Given the many problems facing society today, the work that a school counsellor does and the degree of different that an individual counsellor can make may seem insignificant. It is tempting to ask what good a counsellor can do – and even to question more broadly what the point of any type of social work is at all. This might seem to be an odd question to ask given that most of us tend to think that we already know the answer: The point of social work is to help those who cannot on their own make the most of their own potential. This is a fairly standard, and quite traditional, assessment of the practice of social work.