School counselling is a well-established means of supporting the mental health of children. Counsellors are most effective when they collaborate with parents, so it is important that parents have a good understanding of and access to school counselling services. Despite this, little is known about parents’ perceptions of counselling in Hong Kong schools. We interviewed 27 parents in Hong Kong to investigate how they perceived the counselling services provided by their children’s local and international schools, and analysed the data thematically. International school parents recognised the potential of school counselling as a means of support for their children and wanted to work more closely with counsellors to a greater extent than local school parents. Parents were confused about the roles of counsellors and experienced stigma and concerns about confidentiality which inhibited them from engaging with counselling services. Our findings suggest that school principals should work with counsellors to establish and communicate roles more clearly. Greater recognition of counsellors’ professionalism, and clearer role differentiation between counsellors and other mental health and educational professionals may improve parental engagement with and support for school counselling. Copyright © 2023 NAPCE.

School counsellors in Hong Kong constitute an underutilised resource in supporting the wellbeing of young people. We investigated how counsellors working in local and international schools perceived their roles and professional status. Counsellors were both surveyed and interviewed. Findings indicate that local school counsellors have a low professional status and an unclear identity compared to their international counterparts. As a group, they are marginalised and disempowered within their own school settings, reducing their effectiveness, and limiting the benefits they can provide to students. Policy innovation at school level is needed to better utilise school counsellors. Professional organisations have an important role to play in educating the community about school counselling and advocating for policy change at school and government levels. Copyright © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

A strong professional identity is associated with the provision of more effective counselling services. In Hong Kong, however, the role of school counsellors is poorly defined, not well differentiated from those of other educational and mental health professions, and not supported by licensing and minimum qualification requirements. Consequently, school counsellors perform marginalised roles in schools which do not draw effectively on their competencies. Professional bodies that support the development of school counselling do exist but are not well established. If counsellors are to be effective, they need to establish an identity that recognises their unique contribution and locates them clearly in relation to other professions in a culturally appropriate way. They should also occupy positions in schools, which are characterised by collaboration with stakeholders and the ability to influence policy. Professional bodies are well placed to advocate for these changes in the context of the local sociocultural environment and should take a lead in advocating for a more robust professional identity. Copyright © 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Objective: This study investigated how school counsellors in international schools in Hong Kong supported the wellbeing of students and families during the period of school closure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of parents.Method: Sixteen parents with children in eleven different international schools in Hong Kong were interviewed and the data were analysed thematically.Results: Strong pre-existing relationships, role clarity, and open communication between counsellors and parents were associated with the effective adaptation of counselling services to the changing needs of parents during the school closure period, but these characteristics were often weak or absent.Conclusions: Parents’ perceptions of counselling during the school closure period provide important feedback that schools can use to build more integrated and responsive support services. Counsellors can support students’ wellbeing more effectively during crises by communicating their roles clearly, building strong relationships with parents, and helping students to maintain a diverse experience in their schooling. Copyright © 2021 Informa UK Limited.

This article examines the implications of a new school counselling policy, namely, ‘one school social worker for each school’, for the professional identity of school counsellors and guidance and counselling services in Hong Kong primary schools. This paper reviews primary school counselling development since the 1970s with a focus on workforce planning. As a result, it identifies two themes: (1) counselling workforce planning has gradually shifted from purely government-led to more school-based planning, and (2) school counsellors with master’s-level counselling training qualifications are not adequately recognized in primary school settings. Making school counsellors visible to school principals, the Education Bureau and the public before the full implementation of the new policy in 2021/2022 is critical. The strategic positions of counsellor educators and counselling associations that are central to the advancement of the professional identity of school counsellors are discussed. Copyright © 2019 The Canadian Center of Science and Education. All Rights Reserved.