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School counseling internship skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Dr. Dawnette Cigrand Ph.D.,

Lisa Brown

School counseling internship example skills

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical school counseling internship skills. We ranked the top skills for school counseling interns based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 11.9% of school counseling internship resumes contained crisis intervention as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a school counseling internship needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 school counseling internship skills for your resume and career

1. Crisis Intervention

Here's how school counseling interns use crisis intervention:

Provide information regarding community services to students * Provide crisis intervention when necessary * Monitor students progress academically, emotionally and behaviorally
Provided brief crisis intervention, treatment planning and ongoing individual and group therapy to students with emotional and behavioral disturbances.

2. Mental Health

Mental health is the state of wellbeing in which an individual can cope with the regular stresses and tensions of life, and can work productively without having any emotional or psychological breakdown. Mental health is essential for a person of any age and helps them make the right decisions in their life.

Here's how school counseling interns use mental health:

Created and implemented therapeutic interventions to foster better mental health and positive learning environments for all students.
Collaborated with military community agencies to provide mental health services as needed by students.

3. IEP

Here's how school counseling interns use iep:

Collaborate and consult with special education teachers and related service providers in developing educationally appropriate IEP goals and objectives.
Evaluated students to determine eligibility for Individualized education program (IEP) services under speech or language impairments.

4. Group Therapy

Group psychotherapy or group therapy is the practice of treating a group of clients together in one sitting throughout multiple sessions. This practice allows people to receive encouragement and support from their peers who are taking the same group therapy.

Here's how school counseling interns use group therapy:

Conducted group therapy sessions with students aimed at improving social and organizational skills resulting in enhanced school functioning.
Conducted Individual and Group Therapy with clients affected by developmental disabilities and behavioral and emotional disorders.

5. Professional Development

Professional development means to have the essential training certification or education with the purpose of earning and having a successful career. Every job requires a different set of skills. However, new skills may be needed in the future. Professional development, in this regard, helps people to develop and polish the skills and become efficient workers.

Here's how school counseling interns use professional development:

Attended collaborative meetings with school site personnel, other district psychologists, and special education professionals for professional development.
Provide academic monitoring, planning, scheduling and assistance in the overall academic and professional development of students.

6. Conflict Resolution

Conflict resolution is an often necessary skill in business, employed for processes such as contract negotiations, legal matters, and even personal, emotional situations and conflicts. It is the ability to find and create an appropriate and peaceful solution to some sort of dilemma or argument in which two or more parties are involved. The resolution itself must benefit and satisfy all parties and this is what makes it so difficult to reach a peaceful point sometimes.

Here's how school counseling interns use conflict resolution:

Facilitated development of coping strategies, social relationships, communication, problem solving, decision making and conflict resolution skills.
Promote a multicultural curriculum with books, daily lesson plans and creative activities that reinforces non-violent conflict resolution and cooperation.

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7. RTI

Here's how school counseling interns use rti:

Implemented and developed curriculum for RtI group focusing on organization and time management.
Completed fidelity check observations for RTI intervention groups.

8. Kindergarten

Kindergarten is an early form of education that begins when a child is about five years old. During kindergarten, children learn the basic elements of reading, writing, and mathematics in addition to colors, telling time, sharing, and similar principles. Kindergarten classes are typically overseen by a single teacher who lectures on all of the subjects listed.

Here's how school counseling interns use kindergarten:

Established and instructed language development to regular and special education kindergarten classes.
Organized educational activities and mediated peer relationships for an entire kindergarten class.

9. PowerPoint

Here's how school counseling interns use powerpoint:

Coordinated weekly activities including marketing materials, greet visitors, operation of media equipment including PowerPoint presentations.
Designed PowerPoint presentation for use as a district template

10. Community Resources

Community resources are a set of resources that are used in the day to day life of people which improves their lifestyle in some way. People, sites or houses, and population assistance can come under the services offered by community resources.

Here's how school counseling interns use community resources:

Provided community referrals, linkages and collaboration with District and community resources to address student and family needs.
Participated in monthly Community Collaborative meetings to find and utilize outside community resources for the school.

11. Anger Management

Anger management is a program that helps with anger prevention and control. The process involves identifying signs of anger and learning how to prevent outbursts or destructive behavior.

Here's how school counseling interns use anger management:

Provided weekly group and individualized social skills counseling for children addressing feelings identification, appropriate peer interactions, and anger management.
Conducted individual and group interventions using treatment strategies to resolve conflicts including anger management, academic issues, and emotional disturbances.

12. K-12

K12 is a term that incldues all 12 years of education in the US education system. It includes the education offered at the primary stage, middle stage, and secondary stage. It includes children of ages as young as 5 to 18 years. The grades included in K12 are Kindergarten, the initial 5 stages, grades 6 to 8, and 9 to 12. This system is followed specifically followed in the US and may vary in other countries.

Here's how school counseling interns use k-12:

Performed initial and triennial evaluations to determine eligibility for Special Education services in a K-12 school system.
Provided DIS counseling to K-12 students having academic and personal/social difficulties.

13. Financial Aid

Financial aid refers to cash released to an educational institution to help a student pay the school fee. The issuance of financial aid, whether scholarships, grants, or loans, aims to make access to education affordable to all students irrespective of their backgrounds.

Here's how school counseling interns use financial aid:

Process prospective student enrollment and FAFSA applications and provide current students with information about financial aid and scholarships opportunities.
Compiled and presented information regarding freshmen academic trends, scholarships, financial aid and summer enrichment programs.

14. Study

Here's how school counseling interns use study:

Mentored students and implemented strategies for improvement such as developing organizational skills, increasing study time, and fostering self-esteem.
Participated in child study team meetings to help develop and monitor interventions for students with academic and behavioral problems.

15. Group Sessions

Here's how school counseling interns use group sessions:

Conduct individual and group sessions focused on barriers and educational difficult that are presented.
Conducted group sessions and individual counseling for students diagnosed with behavioral problems.

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What skills help School Counseling Interns find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on school counseling internship resumes?

Dr. Dawnette Cigrand Ph.D.

Professor and Chair, Winona State University

-Creative problem solving
-Ability to engage students who are overwhelmed or disengaged
-Technology proficiencies
-Resilience and perseverance

What soft skills should all school counseling internships possess?

Lisa Brown

Assistant Professor, Lewis University

School counselors must be efficient. They may have large caseloads of students for which they are responsible. Being able to prioritize, manage their time, and have a strong work ethic are necessary components to success. Attitude is also key. School counselors are to be empathic, approachable, and nonjudgmental. This means school counselors need to be open to learning from others and be willing to confront any bias or prejudice they may hold.

School counselors are collaborators within the school system and may work as part of a large team that may include the student, parents, teachers, coaches, deans, social workers, psychiatrists, and so forth. School counselors must understand and demonstrate teamwork and conflict resolution.

What hard/technical skills are most important for school counseling internships?

Lisa Brown

Assistant Professor, Lewis University

Because of the prevalence of social/emotional issues within K-12, especially in the last few years, school counselors need to have assessment skills. School counselors need to identify any red flags in their students that may indicate the student is struggling. This goes beyond academics and includes aspects such as interpersonal skills and self-worth.

Similar to assessment is data analysis. The gathering of data does not stop after a student is assessed but rather is just beginning. School counselors are held accountable to demonstrate the interventions they are utilizing are working. Data is also used to secure future funds. If an intervention used within the fall resulted in little change, a school district might not allocate funds to continue to use the same program. School counselors utilize data to demonstrate how effective they are and advocate for additional resources to address social/emotional issues within their student body.
As we learned during COVID-19, school counselors need to be tech-savvy. Many students are still learning remotely or are utilizing a hybrid format. While this has been quite helpful for some students, others are falling through the cracks. School counselors have had to get creative in checking in with their students and are doing so through technology.

What school counseling internship skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Laura L. Gallo Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Boise State University

If a student takes a gap year- I think looking for opportunities to work with children/adolescents, especially in diverse settings, would be most beneficial, or even working abroad would be great. School counselors who can bring diverse views into the school setting will benefit everyone (staff, students, and families). As far as how they go about doing it, networking is helpful, or working with organizations who organize these types of experiences for counselors and educators (use the skills you've been trained in!).

What type of skills will young school counseling internships need?

Chris Hennington Ph.D.

School Counseling Program Coordinator, Lubbock Christian University

School counselors will be tasked with the usual school counseling responsibilities while also encountering trauma that students experience outside of school and in school. Being well versed in trauma response is going to be a vital aspect of being a school counselor. Kids are experiencing more trauma, but we are getting better at recognizing and treating trauma as well.

Do you want to know more?

List of school counseling internship skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a school counseling internship resume and required skills for a school counseling internship to have include:

Crisis Intervention
Mental Health
IEP
Group Therapy
Professional Development
Conflict Resolution
RTI
Kindergarten
PowerPoint
Community Resources
Anger Management
K-12
Financial Aid
Study
Group Sessions
SST
Substance Abuse

Career Exploration
Education Plan
Career Development
Career Planning
CSE
Behavioral Interventions
Classroom Presentations
Classroom Observations
Cognitive Behavioral
Academic Support
Career Readiness
Progress Monitoring
Functional Behavioral Assessments
Social Issues
ADHD
PBIS
Behavioral Problems

FAFSA
Academic Issues
Naviance
K-5
Course Selection
Early Intervention
K-8
Social Development
Individual Sessions
RS
School Administration
Standardized Testing
Peer Mediation
Academic Achievement
Powerschool
Student Schedules

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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