Counseling Services

The Counseling and Student Support Services department consists of a team of four counselors who are responsible for the personal counseling needs of SCDS students, and who use developmentally appropriate and evidence-based counseling interventions to advocate for students and to support them in their social, emotional, personal, and academic development. Both prevention and intervention are integral components of the program.

School counselors provide direct service to students and their families, and consult and collaborate with faculty, administrators, and outside providers. They provide outside counseling referrals where necessary or desired by the student or family. The counseling team plays a vital role in the admissions process and assists new students and their families in making a successful transition to SCDS. At each level, the program includes educational programs for students and families.

Lower School Counseling

The Lower School has a Social Emotional Counseling program for grades JK-5. The counselor works with each student in the lower school in whole group settings with their class on a regular schedule through a Social Emotional Learning program. The whole group sessions include topics as: self awareness, emotion regulation, character development, and team building. In addition, the counselor will work within small groups of students supplementing what they do during their regular class time.

Individual children and parents are welcome to talk to the counselor individually when a special concern or need arises. The lower school counselor is also a liaison between parents, teachers, and students to ensure their continued progress both academically, socially, and emotionally.

The Lower School counselor is a non-authoritarian adult in each child's life, a human relations specialist, competent with both children and adults, possesses qualities of warmth, concern and a capacity for trust as well as having an educational background in Professional Counseling and Psychology, and in addition holds a professional counseling license in the state of Georgia.

Middle School Counseling

The period of adolescence is a time of rapid change and growth for students as they approach physical, mental, and emotional maturity. During this stage they desire more independence. experience new responsibilities, and search for social identity. With these new self discoveries, they readjust their role in their family, in their class, and in the world around them.

The Middle School Counseling Program nurtures and supports students during this transitional stage through a multifaceted program in which the Advisor Program serves as the nucleus. The School Counselor oversees the Advisor Program assisting teacher advisors with the facilitative process and group dynamics, and leads many of the program activities. The Advisor Program fosters a positive school climate where our students see their teachers as caring advocates who are interested in their lives and development as well as their academic growth. Our Middle School counselors also meet with each advisory group to teach lessons, lead activities, and facilitate discussions around the Habits of Mind as part of our Character Education curriculum.

Additionally, the counselor serves as a consultant and a resource for the teacher advisors, expanding this service to also include the parents as they readjust parenting methods to fit the changes occurring in their adolescent at home. The counselor works with students who have difficulties with social, emotional and academic issues and maintains close communication with parents throughout the middle school years.

Upper School Counseling

The Upper School Counseling program is tailored to address the unique needs of the Upper School student as he or she develops independence, a stronger sense of self and identity, and personal values and goals in preparation for life both in Upper School and after graduation. Our Upper School counselor is available to meet with students, parents, and faculty and staff, either individually or in groups, in support of students’ personal, emotional, and social growth and development. When necessary and desired by the student and family, the counselor consults with students’ outside healthcare providers. Referrals to mental health professionals in the community are made when the counselor deems the student’s needs to be beyond the scope of counseling within the school setting, or when students or families express a desire for an outside referral. Beyond addressing the needs of individual students, the counselor offers large group and parent programming that provides our full Upper School the opportunity to engage topics key to adolescent wellness.

A note on confidentiality: The Upper School Counselor follows the American School Counselor Association’s ethical guidelines regarding confidentiality.

Confidentiality may be broken under the following situations:
The student presents a threat of danger to self or others.
The student requests the sharing of information with specified others.
Court order.
Professional consultation.
Reports of neglect or abuse.
In a group situation, confidentiality is stressed, but difficult to guarantee.