COUNSELING MODEL VS. THERAPY MODEL.   Term Paper ID:28853 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Discusses which model is most effective in dealing with children in the public school system who have emotional, behavioral and/or mental health problems.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Discusses which model is most effective in dealing with children in the public school system who have emotional, behavioral and/or mental health problems. Paper Introduction: The Counseling Model vs. the Therapy Model in a Public School Setting Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 22(1), 17-31. For example, theproblem theme for one child was "anger," while a basic strength of his wascooperativeness. Yet another element that could be considered in a counseling approachworking with this population is the aspect of unconditional care. As wasnoted above, one of the elements of an effective counseling situation isconsideration of context and a bi-directional effort. This is a large number of students, most in the public school system,who have problems significant enough to be labeled as mental illness.Whether the labeling system is part of the problem or not, these arechildren that are likely to be unhappy themselves and to create problems inthe classroom. He noted that the basic question that counselors ask each childis "What do you do that gets you in trouble?" in different systems, such ashome, friends, and school. For example, there is some evidence that ESMH program aremore cost effective and that they lead to fewer inappropriate referrals tospecial education classes (Flaherty et al., 1996). Meta-analyses of several programs have indicated that only slightly more thanhalf of children benefited from social skills training interventions.However, Evans et al. Family based services: A solution-focusedapproach. The basicfocus is on looking for what is working well behaviorally and setting upthe system so that more of that situation exists, allowing the child tosucceed more and more often. In other words, the school is trying toachieve the goals of an ESMH program without actually instituting such aprogram, without having developed the partnerships with community agenciesthat are necessary, and without properly defining the populations to beserved and how they are to be served. They interviewed administrators from threemid-Atlantic and one northeastern state, which is actually not a verywidespread geographical approach. (1996). They lack socialcompetence in general. Community MentalHealth Journal, 36(4), 395-411.Weist, M.D., Myers, C.P., Danforth, J., McNeil, D.W. Nonetheless, it is helpful to look atthe various ways in which the public schools have sought to address theneeds of these children. (2 ) recommend for improvingsocial skills training is that it be school-based and that interventionstrategies be individually prescribed for each child using assessmentprocedures. What Evans et al. This ispart of the systems approach, which acknowledges that systems tend to getstuck. The other scenario involves an enriched model that generally dependsupon partnership with one or more community agencies. It not only changes the child'sself-perception, it is designed to change the perception of staff,teachers, and counselors, so that they are able to work with children freefrom negative expectations, stereotypes, biases, and the Pygmalion effectof eliciting the bad behavior that they have grown to expect. They are also appropriate for schools with a largepercentage of their population dealing with behavioral and emotionalproblems which also have the resources to institute such a full-scaleprogram. What is interesting about both the solution-focused and wraparoundmodels is that clients are expected to set the agenda. NY: W.W. (2 ). It is difficult to workfrom a strength-based model within a system that is working from a deficitapproach that pathologizes the child. In other words, the same old models will elicit the sameold behavioral responses and the child will again feel like a failure(along with the counselor or teacher). They have fewer positive social behaviors, lowerrates of peer reinforcement, and less cooperative behaviors than theirpeers. Keys to solution in brief therapy. Weist et al. They have been put in special educationclasses, which carries a negative connotation. (1994). The issues with thesestudents are different than issues for students who have developmentaldelays, hearing and vision problems, or other physical issues, althoughsome of these students may also have behavioral issues that teachers mustaddress. The focus in this study is on students with emotional and behavioralproblems who have been labeled as at-risk with emotional and behavioralproblems and placed in special education classes for appropriate treatment. Laveman (2 ) described how the Harmonium project worked in terms ofone child. Still, its poor resultsto date (as evidenced by the meta-analyses of studies) may mean that it isreally not an effective model despite the common-sense basis of theapproach.Conclusion: There are advantages to both the counseling model and the therapymodel, and to the limited special education mental health services vs. deShazer, S. They have essentially been separated from themainstream of school society in order to be counseled more effectively. Norton. In general, schools preferthe more limited model of service provision for children in specialeducation classes with minimal treatment involved. (2 ) noted that there were also serious barriers topaying for services in many urban and rural schools, along with somesuburban schools. The reportindicated that approximately 64,8 children and adolescents in the stateshow signs of behavioral and emotional problems that are serious enough towarrant some form of treatment. Administrators rated their situations in fivecategories, including (a) stressful conditions, (b) internalizingbehavioral problems, (c) externalizing behavioral problems, (d) substanceabuse, and (e) barriers to mental health care. (2 ) support the ESMH model,but note that there are many challenges in implementing and sustaining suchmodels. theESMH services. They may include approaches that are therapeutic, but moresolution-focused and more akin to brief therapy than intensive therapy orpsychoanalytic approaches. The solution-focused models explored above provide a means for thechildren in special education classes to gain the confidence they need intheir own abilities to solve problems and change their behaviors within aprotected environment. Sometimes theyhave been placed on medications. Berg (1994), too, has a solution-focused model with a systemicperspective which is designed to focus on competencies. He and his groupinterviewed 62 administrators from different levels of schools anddifferent geographic regions, trying to determine the factors most relevantto developing ESMH models. Burchard, I.D. The specific situation is a school district in which students are notprovided with appropriate services because there is confusion about thebest model to use in working with them. Inother words, children are not seen in terms of their deficits, but in termsof their strengths, and the counseling models using this approach build onthe strengths. The empowerment tradition in American socialwork: A history. Services might include individual, group, and familytherapies, referral, preventive services, support groups, and school wideinterventions (Weist, 1997). and Warner, B.S. There are two choices available,which can be termed the "counseling" model and the "therapy" model. This does not mean that they have to receive inadequate orinappropriate services. For example, the problem in the schoolI am currently working with is that the counseling approach is moreeffective with the students I work with in the special education classes,but the materials, objectives, and goals that I am presented with support amore long-term therapy approach. Flaherty, L.T., Weist, M.D. They can be appropriateto schools which are willing and able to make the commitment to such a full-scale program. (1997). School-basedmental health services in the United States: History, current models, andneeds. Review of the Literature In this review, the intention is to explore some of the differentoptions and programs that have been used in the public schools in workingwith children with behavioral or emotional handicapping conditions.Oftentimes, the model in use is some combination of the counseling andtherapy approaches, or a counseling model based on principles from somepsychotherapy theory or modality. (2 ). In Berg'sperspective, the child is not the problem, but the resource for change.This is a very different way of looking at the situation. There still does need to be research done about the effectivenessof the programs. (2 ).Evaluation of expanded school mental health programs. In looking specifically at barriers to mental health care and theviability of mental health programs in the public schools, Weist et al.(2 a) noted that an emerging issue is that many mental health careprograms based on the therapy model have not been well-developed becausethey were not based on good analyses of the needs of the children and theresources already available to them. Yet, solution-focused models also emphasize goal-setting and personal responsibility; thedifference is that they are more collaborative, more grassroots, moresystems-oriented, more strength-based, and more relational, with bi-directional input/impact. He indicated that one of thecore assumptions of this program was that it is fundamentally theresponsibility of the people within the system to make the changesnecessary for their lives, even if the system does not change. This is theresult of both legislative mandate and parental pressure to provideappropriate public education for all students. However, trying something new couldlead to a successful, even if small, behavioral change which would tend tochange the whole system leading to further changes. This is the expandedschool mental health (ESMH) program which includes provision of the fullrange of mental health services to children in both special and regulareducation classrooms. Madden, M. Weist et al. The problem arises when schools are confused in their intentions andcontradictory in their approaches. Project wraparound: Training clinicalpsychologists through a revised service delivery system for severelyemotionally disturbed children and adolescents. Theseelements were collaboration, the expansion or reinforcement of strengths, abi-directional focus between the individual and the environment, and theindividual taking personal responsibility for his or her actions. Itseeks to find the roots of the problem by using community counselingagencies as the base for therapists, therapy groups, and trainings. They note that this is need with, for example, up to75 percent of students with learning disabilities having poor peerinteractions and inappropriate or inadequate behaviors. There wereequal numbers in each group. Likewise, children with ADHD commonly are rejected by peers andexcluded from ordinary social interactions because of their disruptive andaggressive behavior. This breaks down to 1 in 18 children fromage 6-11 and 1 in 15 adolescents from age 12-17 have some form ofdiagnosable mental illness, according to the most recent DSM categories.Boys, children from single parent families, and low-income children aremore likely to have either behavioral or emotional problems that need to beaddressed. It has led to family systems theory and to other models, suchas solution-focused or brief therapy models, which aim to identify thosebehaviors which work for the client within his or her system. Race and ethnicity do not appear to be significant factors. (1994). (2 a) noted that there are several factors relevantto developing such intensive, therapy-based models. and Armbruster, P. Journal of PsychotherapyIntegration, 7(1), 55-74. Since the children have different skills andweaknesses, a general program is likely to fail address the specific needsof each child. Another potential counseling model is the social skills trainingmodel, which has been evaluated as ineffective in many instances in termsof generalizability and transferability to different settings. In otherwords, even if the school environment does not change, it is theresponsibility of the children in the special education classes to identifywhat they need in order to improve their situation. The counseling model is more appropriate when it is limited to theprovision of services to children who have already been identified ashaving behavioral or emotional problems and been tracked into specialeducation classes. Community Mental Health Journal, 36(3), 259-273. With support from teachers and parents, he was able tomake autonomous changes that led to different results across domains.Fundamentally, though, a good outcome has to be more important to the childthan to the counselor or to other members of the systems. Prinz (Eds.) Advancesin clinical child psychology, Vol. The counseling model is more of a short-term approach, focused onsolutions for immediate problems that can be instituted from the firstsession. Laveman, L. The systems approach emphasizes solutions, and strengths, rather thanpathologies. There is also inadequatedocumentation that services are meeting the needs of the populationaddressed. For example, Laveman(2 ) described a counseling model based on an empowerment approach totherapy which emphasizes strength, rather than pathology or deficit. They then help the child to identify a themethat emerges from this examination and the strengths that helps the childoperate effectively and well in many environments. (1996). At the same time, it is adaptable to a counselingapproach within the special education classroom. Schools included elementary, middle, andhigh schools and were categorized as urban, suburban, or rural. The macrosystemic model of psychotherapy:Autonomy and attachment in family systems. They have been identified as behavioralproblems, or suffering from emotional and mental disorders. As was noted above, some programs which are widespread,such as social skills interventions, are not necessarily supported by theresearch as currently designed. For example, there are often challenges regarding the efficacy ofsuch programs and difficulties in evaluation. On the other hand, deShazer (1985) indicated that there are clearlythings that do not work. Thisbuilds on the Rogerian approach to therapy, but can be used in a wraparoundmodel within a school system. 19. Whetherit is acceptable to individual schools or school systems may be anotherquestion. This does not mean thatmental health needs are ignored, but that they are adjusted to the schoolenvironment. They may then move into the mainstream populationwith these changed behaviors, affecting the system in a positive way. What deShazer andother solution-focused counselors recommend is for families, schools,counselors, and others to look for what is working and reinforce that.This helps the client see himself or herself in other terms. The evaluation and modification issue isan important one, whatever the model chosen for a particular school. Weist et al. In one of these, which is the more common, schools offerassessment, minimal treatment, and counseling for children placed inspecial education, while limiting counseling services and providing moreacademic guidance for children in regular education (Flaherty, Weist andWarner, 1996). The ESMH model is a therapy model, based on using traditionaltherapeutic approaches to dealing with behavioral and emotional issues. the Therapy Model in a Public School Setting Introduction The public school system has increasingly dealt with children withemotional, behavioral, and mental health problems by placing them inspecial education, rather than removing them from the schools. (1997). In general, they recommend identifying deficient skills foreach child, training for these skills in isolation, and then programmingthe children to generalize these skills to different settings within theschool environment. Laveman (2 )noted that this relational support is also essential: both autonomy andrelationality are essential for healing and growth. An interesting point was made by Laveman (2 ) in his discussion ofa specific project, the Harmonium Project. Report reveals mental health of state's kids.The News Tribune, August 3, B1. Instead, they are told that they have the strengths and skills tomake changes even within a system that operates out of the deficit model.Obviously, of course, someone has to be able to introduce these concepts tothem and model them. In T.H. Still, it may be possible to createa system within the classroom itself that it collaborative, solution-focused, reinforces strengths, is bi-directional, and demands personalresponsibility on the part of the child. The intent is to create an individualized approachwithin a positive environment characterized by unconditional positiveregard and a strength-based model of behavior change. What they recommend is a more individualized approach dealing withthe specific deficits that the children experience, rather than ageneralized program. NY: Plenum.Weist, M.D., Nabors, L.A., Myers, C.P. Ollendick and R.J. Instead, they may be better served by focusingefforts on what can be accomplished within the particular setting. It is not thefamily or the school that determines what behaviors needs to be changed.It is the students themselves who are solicited for their input on whatthey need. This appears to be the most significant problem inexpanding the scope of ESMH programs. It supportsan image of success, rather than an image of continual failure. (2 ). However, there are mixed models that seem to be more adaptable, andmore acceptable for in-house use. This reinforces the strengths that the childdoes have and also reinforces the belief that people do have the skillsthat they need to solve their own problems. The difference between this model and the proceeding model is that itremains deficit-based, emphasizing pathology and problem, rather than thechild's strengths. If they get stuck, the need is not for more of the same, but forchanging something within the system in order to elicit new responses andnew behaviors. According to Burchard (1988), unconditionalcare can help in changing behavior by shattering the cycle of rejectionthat most children have already experienced by the time they enter thesystem and certainly when they are placed in special education classroomsto deal with their behavioral problems. They were also allowed toprovide open-ended comments on the needs of youth and the types of programsthat seemed desirable to the administrators. Nonetheless, there is the potential with this model for bothsystemic and individual change in a positive direction, even if not adirection controllable or predictable by the counselor and the school.This may present problems and may be one reason that schools seem to prefermore psychotherapeutic models that emphasize control, such as behavioraltherapies with their goal-setting and behavior contracts. References Berg, I.K. These are the models that use counselingapproaches based in therapy theories or modalities. If they do not work, then they should not berepeated, but replaced with a different situation or operation. Community building: Building community practice.Social Work, 41, 481-499.Weist, M.D. According toVanDenBerg (1993), the intent here is to look at each child separatelywhile asking the question of what the child needs so that he or she canimprove and heal. Simon (1994) described this approach in terms of empowerment in asystems context. There needs to be considerablepreplanning and this does not appear to be occurring on a regular basis.This results in lack of accountability, inefficiency, ineffectiveness, andlack of support from the general public. (1985). Simon, B.L. Just to give a sense of the magnitude of the problem in the schoolsystem, it might be helpful to look at the situation in one state.Washington State recently released a report on the emotional and behavioralproblems among Washington state children (Madden, 2 ). Expanded school mental health services: A nationalmovement in progress. Obviously most school systems have already pathologized the childrenwe are discussing, however. There seem to be two typical scenarios in terms of school mentalhealth services. NY: W.W.Norton & Co. For example, deShazer (1985) noted that people are often so focusedon what they view as problems that they do not notice those instances inwhich the problem does not occur and build upon that. The Counseling Model vs. (1988). (2 ) believe that the social skills trainingparadigm can be utilized in a school setting and is the more appropriatemodel for use there. There is a lack of funding partlybecause education is under-funded and partly because program developershave not done an adequate job of convincing the constituencies that ESMHprograms are the answer to school problems and schools the appropriateplace to provide intensive mental health services. This means that theyare not powerless, waiting for the system to change before they are able tosucceed. Truly, this model lends itself to collaboration in creating anatmosphere which is strength-based, need-focused, and empowering. (1993). Integration of individualized mental healthservices into the system of care for children and adolescents.Administration and Policy in Mental Health, 2 , 247-257.Weil, A.O. He believed that there was reciprocity between theindividual and the individual's environment and that four main elementswere needed for the individual to be empowered in the environment. Laveman, L. the harmonium project: A macrosystemic approacho empowering adolescents. This is the counselor, hopefully with support ofteachers and other staff members working with the children. Community Mental Health Journal, 32, 341-352. Expandedschool mental health services: Assessing needs related to school level andgeography. NY: Columbia University Press.VanDenBerg, J.E. Itassumes that this kind of partnership can be beneficial to the school andthe community, providing both preventive services and curative or healingresponses to children who are already in trouble. This is onlylikely to occur if the child is involved in his or her own treatmentplanning, because this leads to a sense of personal responsibility andpersonal empowerment which allows the change to become permanent.According to Weil (1996) people need to know they are their own agents andcan effect positive changes in their environments with their own efforts. Burlington, VT, Universityof Vermont, Department of Psychology. The emphasis in the counseling model is not on the roots of theproblems of the adolescents, but on helping them change the behaviors thatare causing them trouble in school and disrupting the classroom experiencefor all students. On the other hand, the therapy approach is more of along-term option aiming to understand the roots of the problems of theadolescents, with treatment addressing that. This was emphasized above by both the Harmonium project andVanDenBerg in their discussion of the need to individualize with solution-focused programming. Another aspect of this solution-focused, systemic approach, isindividualization. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

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