School Counseling

This chapter describes how ecological principles can be applied in the school setting. Ecological counseling emphasizes the interdependence between persons and environments, asserting that each influences the other. A systems model focuses on all elements of a situation, whereas an ecological perspective incorporates individuals' experiences within those systems. From the beginning of the counseling profession, education has been thought to be the key to social change. School counseling professionals who embrace the ecological perspective explore the reciprocal interactions of the multiple contexts in which their students live to implement strategies to best address their students' needs. School counselors are trained to identify interventions that may include family, peers, and other community relationships significant to children's lives. The ecological model provides a framework for school counselors to determine risk factors and factors of resiliency that can be strengthened.