Work as certified psychologists in clinical and prevention activities at schools

The law for certified psychologists was put into force in 2017, and thereafter the first examination was conducted in 2018. The work by certified psychologists includes those in various domains from medicine to industry. The current paper focused on their work at schools as school counselors (SCs). At present, SCs were taken in charge mostly by certified clinical psychologists, but certified psychologists will be also expected to be SCs so long as the law prescribes the work at schools for certified psychologists. For certified psychologists as SCs, not only remedial activities but prevention ones for children's health and adjustments are required as their main work at schools. In this paper, first, it is depicted how prevention education can be implemented in homeroom classes with school teachers (in most cases, homeroom teachers). Such prevention education is characterized by including universal and selective prevention, targeting the whole class members. Also, it should be evidence-based and attractive enough to keep children's motivation to participate in. In this case, SCs need to observe the class and to provide advices and trainings to program practitioners. Second, SCs need to consider that a few children who need special education dew to developmental disabilities and distortions in personalities are enrolled in ordinary classes. It is often observed that some classes are in disruptive conditions, which prevents from implementing prevention education. SCs need to treat the core children leading to such disruptive conditions, in which SCs' abilities to deal with their maladaptive status through assessment, counseling to the children, consultation with school personnel, and so on are required. At present, SCs usually work only one day per week, which suggests that they are not in conditions enough to conduct or teach prevention education at schools. Admitting that many limitations on SCs' work at schools exist, certified counselors as SCs need to continue to improve their work and environments at schools.