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They help people with any stress they may be experiencing from any source be it family, mental, future plans, etc. Being able to talk problems out with someone is actually very helpful.

An academic guidance counselor or therapeutic counselor?
If the latter: they're basically just someone to talk to. Intelligent and empathetic friends who you completely trust would often work just as well. (Intelligent, empathetic, and trustworthy are absolute requirements here -- not things to fudge on.)
If the former: they'll mostly help you figure out which classes you need to take to accomplish certain requirements or things schools want to see on your academic record. Depending on what level of schooling you're at, this can help a lot, especially if you don't have the time to figure it all out yourself -- if you have the time to do the research, they're not really necessary, but it might be worthwhile to check in anyway and make sure you got it right, and they might have better insight into more obscure scholarship opportunities and such.

I mean like how they help depressed suicidals

It depends on the sort of issues you are needing help with. Some people just need a neutral party they can talk to and to know that person won't share anything spoken of with others. The counselor also can help with guiding things by asking questions which help both of you to figure out why you feel that way which helps to fix what is going on. A big thing it gives people is confidence that even if they have some mental disorder, they are not alone in dealing with it.

There are also types of therapy that can be done by counselors, for instance they will do things like role-plays to help you learn how to deal with certain situations you have trouble with. The idea is to do so in a safe environment where you will not be judged no matter what you may say.

Also, depending on the counselor, they may be able to prescribe drugs that can also help. But the main thing they offer is a safe environment to discuss your problems without judgement.

How much a counselor helps depends on what kind of counseling it is and his or her qualifications.

Regarding counselors in grade school, that person is trained to help students sort out their personal, academic, and social issues. Basically, a good counselor is a person you can always talk to when you need someone who understands what's bothering you, someone who can help you find solutions to a problem, or just someone who knows how to listen when you need a friend.

Not all counselors are a "good fit" for you, however, just as not all teachers are. If you find one counselor is not helpful to you, try a different one.

I've been depressed for many years and have had a variety of counsellors. Some who helped, some who didn't. It really depends on whether you match with your counsellor or not. Just because one didn't work, don't discount all counsellors.
Some ways in which counsellors help:
1) They listen to everything. It was a big thing for me to have someone I could let things out to. Someone who would listen without their own agenda regarding my life. Even just empathy or sympathy can help in some cases.

2) They help pull you out of detrimental cycles. Through talking with them they can usually point out to you where your problems may lie. From there you can work with the counsellor to change that. For example, I had a problem where I'd bury myself so hard into school or work then get completely burnt out and become kind of a useless lump. They helped me see the fact that I even do this.. which believe it or not, I didn't really realize.

3) They work with you to set goals and help you reach them. At one point I was so deep in depression that sleeping at regular times and eating at regular times became very hard for me. The counsellor helped me to set small goals each day. Eat at this time. Take meds at this time. Go here at that time. Etc. Seems like small stuff and it IS to a regular person but it wasn't for me. And who else would help you with things like this or even understand that a problem like that could exist? Only the counsellor in my case. She worked with me with these small things and held me accountable for reaching these goals so that I wouldn't just give up on them.

There are many other ways a counsellor can help but that's just been my experience.

turn off the light and listen to this :3

the one at my college can be helpful at times but not all of them. some of them made really bad attempts to pretend that they care.