This phenomenological study aimed to identify the essence of the lived experiences of Latinx parents as they relate to school counselors. A Relational Cultural Theory (RCT) Framework was used to explore the experiences of Latinx parents with school counselors. Twelve Latinx parents were interviewed from three counties in a Southeastern state to share their experiences with school counselors to provide recommendations for practice to the school counseling specialty and school counselors in training. The five overarching themes identified were: (1) Disconnections Between Educational and Cultural Systems; (2) Growth Fostering Relationships Between Latino/a Parents and School Counselors; (3) Sense of Worth Based on Quality of Experiences with School Counselors; (4) Desired Connections Based on Experiences with School Counselors; and (5) Knowledge of the School Counselor Role Built on Mutuality. These findings provided insight as to how the parents experienced their interactions with school counselors to support a social justice call to action.

Language brokering is defined as “the act of interpreting and translating between culturally and linguistically different people and mediating interactions in a variety of situations” (Tse, 1996, p. 226). Students in K–12 school settings may be asked to serve as language brokers for family members or school stakeholders during school-based interactions to help facilitate communication. Some students may be left with strained personal relationships, mental health risks, and other psychological factors in result of this practice. Other students may benefit academically and cognitively from their language brokering. School counselors are uniquely qualified to meet the academic and social–emotional needs of students faced with language-brokering concerns. This article will examine language brokering within K–12 school settings and explicate how school counselors and other school-based providers can navigate the impacts of language brokering through collaborative partnerships with clinical mental health providers.

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School counselors enroll in counselor education doctoral programs based on various factors, which impact their future career-decision making. The researchers conducted a phenomenological research study to examine practicing school counselors' experiences with career-decision making to understand this phenomenon. Ten practicing school counselors enrolled in counselor education doctoral programs participated in this research study. Three emerging themes highlighted the essence of these experiences: (a) intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, (b) developmental fit, and (c) lifestyle factors. The results and recommendations from this research study provide counselor educators insight into these experiences. This research study informs counselor educators about these experiences and provide an understanding for the need to support and guide school counselors in counselor education doctoral programs through teaching.

The current research study explored the experiences of collaboration between K–12 school counselors and clinical mental health counselors (CMHCs). Through transcendental phenomenology, we examined the perspectives of 10 practicing school counselors who have collaborated with CMHCs. We identified seven main themes that highlighted the essence of these experiences: (a) key factors for effective collaboration, (b) “no ego on the table,” (c) benefits of collaboration, (d) roadblocks to collaboration, (e) eliminating roadblocks to collaboration, (f) preservice training, and (g) forging forward in practice. Implications and recommendations from this study inform practicing counselors and counselor education programs about these collaboration experiences and the need for collaboration to support the academic and social/emotional success of K–12 students.