Learning from the pandemic: School counsellor experience during the pandemic in the United States

The COVID-19 pandemic affected the education sector worldwide; forcing a transition from face-to-face to a virtual environment and impacting the role of educators in schools. Like others, school counsellors transitioned to a virtual role, changing their approach to counselling. The purpose of this mixed methods study using a sample of 163 certified, licensed school counsellors in the United States and its territories, was to understand how the pandemic affected their roles and responsibilities. Data was collected using an online survey. Not surprisingly, results showed a marked increase in the number of direct counselling services (e.g. individual and group counselling, student academic planning and crisis response) delivered online. However, the findings indicated a lack of confidence and training amongst participants when delivering counselling online. Participants discussed feeling overwhelmed to effectively advocate for themselves to deliver school counselling services in a virtual setting. Qualitative data illustrated the different ethical concerns school counsellors faced. The school counsellor experience, both positive and negative, and recommended changes in policies and training requirements at the local, state and national levels and implications for curriculum for counsellor education programmes, are discussed.