The School Counselor Alumni Peer Consultation Group

Abstract

School counseling literature indicates that school counselors experience isolation and frustration and that partnership projects between counselors and counselor educators are potentially valuable. The author describes the school counselor alumni peer consultation group, which provides (a) support and networking opportunities for new counselors and (b) a forum for studying counseling issues and for developing strategies to solve problems. This innovative strategy for professional development and collaboration has implications both for counselor educators and for school counselors.

School Counselors Walking the Walk and Talking the Talk: A Grounded Theory of Effective Program Implementation

“…Additionally, peer consultation groups, whether formally established or an informal group of professionals who meet on their own time, facilitate awareness, knowledge, skill development, and, perhaps most importantly, motivation to implement a CDSCP. For descriptions of peer consultation groups, see Logan (1997) and Thomas (2005).…”

School Counselors’ General Self-Efficacy, Ethical and Legal Self-Efficacy, and Ethical and Legal Knowledge

“…Educational interventions may be used to increase A c c e p t e d M a n u s c r i p t 23 counselor self-efficacy by enacting mastery experiences (e.g., resolving dilemmas through case studies), facilitating observed (e.g., vicarious) experiences, and promoting positive appraisal (Bandura, 1977(Bandura, , 1997. Furthermore, school districts can require supervision or peer consultation groups for new counselors as a method to enhance their development of general self-efficacy and ethical and legal knowledge (Baker et al, 2009;Thomas, 2005).…”

New School Counselors’ Perceptions of Factors Influencing Their Roles as Leaders

“…New school counselors need education and training on how to work within the educational system, how to understand leadership development as an ongoing process, how to take advantage of leadership opportunities, and how to face barriers to enacting leadership. They need opportunities for networking and support such as alumni peer consultation groups (Thomas, 2005) and mentoring opportunities focused on sharing results with stakeholders (Mason et al, 2016). School counselors must understand that many of the systemic factors that students struggle with are replicated at various levels within the field of education (Education Trust, 2016) and that social justice advocacy is needed (Holcomb-McCoy, 2007;Ratts & Greenleaf, 2017).…”