Working with a co-counselor can be such a wonderful part of our jobs. We have someone who understands the ups and downs and can brainstorm. Together, we are better able to serve all students. That said, it's not automatically a smooth relationship. Check out these tips to help you establish a great working relationship with your co-counselor.
Clear Boundaries and Expectations
Creating lasting relationships is the cornerstone of our jobs as school counselors. If there is more than one counselor at your school, a good working relationship with your co-counselor(s) is essential. This is one of the best ways to ensure you maximize your services and benefit all students.
At the start of the school year, my co-counselor and I would sit together and create a clear, concise outline of our roles and responsibilities. We would then divide our caseloads and ensure we covered the school's needs equally.
At that meeting, we also established expectations for each other as teammates and devised a way to communicate if we were struggling or needed something more from each other. Having an open and honest relationship and setting those boundaries and expectations from the beginning minimized the opportunity for conflict and created a climate of mutual respect and understanding.
Be True Partners
What makes excellent partnerships work? Knowing each other well and appreciating the other person's strengths. After working solo for my entire career, I started working with a fantastic co-counselor. I realized that our styles, strategies, and knowledge were different, but they were both valuable. Someone doesn't have to be me to be excellent at their job!
Great partnerships also rely on connection. Get to know each other as people and connect on a personal level. When it's time to have a challenging conversation at work, that's easier to do when I know and respect you as a person.
When we are connected, we can communicate clearly. Could you be more open about dividing work responsibilities and tasks? Nothing ever divides evenly, so communicating well can help you shift as needed.
Skills over Title
As a school psychologist, I worked with a school counselor in my first position. We had different responsibilities linked to our titles and training, but we were both charged with creating a multi-tiered support system for social, emotional, and behavioral skills.
We worked together to create a three-tier framework for our K-5 school. This guided how we decided who would do what. Instead of determining our responsibilities by title, we talked openly about our strengths, experience, and availability.
I think it's essential to meet regularly. We met weekly to review teacher referrals and check in on program goals. We also carpooled together! Over time, we found a system that worked well for us and served our program well.
How have you and your co-counselor made it work?
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I’ve never read experience about counsellin but now I have. Your story really make the readers felt touched and empathy. Thank you for sharing your experience with us. I hope you betters.