I believe one of the most rewarding and challenging situations that guidance counselors face in their jobs would be Individual/family/school crisis intervention. Knowing that you can step in and help a student in desperate need has got to be rewarding. I can see the challenge, because some students might not be receptive to your efforts. For those of us who have never seen that ugly side of life, it really makes you wonder if you could do what they do everyday. This also ties into coping strategies. What if a student is having difficulty adjusting to the loss of a loved one? The counseling office has to deal with this often, and that has got to be extremely difficult. Overall I think the most rewarding feeling is knowing you helped a student, and the most challenging is not being able to help them all.
Hal
I totally agree. I didn't even touch on the child protective aspect that our guidance counselors provide. There is so much that they do, and this job, when necessary, is probably the most important. It's nice to know that every child in our school system has someone that could serve as their advocate if needed. But, it's terrible that so many of our students have to take advantage of this service. Being a person who seeks justice for those in need must be highly rewarding, but I'd never given much thought to having to carry that experience home with you at the end of the day. To walk the halls of the school and see the faces of all of those in need of help, and maintain professionalism must be very difficult. Your post is incredibly insightful to the depths to which guidance counselors go to serve as advocates for students.
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