Comparative analysis of school and clinical counselors' approaches to child counseling

¶ … counseling, the environment can have an impact on the approach and perspectives of professionals. This is because there are unique challenges that will have an influence on how well someone is able to address a host of issues. In the case of children, these problems can become more complicated. For school counselors and private practice clinicians, there are many different tools they can use. At the heart of these approaches, is the assessment that is conducted by the individual. (Efford, 2012)

Evidence of this can be seen with observations from Erford (2012) who said, "Assessment is the quickest way to understand students and clients. The better that one understands them, the quicker professionals can help them. The more efficient professional a counselor becomes is when they are effective in reaching out to everyone. This saves time, money and social / emotional pain." This is illustrating how a counselor plays a unique role in helping students and clients. To fully understand their role requires comparing and contrasting two different types of practitioners. This will be accomplished by focusing on the setting, approaches and attitudes of each specialist. Together, these elements will highlight how they can have a positive influence on needy children. (Efford, 2012)

The Setting

The two different areas of counseling that will be examined include: a school counselor and a private practice clinician. A school counselor has a wide variety of responsibilities that they must focus on to include: making themselves available to every student, mitigating violence / bullying, providing career education, conducting personality assessments, facilitating graduation, reducing the number of drop outs and supporting self-esteem. This is because they work in an environment where they must have the flexibility to serve all of these roles during the course of the day. ("School Counseling," 2012) (F. Forney, personal communication, October 23, 2012)

A good example of the setting for this type of professional can be found in the article titled School Counselors (2012) which said, "School counselors can give students all sorts of tips and support on solving problems and making good decisions. They have lots of good advice on how to help everyone work through a variety of problems. Moreover, they can provide tips on standing up to bullies, managing stress, talking to parents, dealing with anger and other difficult challenges. They also can advise students on problems they may have with a teacher, such as communication difficulties or questions over grades. This means that they are plugged in to the rest of the school and the outside community. As they can refer students to resources like: substance abuse treatment centers, professional therapists and even health clinics." This is showing how the setting for school counselors is focused on addressing problems that will impact students. ("School Counselors," 2012) (F. Forney, personal communication, October 23, 2012)

In some cases, this can occur with helping them to plan for their future. While at other times, this will take place by providing specific recommendations that will assist the individual in dealing with bullies and emotional distress (utilizing resources in the community). According to Forney, he observed, "School counselors are similar to the referee in a big game. We must be able to keep order and ensure that students and parents have the support they need. This means that I will have different roles and responsibilities." The combination of these factors means, that school counselors are a go between for students, school officials and parents. When this happens, they are able to work with everyone in an environment that involves tremendous amounts of flexibility and duties. ("School Counselors," 2012) (F. Forney, personal communication, October 23, 2012)

For private practice clinicians, the setting is completely different in comparison to a school environment. This is because these individuals are considered to be entrepreneurs who are offering their services to cliental. As a result, they have greater amounts of flexibility in determining who they will be working with and their office hours. This allows these professionals to have adaptability in deciding their schedule, areas of specialization and roles / responsibilities. (Shallcross, 2012) (R, Tice, personal communication, October 25, 2012)

In some case, this means that select individuals will work with children. While at other times they could help children, adults or a combination of both. This will depend upon individual preferences of the cliental they chose to work with. These elements are showing how the setting of this environment has greater choices for the professional counselor (surrounding their practice and the patients they are working with). (Shallcross, 2012) (R, Tice, personal communication, October 25, 2012)

However, despite the increased amounts of freedom, the private practice counselor must deal with a number of challenges. Most notably: finding continuing amounts of cliental, dealing with financial issues related to their practice, addressing specific challenges (such as: complications in the patient's condition), conducting research and maintaining accreditation. During an interview, Tice confirmed these benefits and drawbacks saying, "Private practice is giving me the ability to choose patients and specialize. However, I have to ensure that I am dealing with the business aspect and industry standards. This means that I have greater responsibilities." These factors are illustrating how private practice counselors will have unique challenges that are different. As they must take greater amounts of personal responsibility for: their decisions, dealing with the financial stability of their business and ensuring that they are properly licensed to provide these services to clients. (Shallcross, 2012) (R, Tice, personal communication, October 25, 2012)

When comparing the two, it is clear that school counselors will work with students as a regular part of their jobs. While private practice clinicians, will selectively focus on interacting with children and adults. These differences are based upon the greater amounts of freedom and choices that these professionals will have in determining areas of specialization. This means that they will have limited to vast amounts of experience in working with children. The reason why is they could only a have a few patients who are younger. This will reduce their exposure to the kinds of issues and challenges they are dealing with on a regular basis. However, there are many in this area, who used to be school counselors and chose specialize. This means, that they have experience in dealing with children and decided to advance their careers (by going into private practice). ("School Counselors," 2012) (Shallcross, 2012) (F. Forney, personal communication, October 23, 2012) (R, Tice, personal communication, October 25, 2012)

The Approaches

For school counselors, they must be able to use a number of different approaches when reaching out to students. The most notable include: person centered, behavioral and solutions orientated. The person centered approach is when there is focus on the individual and less on the problems. This is accomplished through one on one sessions, where the counselor is trying to understand other issues that are affecting the way a student is behaving. (Guidoccio, 2012) (Shallcross, 2012) (F. Forney, personal communication, October 23, 2012)

Behavioral is when there is an emphasis on addressing actions that the individual is engaged in. This is designed to serve as a way to correct any kind of issues and discourage them from continuing with these activities in the future. These objectives are achieved by having a meeting with the student, parents and school officials. In some cases, this can result in the student facing some form of punishment such as suspension or expulsion. While at other times, this will occur with a verbal warning to correct this behavior. (Guidoccio, 2012) (Shallcross, 2012) (F. Forney, personal communication, October 23, 2012)

A solution orientated approach is when there is a focus on introducing changes that will lead to positive transformations in the student's behavior. This is different from the others by looking at the background of individual, their underlying motivations and what kind of changes could adjust their attitude. When this happens, counselors can introduce a solution that will deal with the root causes of the problem. (Guidoccio, 2012) (Shallcross, 2012) (F. Forney, personal communication, October 23, 2012)

These different approaches are illustrating how school counselors must utilize a number of strategies when interacting with students. In some cases, this will occur by using one approach with select students. While at other times, other techniques must be embraced to increase compliance with different rules and regulations. (Guidoccio, 2012) (Shallcross, 2012

During an interview with Forney he said, "Adaptability is a critical factor in determining how effective you will interact and reach out to students. This means that different techniques must be utilized at various times to achieve these objectives." As a result, all school counselors must have an in depth knowledge of these theories and the flexibility to utilize different ones. (Guidoccio, 2012) (Shallcross, 2012) (F. Forney, personal communication, October 23, 2012)

In the case of private practice clinicians, they will specialize in one or a number of different approaches when working with children. A few of the most notable include: Adlerian, Freudian, and cognitive. The Adlerian technique is when there is a focus on understanding and addressing a person's sense of belonging. This is accomplished by using a number of different tactics in conjunction with each other to include: examining their lifestyle, developing client insights, establishing a strong relationship with the patient and creating a change in behavior. When interacting with children, these views are used to comprehend how: their connections with friends and family members are influencing their desire to be accepted. ("Theories of Counseling," 2010) (R, Tice, personal communication, October 25, 2012)

The Freudian approach is looking at how the child is developing base upon their relationship with others and the way they are dealing with the different stages in their lives. These include: studying the unconscious mind, analyzing dreams, examining the effects on the id / ego / superego and psychosexual development. The combination of these factors are designed to provide the therapist with a complete picture of what events are impacting the social, mental and emotional development of a child. When this takes place, they will be able to understand how their relationship with friends and family members are contributing to the challenges they are facing. (Storr, 1989) (R, Tice, personal communication, October 25, 2012)

The cognitive approach is when there is a focus on understanding how the child will interpret and analyze different events. During this process, the private practice clinician will work with the patient to see how their thoughts are impacting their behavior. When this happens, they can bring about changes in how: children are interacting with others, their self-esteem and attitudes towards the future. This is the point that they can have a transformation in their beliefs. ("Theories of Counseling," 2010) (R, Tice, personal communication, October 25, 2012)

When comparing the two, it is clear that school counselors that will use different tools to influence the attitudes of students. During the course of their activities is when they must utilize a combination of them together. This is because there are a host of situations and personalities that they are dealing with. While private practice clinicians, could focus on using one single approach or a variety of them. This is from the professional having areas of specialization that they have found to be most effective. As a result, school counselors have more experience and flexibility in dealing with children. Whereas private practice clinicians; will more than likely have select approaches. ("Theories of Counseling," 2010) (Storr, 1989) (Guidoccio, 2012) (Shallcross, 2012) (R, Tice, personal communication, October 25, 2012)

However, private practice clinicians may have more experience. This is because a number of these professionals used to be school counselors and decided to specialize. At the same time, students will see these individuals in a better light. The reason why is they are not interacting with them regularly and the opinions of others cannot influence their perceptions. ("Theories of Counseling," 2010) (Storr, 1989) (Guidoccio, 2012) (Shallcross, 2012)