Suggestions for Professional Counselors to Cultivate Practical Skills for Specialized Child Counseling

The purpose of this study was to explore the attitude of specialized child counseling by school counseling teachers and to propose a curriculum for cultivating their professional skills. Counseling with exceptional children is a subject included in the professional counselor appointment test, but is not a subject that must be completed in a university course. In other words, some professional counselors are in a situation where they have to be in charge of specialized children counseling even though they have not completed this course in their curriculum. So far, previous studies have conducted investigations specifically exploring the competencies required for counseling specialized children along with the general competencies required for school counseling. However, now is the time to explore the competencies necessary for school counselors' counseling practice and also look at how these can be cultivated. To this end, first, the terms of counseling used in the school field and school counseling were defined separately. Second, while comparing the concepts of counseling in professional counseling and counseling with exceptional children, it was suggested that specialized child counseling is a type of professional counseling. Third, the types and scope of clients receiving school counseling were presented separately. Finally, a curriculum plan to cultivate their expertise was proposed. This study is meaningful in seeking ways for professional counseling teachers who conduct school counseling and their training process suitable for carrying out the practice of specialized child counseling.