SLIPPERY ROCK — Fostering resiliency was the theme for this year's Western Pennsylvania School Counselors Conference.

It's a skill counselors are called on to use now more than ever, said Brian Dick of Family Pathways in Butler. The agency helps to monitor children in the Butler County court system.

He spoke at the conference Friday at Slippery Rock University.

About 330 counselors attended the conference for sessions that ranged from bullying in school to choosing a career.

There are more children than ever served by Family Pathways, Dick said. This is due to increased teen pregnancies, more drug abuse, and more social service agencies involved with the courts than in the past, he said.

"We have more unconventional families than ever before," said Dick. "It's a whole different dynamic, dealing with these children."

The kids could come from disruptive homes where parents neglect or abuse them, he said. Sometimes a child is adopted and a positive situation still has negative impacts on the child's development, he said. When counselors see behavior or discipline problems at school, sometimes they need to know about other issues in the kids' lives, he said.

"These are children going though several stages of transition and loss," he said. "I point out to counselors to look at problems in the context of the family situation."

Dick's session dealt with these issues and others that counselors face every day. For him, the counselor conference is a way to renew his faith that these kids can be helped and find some stability.

"This is how I recharge, by working with these counselors," he said.

In her first year as guidance counselor at Slippery Rock High School, Stephanie Dawson attended the conference as a participant and presenter. The session she presented included advice to other new guidance counselors.

"It was a way to sort through my experiences as a counselor and help others with how to deal with the stresses," she said.

It's important to provide counselors with a way to meet each other because often there is only one working in a school, said Pattie Bajuszik, director of admissions at Butler County Community College. It's one main reason why BC3 sponsors the conference each year.

Bajuszik also helped to present a seminar on helping middle school students with career choices. It may seem early to encourage the move, but many students at this age need to realize they have more choices than what their parents or other relatives do for a living, she said.