know that hey, this is a
steppingstone job and then when something better comes along, I can gain experience and maybe
go in that direction.

Reflection on Profession

When having my interview with Nicole Shnyder, I found it really interesting to note how

her views and experiences on emotional burnout line up with what a lot of different research has
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to say. Emotional burnout is often brought on from chronic stress from a work environment and

for school counselors, it can play a huge factor in their mental well-being (Troy, 2023).

Specifically in our interview, Nicole mentioned how home environments can be the reason why

certain issues continue to happen for students and noted how she wished she could do more (N.

Shnyder, personal interview, 2023). This job requires a lot of time and effort to provide the

proper support needed for students to thrive but that can start to negatively impact the

professional’s well-being. Chronic stress can lead to furthered issues such as headaches to further

developed issues such as anxiety or depression (Heled, 2022). To prevent emotional burnout

from happening frequently, one has to create a proper work-life balance. By knowing how much

you can give and provide for the student and knowing when you have given too much is a

difficult understanding school counselors eventually learn. By knowing where it starts to take a

toll is a great start to creating and providing separate resources where they can work on their

issues individually can allow for proper professional boundaries to be set. It is also helpful

having a healthy work environment where open communication is promoted and can allow for

increased levels of self-belief and motivation (Gibbons, 2010). By taking on these steps of proper

self-care, the signs of emotional burnout can be handled early on where the counselor can take

the necessary steps to prevent it.

Another option that many counselors often use in seeking professional help when needed.

Seeking professional services is typically required for counselors and therapists that work in

private practices or hospital settings. By not working in a private practice where those services

are provided or by not having a head psychologist in the department to communicate issues to,

she would need to seek out her only professional services. When hearing her explain that process
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to me, I realized it was something I had not looked into before when considering this field and

prepared me even further.

Another topic that was noted was the methods used to build up a good rapport with

students. Schools implementing programs that reflect on topics such as mental health awareness

are great for encouraging mindfulness and raising levels of inclusion throughout the community.

Research has shown these programs to have a positive impact on self-awareness while

encouraging open communication, overall promoting a healthier school environment (van

Vulpen, 2018). When comparing these different methods to what Nicole Shnyder is currently

implementing in schools, I found it interesting to hear her view on it. I expected the high school

students to be the ones having a difficult time opening up while the younger children would be

more willing to express what is going on, not the other way around. With my previous

experience in working with kindergarten classes, I have noticed how open the children are with

telling information about themselves and those in their lives. I found it intriguing to hear her

methods of getting to know the younger students while encouraging them to open up to her.

Some additional questions that were asked in my interview were used to gain a better

understanding of the field with hopes in learning of possible future opportunities available. I had

prior knowledge on the profession before conducting this interview but it was beneficial and

highly encouraging to hear about Nicole Shnyder’s journey and what steps I could make to

further my education and experience in this field of psychology.

Reflection on Preparation for Profession

Over the past few years, I have taken on many leadership positions in my clubs and

extracurriculars. One position I have had for the past four years was the Academic Achievement

Chairmen position in my sorority. Within my first term, I was able to set up individual academic
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plans with each member and was able to receive and accept a national chapter award for overall

academic achievement and improvement. This encouraged me to look into school counseling by

not only guiding students academically but by also supporting them with their social and

emotional needs. This position has also gained me further knowledge in this profession due to

academics and mental health affecting each other. Many separate occasions I found that those

who were struggling academically reported to me that they were struggling to continue due to

their mental well-being. From this, I was able to support them and guide them to the available

resources on campus so that they could get the proper services they needed. I offered to work

with their academic advisors as well, by informing them of how their academic struggles are

related to their mental health. This gave me experience with working with different staff around

campus to help and encourage the betterment of the members of my club.

I am currently finishing up my final year of undergrad at Mansfield University to get my

bachelor’s degree in clinical psychology. To graduate, I need to attend an internship that counts

towards the school’s credit system to gain proper experience in child psychology. From this

experience I will need to create a report on what I will be learning throughout my time there. My

goal with this internship is to gain a better understanding of the field as well as connect with

other professionals.

I also will continue to stay in contact with Nicole Shnyder for further assistance, when

needed. She has opened my eyes to different grad school options that I will greatly accept her

knowledge and possible intel of certain programs. I originally was considering on attending

Duquesne University’s graduate program for school psychology but Nicole mentioned a few

different options that were more financially in my price range. As a first-generation undergrad

student, this interview has given me the one-on-one talk that I have been needing to have.
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Nicole Shynder has also given me different resources to look into the licensing process. Her

knowledge of local internship opportunities as well as job opportunities that I did not know

where available have been brought to my attention. She told me of a few different programs that

she had the opportunity of gaining a lot of knowledge from and even offered to put in a good

word if I ever desired to pursue them. She continued by offering to give me former colleagues

information so that I could look into their programs and what resources I could gather from their

work. Currently, she mentioned the struggle of working with insurance companies and the

process of being paid through them and she was helping me gain a better understanding of how

that all works when school systems are involved compared to private practices.

Overall, I was extremely greatly for the time Nicole Shnyder set aside for me to interview her

and to learn about her journey in becoming a school counselor for two school districts. She has

given me a better understanding of this field and the steps I need to take to be able to get to

where I want to be within the next ten years.

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References

Gibbons, M. M., Diambra, J. F., & Buchanan, D. K. (2010). School counselor perceptions and

attitudes about collaboration. Journal of School Counseling, 8(34), 1–28.

Heled, E., Ukrop, S., & Davidovitch, N. (2022). School Counseling--A Profession without an

identity: Personal and group professional identity of school counselors. Education and

Society, 40(2), 99–115.

Lambie, G. W., & Williamson, L. L. (2004). The challenge to change from guidance counseling

to professional school counseling: A historical proposition. Professional School

Counseling, 8(2), 124–131.

Moran, D., Brookover, D. L., & Goodman-Scott, E. (2023). School counselor educators: A

grounded theory of career interest and satisfaction. Counselor Education and

Supervision, 62, 21–

39. https://doi-org.proxy-commonwealthu.klnpa.org/10.1002/ceas.12257

O*Net online. O*NET OnLine. (n.d.). https://www.onetonline.org/

Shnyder, N. (2023, November 18). Personal Interview

Troy, K. D. (2022). School counselor burnout and its impact on implementation of the school

counseling program. Northcentral University ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.

https://proxy-commonwealthu.klnpa.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-

theses/school-counselor-burnout-impact-on-implementation/docview/2645536332/se-2

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2019). School and Career Counselors : Occupational Outlook

Handbook: : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Bls.gov. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-

and-social-service/school-and-career-counselors.htm
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van Vulpen, K. S., Habegar, A., & Simmons, T. (2018). Rural School-based mental health

services: Parent perceptions of needs and barriers. Children & Schools, 40(2), 104–111.

https://doi.org/10.1093/cs/cdy002