About Your Counselor

My name is Joyce Cho and I am very excited to be here at View Ridge as the school counselor. I am a recent graduate at Seattle University with a Master’s Degree in Education and School Counseling. I graduated University of Washington with my psychology degree in 2015 with an intention of becoming a school counselor for the youth. I have a big heart and passion for serving the youth and excited to start my career. My role as a school counselor is a new and exciting experience for me and I am eager to meet our students. I’m thrilled for what this year holds and will go to bat for our students.

Counseling Services for Students and Families

• Small groups– These groups tend to have 4-6 students and last from 6 weeks to the whole year, depending on need. These groups are mostly educational in focus and include role plays, games and other learning activities. Here are some topics that are covered:
  • Friendship skills- making, keeping and resolving challenges with friends
  • Emotional regulation- recognizing feelings, understanding where they come from, labeling feelings, expressing appropriately, and regulating. Groups can focus on challenging feelings like anger, sadness and anxiety, and can also address attention impulse control challenges
  • Grief/loss/trauma- Because confidentiality cannot be guaranteed amongst the students, group conversations tend to be more general, with students being given the opportunity to process through writing exercises.
• Guidance lessons– Classroom lessons focus on various topics, including emotional regulation, bullying, and friendships
• 1:1 support– Because of the large number of students, school counselors are unable to provide regular, intensive therapy to individual students. I can meet with individual students for sessions, provide referrals as needed, and work with our staff to collaborate with outside providers.
• Family support– Nurse Pamela Altman and I work with families to help them find needed support, including medical/mental health providers, food and clothing. We can help provide referrals for other needed services.
• Responsive services– My first responsibility is to provide immediate support for students and families during times of crisis.

How Students Are Referred

Students may be referred for counseling services by teachers, parents or administrators. They may also self-refer. It is View Ridge’s policy that regular participation in counseling services (not including guidance lessons) requires parent permission.

I look forward to working with View Ridge families!