This is the person that students come to when they need to work out their personal and academic issues. They are usually female, but there are exceptions. They usually talk to the kid for a few minutes and hand them a brochure that roughly corresponds to the student's situation. They can sometimes be rather helpful. Other times, they will be complete Bunny Ears Lawyers with their own personal problems. These types are often not as helpful. For the sake of convenience, these will be known as Type I and Type II, respectively. There is also a type that falls in the middle, which will be referred to as "Type III".

Type I: This type of school counselor will sit down with you at her desk and listen to your entire story. She will then engage you in a friendly conversation and discuss your problems in a helpful manner. She will politely ask you questions about it in a comfortable manner and will soon arrive at a conclusion. She will then give you constructive advice and hand you a brochure. She will smile the entire time, but it usually won't strike you as creepy.

Type II: This type will usually appear distracted or uninterested while you are telling her whats wrong. She will then talk to you about it, but will seem frazzled or intentionally unhelpful. She will follow with advise that doesn't make much sense. You then get a vibe that she became a guidance counselor because she either couldn't make it as a true therapist, or she wanted to give help people as a way to deal with her own issues. You walk out of the room and feel more stressed than when you came in. She didn't help you at all.

Type III: She is a blend of Type I and Type II. She is usually genuinely helpful, but her methods are unorthodox and she gives you the same weird vibe as Type II would give you.

This can easily overlap with Hippie Teacher. Contrast Psychologist Teacher, when a teacher tries to solve the students' problems when it's not a part of their job description.

Examples:

Comic Books

• Miss Hodge from Morning Glories is a Type III, but seeing as how the rest of the series is...

Film

• Mrs. Griffith from Easy A is a Type II. She has a lot of problems in her marriage, doesn't help anything, and has sex with another student. To her defense, he was held back and over eighteen, so it was technically legal. However, it is still frowned upon in school and is still adulterous.

Live Action Television

• On The Middle, Sue goes to the school guidance counselor (played by Whoopi Goldberg) when she feels like no one in the school pays attention to her. Like Sue, she too is ignored by the school; her office is in a basement, and her parking spot is marked "Guidance Counselor/Visitor". Type III.

• Buffy was one in season 7 on Buffy The Vampire Slayer. She would probably qualify as a Type III. There was a counselor earlier too, in season 3, the one that the Jekyll/Hyde kid tore apart in 'Beauty and the Beasts'.

• Ms. Morrell from Teen Wolf is generally a Type I.

• Emma Pillsbury on Glee is a Type III. While she can be unorthodox in her methods and she has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, she is usually helpful. She can also make a brochure for ANYTHING.

• Val from Awkward is usually a Type II, but she can step into Type III territory.

• On The Hogan Family, Sandy worked at the local high school as a guidance counselor. Very helpful and friendly on those rare occasions when we see her at work. She would be a Type I.

Western Animation

• Mr. Small from The Amazing World Of Gumball is a Type II. Also a Hippie Teacher.