The guidance/counseling program of Morrison Academy provides a bible-based program that is available to all students, teachers/staff and parents helping them to recognize their uniqueness as individuals in Christ. Morrison seeks to provide a primarily proactive and preventative program which enables students to fulfill God’s purpose in their lives by maturing spiritually, emotionally, academically and socially.

Morrison Academy's guidance & counseling services on the Kaohsiung campus consist of two components. The first is weekly guidance classes in the classroom at each grade level. Guidance classes are designed to promote the academic, personal, social, and emotional developmental growth of all students and prevent buildup of maladaptive behaviors. The curriculum includes lessons and discussions in study skills, personal responsibility, conflict resolution, decision making, problem-solving, interpersonal relations, handling emotions, dealing with fears, friendship, vocational planning, stranger awareness, sexual abuse prevention and character education. In addition, middle school students also study adolescence and maturation, boy-girl relationships, drugs and alcohol, peer pressure, stress, suicide, prejudice and stereotypes, and "third-culture kid" issues. Parents are welcome to discuss these topics with the counselor as well as review materials used in the curriculum.

The second component consists of individual or group counseling on an "as-needed" basis. This counseling may be initiated by parents, teachers, support service staff, or students themselves. Individual sessions may include meetings with students and/or parents designed to help understand and deal with the situation of concern for the student. Initial counseling sessions with a student help the counselor to better understand the concern of the student. Subsequent sessions may focus on helping the student to deal with the situation. With a significant concern at the elementary level, the counselor will contact the parents and obtain permission to see the student over a period of time. The counselor may sometimes make a recommendation to the parents to seek ongoing assistance from an outside resource. If any situation involves clear and imminent health risk or danger, the counselor will notify the parents, administration, and appropriate community agencies if dictated by law.

The issue of confidentiality in counseling is important to both parents and students. There are occasions, especially at the middle school level, where students may seek assistance from counselors for concerns they may not feel comfortable talking about with their parents. In such cases, that confidentiality is honored by Morrison Academy counselors. However, Morrison Academy recognizes the primary role of parents in the lives of their children, and both teachers and counselors are committed to urging students to confide in and seek counsel and support from their parents as their most valuable resource. Again, in cases where there is a danger or health risk to the student, parents would be immediately notified. If parents desire to be contacted and given the opportunity in advance to either give or deny permission for their child to see the school counselor, they should write a note to the principal expressing this desire.

Morrison counselors, like administrators and teachers, desire to work together with you as a team to help all students achieve to their utmost potential. If you have any questions or concerns regarding either the guidance or counseling components of the program, please contact the EMS counselor or principal.

Mr. Newkirk is the high school counselor and has been at MAK for 22 years. His email address is matt.newkirk@ma.org.tw

Mr. Chan is the elementary middle school counselor and has been at MAK for 10 years. His email address is michael.chan@ma.org.tw