The provision of consulting services is one of the fundamental aspects of the role of the school psychologist. The purpose of this book is to cover the main topics concerning the theoretical framework and the practical application of the counseling process. This book briefly presents basic theoretical approaches and applications of counseling within the school community. Specifically, it briefly describes the developments that have defined the modern role of the school psychologist and the provision of psychological counseling services in schools, contemporary theoretical approaches, and the basic elements of the counseling process, as well as specific counseling topics such as multicultural counseling, parent counseling, and brief interventions. Particular emphasis is placed on dialectical counseling, especially on theoretical approaches, dialectical counseling models, and the stages of the process development, as well as on issues related to the education and training of counselors in dialectical counseling and its various applications. Focusing on the group, the creation of counseling groups is also described.
Taking into account the changes that children may experience due to unexpected situations and crises, crisis management counseling is described with a focus on understanding the needs of children and providing counseling support to all members of the school community. Finally, examples of the application of school psychological and counseling services in the school community are presented from the educational, training, prevention, and intervention activities of the Center for Research and Applications of School Psychology at the University of Athens. A particular feature of this book is that it provides both theoretical knowledge on the main topics related to counseling in the school context and the opportunity for practical application, thus serving as an important aid for both undergraduate and graduate students as well as for school psychologists, mental health professionals, and educators.