School counselors often play a key role in preventing and containing school violence. In light of this, school violence refers to any of the behaviors that contravenes the education mission of a certain school or introduces aggression in the school. They are perceived to be the key contributors to the spectrum of initiatives regarding addressing school violence (Riley & McDaniel, 2000). They are important in the prevention of violent incidents, addressing such incidents, and in offering effective response to violence. This essay examines the role played by school counselors in the prevention, intervention, and response to school violence incidents.
Part 1
With regard to prevention, school counselors need to prioritize counseling services. They should also take an active role in developing the necessary strategies aimed at involving parents and guardians in the development of their children. Similarly, they should also ensure that parents are involved in the counseling sessions in order to enhancing effective communication and better decision-making. Moreover, they should also provide both secondary and elementary school children with professional referral, intervention, and counseling services. School counselors need to adopt a whole-school perspective in preventing the occurrence of violent incidents. They should participate in the development of a school-wide foundation that enhances emotional and mental wellness, academic success, and positive discipline (Riley & McDaniel, 2000). Reflecting on all the above recommendations, establishing counseling programs that involves parents and guardians should be the prioritized over other recommendations. However, Barrlos (2000) asserts that “violence is not amenable to easy or quick solutions.” As such, school administration need to allocate adequate budget for deal with long-term or costly recommendations.
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Part 2: Intervention and Recovery
With regard to intervention, school counselors are also deemed as key contributors to both intensive and early intervention strategies (Riley & McDaniel, 2000). They should adopt early-warning-signs approach to identify some to the potential indicators of violent youths. The counselors can also form the entire intervention system, or they can serve in the student support and assistance teams. With regard to response, school counselors should receive the necessary training on how to provide effective response to the incidents of violence. They should be involved establishing plans for managing the violence. Similarly, they also play a key role in establishing plans for recovering from various types of crises.
References
Barrlos, L. (2000). Preventing school violence: A time for hard thinking. Western Journal of Medicine, 174 (2), 88-90.
Riley, P. & McDaniel, M. (2000). School Prevention, Intervention, and Crisis Response. Professional School Counseling, 4(2), 120-125.
