Survey of Research in Human Development for Professional Counselors

Unit 6: School Counseling Specialization and Multidisciplinary Teams

Shelby Flint

COUN5004 – SURVEY OF RESEARCH IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT FOR PROFESSIONAL COUNSELORS

Dr. Danielle Hadeed

December 18, 2016

Introduction

        It is important to understand the history of counseling and how it came to be, which will be discussed. There are three important philosophies in counseling; wellness, resilience, and prevention. They all play important roles in the counseling profession. Lastly, a case will be analyzed about a girl named Ashley who is struggling with her mother’s recent remarrying and how a school counselor can benefit the situation along with other counseling professionals.

 Counseling Specializations and Multidisciplinary Teams

The role of a school counselor can vary from school District to school district. Some work with testing and scheduling to some actually talking and seeing individual students. School counselors help lay the foundation for students and their success and focus on student outcomes. School counseling can seek guidance from social workers to help find students homes, clothes, etc. Specialty counselors (autism, abuse, etc.) would benefit school counselors as sometimes this field cannot handle such instances. One philosophy that school counselors seem to use quite often is the building relationships of students of all backgrounds ethnicities advocating for student success in collaborating with school personnel and parents/family.

Impact of a Wellness Model

The single best setting for delivering wellness and prevention programs is the school (Conyne, R. K., ProQuest Ebooks, & Ebrary. (2015)). One of the reasons of being so is because the school offers a setting where the student can be coordinated with other settings; family, community, wellness and prevention programs, etc. (Conyne, R. K., ProQuest Ebooks, & Ebrary. (2015)). The wellness model can be looked at as a way the counselors provide assessments to their clients developmentally and then construct an intervention plan of increasing optimism and decreasing dysfunction. If a counselor can utilize resiliency, prevention, and wellness models they can better understand what influences one’s behavior. There are two counseling-based wellness models; Wheel of Wellness and Invisible Self (Myers & Sweeney, 2008). The Wheel of Wellness is an assessment tool, spirituality is in the middle of the wheel tool. When one has a sense of spirituality they have a sense of meaning in life and religious beliefs. There are 12 spots that surround spirituality: sense of worth, sense of control, realistic beliefs, emotional awareness and coping, sense of humor, nutrition, exercise, self-care, stress management, gender identity, and cultural identity (Myers & Sweeney, 2008), and these help direct to the self. Wellness is a tool for professional counselors and serves as a guide for assessments and for wellness-oriented counseling (Myers & Sweeney, 2008). The Adlerian approach correlates with the Wellness Wheel, and it can be essential to to a school counselor because of the need to work with families and to be aware of their structures, values, goals, etc. (Lenahan). Also, when working with young adolescents the need for a holistic approach is undeniable (Lenahan).

Key Concepts of Preferred Specialization and Historical Perspective

With the rise of progressive education in schools came the popularity of school counselors. Counseling can date all the way back to the late 1880s (Capella University). In 1907, the Grand Rapids Superintendent “implemented the first systematic guidance program in public schools” (Capella University). The role of a school counselor can vary from school District to school district. Some work with testing and scheduling to some actually talking and seeing individual students. School counselors help lay the foundation for students and their success and focus on student outcomes. School counselors can seek guidance from social workers to help find students homes, clothes, etc. Specialty counselors (autism, abuse, etc.) would benefit school counselors as sometimes this field cannot handle such instances. One philosophy that school counselors seem to use quite often is the building of relationships of students of all backgrounds and advocating for student success in collaboration with school personnel and parents/family. And, that would be the start of school counseling careers. In 1909, would be the kick start for better treatment, that is because that is when the movement began to push for better conditions in mental hospitals and other mental health facilities (Capella University).