School Counseling in Early Childhood Contexts

Early childhood is one of the most critical contexts in school counseling. The counselor's role in these settings looks and feels different from work with older students: the children communicate differently, the families are more central, and the line between what the counselor can address and when to bring in other specialists requires constant, careful judgment.

This course equips school counselors with the knowledge and tools to navigate that role with confidence. Participants will explore how to support young children's social-emotional development through developmentally appropriate approaches, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy adapted for early learners and Positive Behavior Support principles suited to early childhood settings. Family partnership is woven throughout — counselors will build practical skills for working alongside parents and caregivers as essential partners in the child's support system.

The course also addresses one of the most critical — and often underdeveloped — skills in early childhood counseling: knowing when a child's needs go beyond the counselor's scope, and how to refer effectively. Participants will develop the confidence to identify when additional specialist support is needed and how to communicate this clearly to families and school teams.

Intended Audience

This course is designed primarily for school counselors working in international and multilingual school settings who support or are looking to better support children in early childhood contexts (ages 3–8). It is also relevant for school psychologists and other student support staff working in early years settings. No prior specialist knowledge of early childhood development is required.

ISCA Student Standards

This course will support you in providing strategies for your students to be able to:

develop self-awareness, build healthy relationships, navigate transitions with confidence, and establish the social-emotional foundations that underpin lifelong learning.

Social-Emotional (Primary)

• A1 – Social and Self-Awareness
• A2 – Relationship
• C1 – Personal Safety

Global Perspective & Identity Development (Secondary)

• B1 – Identity Development
• B2 – Cultural Identity
• D1 – Transitions
• D2 – Adaptability

Academic (Supporting)

• A1 – Self-awareness as a learner
• A2 – Effective Learning

ASCA Professional Standards and Ethical Standards and Practices

Ethical Standards (2022):

• A.1 Supporting Student Development
• A.2 Confidentiality
• A.6 Appropriate Collaboration, Advocacy and Referrals

Professional Standards & Competencies (2019):

• B-PF 1
• B-PF 6
• B-SS 3
• B-SS 5

Essential Questions

1. What makes early childhood a distinct and developmentally unique context for school counseling practice?
2. How can evidence-based approaches such as CBT and Positive Behavior Support be adapted to be developmentally appropriate for young children?
3. How do international transitions, multilingual environments, and cross-cultural experiences shape the social-emotional development of young children?
4. How can school counselors effectively partner with teachers and families to support young children's wellbeing?
5. What does effective transition support look like for young children entering, staying in, or leaving an international school?

Participants will have knowledge about:

1. The unique role of the school counselor in early childhood settings and how it differs from counseling work with older students;
2. How young children develop social-emotional skills through relationships, routines, and modeling;
3. CBT principles and their application to young children's emotional regulation and decision-making;
4. How Positive Behavior Support principles apply to early years settings through proactive, developmentally aligned approaches;
5. The importance of family partnership in early childhood counseling and how to engage parents and caregivers effectively;
6. The scope of the school counselor's role in early childhood — and the indicators that suggest a child needs additional specialist support.

Participants will be able to:

1. Apply accessible, age-appropriate CBT strategies in individual and small-group counseling with young children;
2. Implement Positive Behavior Support principles through routines, visuals, and structured transitions to foster emotional safety;
3. Collaborate with teachers and families to reinforce counseling approaches beyond sessions;
4. Develop and implement Collaborative Care Plans tailored to children navigating international school transitions;
5. Identify when a young child's needs go beyond the counselor's scope and refer appropriately to specialist support;
6. Communicate referral decisions clearly and sensitively to families and school teams.

Ruby

Ruby is an International Educational Psychologist at Linden Global Learning & Support Services, a Berlin-based student support agency that provides psychoeducational assessments, speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, counseling, academic coaching, and behavior and learning support to international schools worldwide. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Master's Certificate of Advanced Study in School Psychology from Plattsburgh State University of New York, and is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist in the United States. As a first-generation American with family roots in El Salvador, she brings a personal passion for supporting diverse communities. She is currently based in Germany.

Prior to her current role, Ruby worked in New York as a Bilingual School Psychologist, primarily in an elementary school supporting students in both inclusion and self-contained classrooms. Her work spanned counseling, social skills groups, psychoeducational and social-emotional evaluations, behavior interventions, and special education services, with experience facilitating 504, IEP, and Student Support Team meetings. She has supported students with a wide range of diagnoses — including anxiety, ADHD, autism, learning disabilities, Down Syndrome, and speech and language impairments — across ages 4 to 21.

Beyond school psychology, Ruby has experience implementing an international leadership program for adolescents. Her areas of expertise include psychoeducational evaluations, social-emotional assessments, bilingual education, counseling, and academic interventions, with a particular focus on helping students from culturally, linguistically, and neurodiverse backgrounds thrive.

ISCA Member Price: $300

Non-Member Price: $380

Dates and times of offerings:

August 18 and 20, 2026; 12:00PM to 3:00PM UTC

Contact Hours: 6 hours

Time commitment between sessions: N/A

Required Resource(s): N/A