The School Counseling Profession Chapter 1 Professor Bauer

Offering of Services To Students To Parents Teachers For students to reach educational goals, choose an appropriate career direction, and develop as fully functioning members of society. What are the present barriers to this happening??

Counseling as a Profession Historically Ancestors of professional counselors –Tribes Focused on basic survival skills –Civilizations progressed into acquiring Personal skills Social skills Survival skills

Counseling Described Helping process of –Gathering information –Becoming aware of one’s self –Exploring options and goals –Choosing a direction of accomplishment Common questions: –Who am I? –Where do I belong? –What should I be doing in my life?

Counseling Relationships 1. Help people avoid negative events and prevent harmful circumstances from impeding their growth and development. 2. Help people assess the progress they are making currently in their life and plan strategies for continued development 3. When people experience difficulties and cannot remedy problems without the support and intervention of others.

Helping Process Prevention- Historically –Camps and villages from natural disasters and human or other animal encroachment –Survival and expansion of the tribe were predicated on security measures School counselors assist people and organizations in preventing losses, avoiding crises, and thwarting other calamities that impede progress in education and life.

Today’s student is challenged with: Child abuse Family dysfunction Addictive behaviors Fascination with violence Impulsivity Any others?

Long, long time ago, Ancient Greeks – focused on nature of human development (foundation of counseling) –Plato-science of human behavior –Aristotle – environmental influence and importance of perceptions Hebews and Christians of post-Roman period –Free will –Self-determination, –Human value *Cherished by most contemporary societies.

Long, long time ago, (continued) Middle ages –Spread of Christianity Helping relationships –Priests, monks, and clergy Ex. Catholic church” sacrament of penance (confession) this was a helping relationship Encouraged confession of “sins” Their absolution of sins Forgiveness of transgressions Act of assuming responsibility of one’s misdeeds Priest has a vow of silence just like today’s counselors

17 th century influence Vocational and occupational development –Italians published a Trade Book.

19 th century influence Wilheim Wundt –Psychological Institute of of the University of Leipzig. –Psychology started as a discpline Book by Clifford Beers exposed horrible treatment of mental institutions –Start of the mental health movement and establishment of local psychopathic hospitals Child guidance clinics by William and Mary Healy. Emerged by working with physically ill children in “slums” of Chicago. –Started 100 Clinics in US. Later administered by State of Illinois and became the Institute of Juvenile Research.

Important School Counseling Notables E.G. Williamson-Developed Trait Factor Theory Carl Rogers-Client Centered Therapy Clifford Beers-Wrote book about mental health institutions Tomasco Garzoni-Published early book about occupation (DOT) Frank Parsons- Started First Vocational Bureau in Boston NDEA-Federal act in response to Soviet Space Sputnik Jesse Davis-Began guidance Counseling in Schools Arthur Otis-Developed group intelligence tests ACA-Association for Professional Counselors Public Law Federal act for education exceptional students

More important concepts The school counseling profession has its origin in the vocational guidance movement of the early twentieth century. Why? Clifford Beers was intrumental in the mental health movement as a hospitalized patient who wrote the book A Mind that Found Itself.

Concepts continuation The major historical event that created an atmosphere for the school counseling profession was the launching of the Soviet Sputnik I in –Why> The federal bill that provided funds to train counselors for secondary schools during the late 1950’s was the National Defense Education Act.

Concepts Continuation One factor contributing to the school counseling professions difficulty in establishing a clear identify is the inconsistent use of terms to identify who school counselors are and what they do.,