The School Counseling Program at Western Carolina University prepares you to work as a counselor in a public school setting at elementary, middle/junior, and high school levels. A school counselor is a certified professional counselor who possesses knowledge and skills in the basic counseling core areas: human growth and development, social and cultural foundations of counseling, helping relationships, groups, lifestyles and career development, appraisal, research and evaluation, and professional counselor orientation. In addition, as a school counselor, you will gain critical knowledge about school settings and become proficient in designing and implementing kindergarten through grade (K-12) school counseling programs.

School counseling programs are comprehensive and developmental in nature and are designed to be integral to a school's total educational plan. They focus on the identification, development implementation, and evaluation of interventions and strategies that meet the diverse social, emotional, and academic needs of children and adolescents in a multicultural society. School counselors organize their work schedules around the following basic interventions: Individual and small group counseling, large group guidance, consultation, and program development.

School counseling programs are differentiated at school levels by the developmental stages of students and related interests, tasks, and challenges. Developmental counseling programs are designed for all students, emphasize personal growth and individual potential, and are directed toward helping students learn more effectively and efficiently. School counselors work with students, teachers, parents, school administrators and other school personnel, and use community resources to meet these goals.

When you have completed all of WCU’s requirements in the school counseling program, including the PRAXIS exam, you will be eligible for K-12 licensure (certification) as a school counselor by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

Graduates of the School Counseling Program also are eligible to pursue to post-Master's Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) credential.

Contact School Counseling Program Leader Dr. Lisen Roberts for more information about this field and this program.