The first thing I want to say is that I feel that this class
has changed my perspective on the importance of a comprehensive guidance
program. I was a little negative in the beginning of the semester regarding how
I felt about pushing a guidance curriculum agenda in the schools. I thought
that School Counselors just needed to do what they were told and would not have
the opportunity to advocate for their positions and effectiveness in the
schools. This class has really shown me that that is simply not the case and
that without a comprehensive guidance curriculum, counselors will end up
spinning their wheels and will be unable to make the systemic changes that are
necessary to ensure the success and happiness of their students.
Chapter 13 focuses on what a lot of us have been talking
about in class and in our presentations and I am sure in our CSCP projects.
After reading the Case Study, I felt that the counselor did the right thing and
act responsibly for the student. It was probably best that the mother ended up
storming out of the room and that the counselor did not try to intervene while
the mother was so upset. I cannot imagine how stressful it is to have a child
who you feel is not being treated fairly by the school system. Whether the
parent is right or wrong in their assessment, the counselor needs to approach
this from the point of view that the mother loves her son and would not be
angry if she did not care. This was beautifully explained last night by Melissa
Ostrowski on the counselor panel. Working with parents is very difficult, but
the counselor will be able to do a lot of detective work by speaking with
Samuel as soon as possible.
One area of interest in the chapter was the rise of
self-destructive behaviors that can range from alcohol and drug abuse,
self-mutilation, etc. One area that was not mentioned was negative body image.
I feel that this is a very self-destructive behavior that manifests internally
and can grow into eating disorders or other types of self-destructive behavior.
There is a lot of attention being paid to body image in the media and I feel
that the image of skinny equaling better is starting to dissipate, but there is
still a long way to go when telling children what makes someone beautiful. “In
a CSCP, counselors would attend to all self-destructive behavior in holistic,
systemic, balanced, proactive, integrated, and reflective ways…as well as
examine the effect of the behavior on academic, career, and personal/social
development, and would provide counseling, referrals, advocacy, and consulting
as appropriate” (Dollarhid & Saginak, 2012, p. 234).
Dollarhide, C.T. & Saginak, K.A. (2012). Comprehensive
school counseling programs. (2nd ed.). New York: Pearson, Inc.
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