help in areas where the counselor has expertise. Third, by consulting with the significant people in children's lives, such as parents and teachers, the counselor can make an indirect impact on more children than would be possible with direct counseling services. Mathias also finds that there are many consultative interventions available to the counselor, and the counselor should be knowledgeable about many different approaches: "In selecting an intervention, the counselor as consultant needs to consider the particular context of the situation, the needs involved, the group targeted, and the consultant's own values and knowledge of interventions" (191).
Mathias finds that group intervention can be the most effective, efficient, and powerful approach to a given problem. In a group approach, the counselor as consultant serves in the role of a facilitator to help the group determine its purpose, composition of members, and expectations. The counselor sets an agenda leading to a session of brainstorming and determining needs, issues, problems, and priorities. The group must next suggest solutions, select the best one, and plan its implementation. The final steps are evaluation and modification.
The traditional emphases in counseling psychology are counseling and psychoeducational models of direct service, counseling skills training, and consultation, and all can be used effectively in a program to prevent or remediate problems of physical health and illness (Altmaier 1991). A program of counseling can include all three dimensions in a mixture based on the relative needs of the given population and an assessment in particular of the health issues that have to be resolved for that population.
Myers (1992) emphasizes that the sorts of issues facing school health counselors are not static issues but rather issues involving growth, movement, and the need for change. One important goal is preventing dysfunction, and within a ...