Casablanca American School
Counseling @ CAS
Services for students, parents, and faculty
Cinnamin Rivers
School Counselor
[psychological well-being]
crivers@casablancaamericanschool.com
05.22.79.38.34
Created by Cinnamin Rivers, CAS School Counselor
8/1/2015
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Counseling Policy
Psychological counseling at Casablanca American School supports students, parents, and faculty in a
student-centered positive approach to develop the whole child. We support students becoming
responsible citizens and active learners on an individual, small group, classroom, grade, divisional and
whole school level. Our student-centered support recognizes that obstacles to academic excellence are
overcome when students, parents, and teachers work collaboratively to nurture, guide, and educate.
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The following list of services provided at Casablanca American School is not listed according to
importance; rather, are presented in alpha order.
Contents
Confidentiality Statement ............................................................................................................................. 3
Counseling Topics ......................................................................................................................................... 3
Individual or Small-group Counseling ........................................................................................................... 3
Large-group Counseling ................................................................................................................................ 5
Crisis Counseling ........................................................................................................................................... 5
Family Consultations ..................................................................................................................................... 6
Learning for Life (LFL) .................................................................................................................................... 6
Parent Workshops......................................................................................................................................... 6
Referral Process ............................................................................................................................................ 6
Teacher Support Services.............................................................................................................................. 7
Transition Counseling.................................................................................................................................... 8
Translation to French or Arabic .................................................................................................................... 8
Counseling Policy
Confidentiality Statement
Please know that almost anything you say to the School Counselor is confidential information. You need
to feel safe to express yourself and to say things you probably don’t want others in your life to hear—
and they won’t unless they are in this room when you say it. That means parents don’t know what
children say unless I hear a threat to harm yourself or others. And, couples don’t know what the other
partner says either.
Sometimes I think it’s beneficial to assist you by sharing some information with your teacher or
Principal; this information is considered “need-to-know” disclosure and if I think it’s private or
embarrassing, I will ask your permission first. Please trust my professional judgment to share only the
parts that seem appropriate to help you succeed at school.
If you express that you want to harm yourself or another person, I am obliged to contact other adults
that can help protect against harm. If your parents are divorced, I will call both parents. I will contact
your Principal because they are responsible for the safety of all their students on campus. And, we will
all put our heads together to find solutions to your pain and anger.
If I say something that upsets you, please tell me so we can talk about it. If you don’t agree
with me on something, say that too. I am here at school to help you achieve your goals.
Counseling Topics
Counseling services are limited in time and nature. The topics below give a better understanding of what
psychological counseling we provide.
Individual or Small-group Counseling
Individual counseling occurs at the request of students, parents, teachers, principals, or counselors: time
limitations allow for one to six sessions. External providers can continue services and referrals are
available at any time for community doctors and therapists. Parents are notified of a child receiving
individual counseling on a case-by-case basis depending on the age and counseling topic.
Small groups vary in size from 2-12 people and focus on a counseling topic that is of common concern
for the participants. These groups can be ongoing and members can enter/exit as counseling goals are
met. Groups happen outside of core content classes and only upon the approval of the divisional
Principal.
Academic motivation= Unsuccessful students compared to their capability. This includes but is not
limited to students with a learning or emotional disability. We offer support for students and the adults
caring for them in small group environments and divisional team monitoring.
ADHD combinations = Lack of age-appropriate independence & self-control. This includes attention,
hyperactivity, or inattentiveness in any combination. We offer support for students and the adults caring
for them with small group coaching, and LLL Team monitoring of student plans.
Counseling Policy
Anger management = Chronic misunderstanding of social clues or entitlement that leads to many forms
of violence. This often includes generalized anti-social behavior towards self or others, Oppositional
Defiance Disorder, and sometimes ADHD students. We offer support for students and the adults caring
for them in individual sessions, small group coaching, and LLL Team monitoring of student plans.
Anxiety reduction = Pervasive difficulties due to lack of confidence. This often includes common
undiagnosed anxieties, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. We offer
support for students and the adults caring for them in individual sessions, small group coaching, and. We
offer support for students and the adults caring for them for initial screening, small group counseling,
LLL Team monitoring of student plans, and external referrals for holistic care outside of school.
Attachment / bonding = Lacking age-appropriate relationships with others or self. This often includes
Autistic Spectrum Disorder but usually normal circumstances such as critical illness or death in families.
We offer support for students and the adults caring for them in small group environments and LLL Team
monitoring.
Attention-seeking behavior = Demanding other’s attention instead of affirming oneself. This often
includes anxious, defiant, or sometimes ADHD students. We offer support for students and the adults
caring for them in individual sessions, small group coaching, and LLL Team monitoring of student plans.
Conflict management = Lack of effective social problem-solving skills. This often includes anxious or
ADHD students but not defiant ones. We offer support for students and the adults caring for them in
individual, small group coaching, functional behavior assessments, and monitoring of student plans
under direction of the Principal.
Depression = Chronic hopelessness. This can be a result of environmental factors or part of a larger
medical situation. We offer support for students and the adults caring for them with individual
counseling for initial screening, small group counseling, and divisional team monitoring, and external
referrals for holistic care outside of school.
Family dynamics includes divorce, re-marriage, sibling rivalry, births, death and normal family conflicts.
We offer support for students and the adults caring for them with solution-focused individual or family
sessions before referring you to a community therapist. Your family’s privacy is respected.
Grief / loss support for death, relocation, and other loss of relationships. We offer support for students
and the adults caring for them in individual or small group sessions. Community therapists can continue
care.
Self-esteem = non-confidence in one's own worth and capabilities. We offer support for students and
the adults caring for them in individual or small group sessions.
Social skills / Peer relationships =developmentally-immature skills, empathy, or responsibility with peer
relationships. This includes whole class, small groups, and individual sessions.
Counseling Policy
Self-harm idealization = desire to harm oneself. This can occur with or without depression and often
recognized because of a change in behavior, health habits, or expressing self-destructive thoughts. We
offer individual counseling for pre-screening and external referrals for holistic care outside of school.
Large-group Counseling
Whole class, grade-level, or a sub-population counseling addresses global issues of social or
psychological concerns observed by the divisional Principal, School Counselor, and Teachers.
Additionally, we develop CAS dispositions, values, and theme across divisions using large-group
counseling for Learning for Life curriculum parts.
Diversity training promotes knowledge of various cultures, traditions, economic structures, and
religions.
Responsible behavior training encourages students to be independent learners and responsible citizens.
Puberty & sexual responsibility focuses on accepting changing bodies and understanding how to make
health choices that will promote positive self-esteem and social interactions.
Mindfulness practice a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment,
while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations
Substance abuse educates students on under-age smoking, alcohol and drugs, rehabilitation referral to
outside services, and food-related disorders
Crisis Counseling
A crisis is an emergent need for counseling as a reaction of a psychological or physical threat made by or
at a student. By its nature, crisis counseling must be addressed during academically inconvenient times.
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For safety purposes, a student should seek teacher permission to go to counseling. The teacher
should call and locate the School Counselor or another adult to assist in locating counseling
services.
If a student comes unannounced for counseling crisis services, the counselor will contact the
appropriate teacher or divisional Principal to account for the child’s safety. The student will be
given a pass back to class as soon as possible.
After the initial counseling session, weekly sessions are provided for the duration of four weeks.
The counselor will call the family on a case-by-case basis to assist in transitioning care to outside
services. Divisional Principal and parents will be called immediately if the student is in danger of
harming themselves or another.
Counseling Policy
Family Consultations
Family consultations at CAS focus on supporting the student’s academic, social, emotional, and
behavioral success. Consultations happen with or without children, depending on the nature of the
discussion.
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Mediate parent concerns
Advocate for the child’s benefit during educational or psychological testing
Coach families on parenting concerns. At the parents’ request, outside services or resources can
continue the coaching.
Learning for Life (LFL)
Our Learning for Life program recognizes the five parts of whole-child education: CAS Dispositions,
Trans-disciplinary Skills, Health & Well-being, Personal & Social Relationships, and Career Awareness. LFL
has a multi-faceted approach:
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Whole school, divisional, and grade-level campaign weeks
Integrated lessons in classrooms
Parent workshops on educational, social, emotional, and developmental topics
Celebrations that focus on open-mindedness, inclusion, and development of CAS mission and
vision
Parent Workshops
Workshops are educational in nature and provided by the School Counselor and in conjunction with the
LLL Team to support parent awareness, acceptance, and collaborative response to global or subpopulation issues that impact student success. Topics include
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Developmental milestones throughout childhood
Learning support services such as Talented & Gifted, language development, & disabilities
Social, emotional, or behavioral topics
Universal positive parenting techniques that support children’s self-esteem, academic or career
exploration, and social competency
Referral Process
Students, parents, and all staff can make referrals for any student for the counseling topics included in
this document. Emails, calls, or written notes can be given to the counselor at any time.
Appropriate confidentiality prevents follow up unless you are the child’s parent or the information is
beneficial to assist student success. Staff members have formal procedures for referrals agreed upon by
Counseling Policy
their divisional Principal and follow up is provided only on a need-to-know basis by the School
Counselor.
If the concern involves learning support services for a potential or diagnosed learning disability, the LLL
Department Chair for your student will be notified and responsible for Child/Student Study Teams
involvement in recommending academic services. Please contact the LLL Department directly for more
information. To understand confidentiality in these co-morbid referrals for academic and psychological
concerns, all LLL Team members will be aware of the complete referral and counselor observations;
however, counseling session notes are maintained under a separate confidentiality agreement.
Teacher Support Services
Teacher services are available for all teachers. As with all other counseling, internal communications are
confidential too. These a la carte services include:
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Intervention strategies for individual student targeted social/emotional/behavioral concern.
The School Counselor helps the teacher identify causality of behavioral or psychological
concerns. This is done through teacher, student, and parent interviews; reviewing cognitive and
psychological reports; and counselor observations of classroom, lunchroom, PE, recess, and
hallway movements throughout the school day.
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Student Support Plans at each divisional level helps the current classroom teachers and
introduces students under counseling concerns to their next year teachers. Many students
under counseling concerns have co-morbid academic issues; however, the counseling support
plans are limited to: intervention strategies, Teacher Referral Form (within the past two
academic years), Behavior Improvement Plan, Treatment Plan identifier, and any other support
materials appropriate for the student’s needs.
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Targeted workshops which are similar in nature to classroom counseling with a focus selected
by the teacher. Workshops are generally 1-4 sessions done between multiple classrooms within
the same grade-level. Examples of workshops include but are not limited to anti-bullying,
communication skills, open-mindedness and diversity training, conflict resolution, or grief and
loss.
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Parent meeting support helps teachers and parents alike because the counselor reiterates the
desired communication message from both sides; offers compromises that are win-win and
student-centered; and gives both parties a witness to their concerns. The initial meeting is
followed up by emails, calls, or classroom observations in an effort to support the agreed-upon
solution.
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Lesson development support assists teachers to build social/emotional skills into their course
content or through specific mini-sessions of study. This service is co-shared by Learning for Life
and the School Counselor.
Counseling Policy
Transition Counseling
Entrance Counseling orients the family as a whole to CAS as a school and a community. It seeks
to answer questions and concerns of the parents and students after they are admitted into the school.
The focus is orienting the family regarding non-academic areas, ancillary support services, community
and social networking. This is a combined effort from the Admissions Department, divisional Principal,
Student Council, and the School Counselor. Ultimately, the counselor oversees the process and verifies
the family’s satisfaction.
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Divisional Welcome Groups for students are initiated by Student Council and supported by the
School Counselor. This wrap-around service lasts for one trimester and includes:
o New Student Orientation before school begins
o A buddy system to support students as they have more questions over the first weeks
o Social event held after school to build community
Parent outreach by the counselor and divisional Principal to answer school-related questions as
well as CAS community integration concerns.
Exit Counseling helps students and families process their feelings and plan their actions before
moving to another school. Depending upon your needs, we provide an exit interview, family consulting,
resources for informational support or planning, and small-group or individual sessions.
Translation to French or Arabic
Translation assistance can occasionally be provided by another staff member; however, they are not a
trained psychological counselor and might be as uncomfortable as you. Please bring another family
member that can translate.