The role of the school counselor is vital to the success of a school community.  It is a role that must change with the ever-changing needs of the student population.  For this reason, it is not uncommon to find that the role of the counselor may differ from school to school, district to district, and state to state.  Despite this fact, there are a few key ingredients to a successful comprehensive school counseling program. These ingredients include individual counseling, small group counseling, large group counseling, and consultation.  With this framework as a guide, counselors then assess and reassess their school environments to determine in what proportions these services are needed. Counselors also bring their own theoretical framework with them from their education and training which influences the way in which these services are presented.  All of these factors combine to provide a broad range of possibilities in the counseling field. The biggest advantage of this broad range is that each counselor has the flexibility to tailor his/her program to best meet the needs of each individual student within his/her community. For this reason it is important to maintain good communication between the counseling department and the parents, faculty, students, and community to ensure a comprehensive, effective school counseling program.

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