School Counseling

Overview

School Counseling students from University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) will complete the same foundational coursework as the Clinical Mental Health Counselor students and may be eligible for licensure as a Colorado Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). Post-master’s degree supervised counseling experience and successful completion of the National Counselor Examination is currently required for the license eligibility. 

It is strongly recommended by the Departmental faculty members that school counselors seeking the LPC credential take additional course work in psychopathology and diagnosis, clinical mental health counseling and complete a supervised field experiences specific to community counseling. Students graduating from the School Counselor program will also be immediately eligible to apply for National Certified Counselor (NCC) recognition and are encouraged to do so.

Learning outcomes

School counselors in Colorado are licensed Professional Special Services personnel who work in school settings with students, parents, educators, and others within the community. They may be licensed as Elementary School Counselors, Secondary School Counselors or K-12 School Counselors. School Counselors design and manage comprehensive developmental guidance programs to help students acquire skills in the social, personal, academic, and career domains necessary for living in a multicultural society. 

School counselors accomplish this by employing interventions including guiding and counseling students individually or in small groups and by providing information through classroom guidance. School counselors contribute to the development of effective learning environments through student advocacy, facilitating systemic change, and through consultation and collaboration with others. Teaching experience is not a requirement for the Colorado school counselor license.