School counsellor role: Perspectives from the field

Pages: 789-794
Pooja Bagrodia (Department of Psychology, University of Delhi, Delhi)
Sangeeta Bhatia (Department of Psychology, Gargi College, University of Delhi, Delhi)

In India, school-based counselling is still to develop with regard to counsellor practice guidelines and frameworks. It is essential to examine the role of a counsellor and the nature of their work for developing clear professional identities to take it toward the future of an integrated and regulated space. The aim of this qualitative and exploratory study, was to explore the role of counsellors as experienced by the nine school counsellors (average work experience of 3.5 years) who participated in the study, in the absence of a national model in the field of school counselling. Purposive sampling was used to identify the participants. The unstructured open-ended interviews were subjected to thematic analysis for study. The findings indicate that counsellors work with stakeholders, primarily the students across a range of presenting needs. An understanding of what counselling is in schools and the emergent finding that counsellors experienced counselling as separate from the overall school functions of a school is discussed. The results have implications for clarification and integration of the counsellor role based on a deeper understanding of school-based counselling.