School Counseling

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us.”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

The components of the Benfield ES guidance program come from the National Standards for School Counseling.  The three broad goals for an effective counseling program are to help ALL students with:

Academic Success
Career Awareness
Personal/Social Development

Classroom Guidance Lessons

Lesson topics include:

Successful Student Skills
Character Education
Conflict Resolution Skills
Stress and Anger Management
Personal Body Safety, Harassment, and Bullying
Self Awareness and Appreciation
Career Awareness

Small Group Counseling

I meet with small groups of children during their lunch or recess times to discuss common issues.  I contact parents or guardians before placing a student in a group.  Groups may be formed to work on issues such as:

Aggression and Anger Management
Friendship and Social Skills
Learning Skills and Motivation
Changing Families
Managing Anxiety
Grief

Children are referred to me by school staff, families, and by the children themselves.  I always contact parents/guardians if I would like to meet with a child on a regular basis.

Individual Counseling

I meet with individual children during their lunch or recess times, as needed.  Children very often ask to see me about peer relations.  I may also be asked to speak to individual children about personal or family crises, or for school success issues.  Again, if I would like to meet with a child more than once, I will call the parent or guardian.

Consultation and Collaboration

I work with our school teams, staff, school psychologist, outside agencies, and parents, to help all of our students to be successful in school.

 
Referrals and Resources

I can provide information to parents or guardians about outside agencies, programs, or materials that may be helpful to families.  Please see the reference section of this website for some additional informational websites for parents/guardians and kids.  A few state and county resources:

To report suspected child abuse/neglect, please call:  410-421-8400
MD Crises Hotline:    1-800-422-0009
Domestic Violence Hotline:    1-800-MDHELPS (1-800-634-3577)
The Family Stress Line:       1-800-243-5340
The Family Resource Center:          (410) 222-6429
 

A library of parenting books, materials, and information on parenting workshops, etc.

The Family Tree:       (410) 431-5340    www.familytreemd.org 
              Non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening families.
Annapolis Youth Services (410) 626-1800 ext. 1801 www.maysb.com
              Family based services for prevention and early intervention.
Focus Adolescent Services: Family Help in Maryland
              www.focusas.com  (click on “state directory” for Maryland)
Partners for Success Resource Center:    (410) 222-3805
Anne Arundel County Mental Health Agency:  (410) 222-7858
Mental Health Association of Maryland:  1-800-572-6426
               www.mhamd.org (check out the recommended links)
Anne Arundel County Conflict Resolution Center: (410) 266-9033
               Offers mediation services and anger management workshops.
 
Now the fun part...

This is another website that offers further links to an array of interesting websites, so take some time to explore.

For the adults:

www.thefamilyworks.org

  “A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.”

- Erin Majors