An exciting, yet daunting process that comes with being a professional school counselor is setting up the counseling center. Many factors go into creating a meaningful space. The picture below is just a starting point for how I would design my ideal school counseling office, as well the rest of the office space. This plan is based on what I would want my space to look like if I were to find placement at a high school. Each item in the office has an important purpose; the items chosen all relate to the role of the school counselor. Below the picture is a description of each room and the items within it.
Students entering the office on any given day should feel safe and comfortable in the counseling center. Ideally, a fully functioning counseling center will have a secretary or registrar to assist the counselors with record keeping. Having a secretary is also an effective way to direct students to the right place in the center. The secretary's desk is positioned near the copy room and locked records room for ease of access. The desk is also positioned so that the secretary can see any student who enters the office and where they are in the office at all times. There is seating throughout the office so that students, parents, and other adults waiting to see the counselor can do so comfortably. The waiting area also has resources for students and parents. My design is for a high school counseling center so all of the items in the office reflect that. There are display cases near the doors with information about colleges, careers, and scholarships. They are positioned close to the entrance so that students can easily pop into the office between classes. There is also a bookcase near the seating area with community resources, and pamphlets covering a variety of topics of interest for parents and students. These pamphlets provide information on such topics as, substance abuse, pregnancy, career-choice, test-taking strategies, and social issues like peer pressure and sexuality (Schmidt, 2014). Behind the secretary's desk are two large bulletin boards for both the counselors and the secretary to post important dates and information about upcoming programs and tests like the ACT and SAT.
Behind the secretary's desk is the private copy room for use by the counseling center only. Because the counseling center deals with a great deal of private information it is important for counselors to have a private printer/copier to use. It could be harmful to students if a teacher or other student were to accidentally pick up a referral sheet or transcript within there stack of copies. The copy room would have a lock for this reason as well. Located inside the copy room is a locked room containing multiple file cabinets for storing student records. This room would remain locked at all times because it is paramount that student information be kept confidential at all times.
The final part of my design is the counselor's office; I designed two offices because ideally I will work with at least one other counselor. Both offices are similar in design and size; they are designed to be able to accommodate nearly any situation that might arise. Each office has a desk for the counselor which faces out toward the waiting area, so counselors can see students as they come in and students can see whether or not the counselor is seeing someone. Near the counselor's desk are shelving units where the counselor can store important resources and materials. Across from the counselor's desk are display units where students can find incident report forms, SAT/ACT waivers, career center applications, and more. These are positioned near the door for ease of access and so the counselor can see which students are coming in for what resources. Another important aspect of the counselor's office is seating for numerous activities. Each office has chairs near the counselor's desk for individual counseling and meetings. However, each office also has more comfortable seating in the form of a couch or armchairs. This seating is designed to provide a more comfortable setting for counseling. It is also positioned away from the door to provide more privacy. Similarly, there is a small table on the far end of the office used for small group counseling. The table is large enough to accommodate up 8 chairs, but typically only has 4 chairs, making it a comfortable place to meet with parents and staff as well. Close by the group counseling table is a storage unit which holds games, activities, and books to be used for individual and group counseling. Each office has a wall of windows which fill the office with natural lighting and provide students with a place to look while talking with the counselor (Schmidt, 2014). The offices have motivational posters to provide students with something else to look at while in the office and bulletin boards with important information about college deadlines, testing dates, and more.
Each room in my counseling center was designed to assist in providing equitable services to all students as they make their way through high school into the adult world.
Schmidt, J. J. (2014). Counseling in schools: Comprehensive programs of responsive services for all students. Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.