How Confidential Is It?
When you meet privately with a school counselor, your conversation will most likely
be confidential. The counselor isn't going to go blabbing your business around school.
Different schools have different policies, though. So talk directly with your counselor
about what he or she considers confidential.
In very rare cases, a counselor is unable to keep information confidential. A counselor
who thinks that someone is at risk of being harmed is required by law to share that
information. Even in these rare cases, the counselor will share that information only
with the people who need to know.
People sometimes worry that other students will think they're seeing the counselor
because they have major problems or they're in trouble. But in most schools the counselor
deals with lots of school issues — as well as personal ones. So you could be
meeting to get career counseling or advice on which classes to take for college. Your
friends and classmates don't need to know why you're seeing the counselor unless you
choose to tell them.
Your school counselor is someone who is separate from your life — a neutral
adult who isn't a parent, relative, or teacher. Your school counselor isn't a therapist.
(So if you see your counselor, it's not the same as getting therapy.) If you need
help in some way that the school counselor can't provide, he or she can give you information
about other resources, such as the name of a therapist.
No matter what your problem, try to think of the counselor as someone who's on
your side. Even if you've had a bad experience in the past with another counselor
or a private therapist, don't hesitate to contact your school counselor — or
talk to the counseling office about seeing someone else if you don't click with your
current counselor. Every counselor is different, and most understand that it's natural
for people to be more comfortable with some individuals than others.
Don't be surprised if your parents know your school counselor. They may even be
in touch with each other. Sometimes counselors offer workshops for parents, with or
without their kids, about topics such as study skills or preventing drug abuse. It's
good for the counselor and your parents to know each other when everything is going
OK. That way, if any problems come up — like if you're being bullied or there's
a death in the family and you have to be out of school — they'll be able to
work together comfortably.
If you're seeing your counselor and your parents don't know about it, don't worry
that the counselor will talk to them about your meetings. Unless you've given the
counselor the feeling that you may harm yourself or others, what's said in your meetings
will stay just between you and the counselor.
School counselors are all about helping to make your school experience the best
it can be. The role of the school counselor today is very different from what it was
like when your parents were in school. Instead of just focusing on schoolwork and
careers, today's counselors are there for students in a broader way. They help students
handle almost any problem that might get in the way of learning, guide students to
productive futures, and try to create a positive environment for everyone at school.
So if you need a counselor's advice, just ask!/p>
Date reviewed: October 2015