problems and placed in special education classes for appropriate treatment. The specific situation is a school district in which students are not provided with appropriate services because there is confusion about the best model to use in working with them. There are two choices available, which can be termed the "counseling" model and the "therapy" model.
The counseling model is more of a short-term approach, focused on solutions for immediate problems that can be instituted from the first session. The emphasis in the counseling model is not on the roots of the problems of the adolescents, but on helping them change the behaviors that are causing them trouble in school and disrupting the classroom experience for all students. On the other hand, the therapy approach is more of a long-term option aiming to understand the roots of the problems of the adolescents, with treatment addressing that.
In this review, the intention is to explore some of the different options and programs that have been used in the public schools in working with children with behavioral or emotional handicapping conditions. Oftentimes, the model in use is some combination of the counseling and therapy approaches, or a counseling model based on principles from some psychotherapy theory or modality. Nonetheless, it is helpful to look at the various ways in which the public schools have sought to address the needs of these children.
There seem to be two typical scenarios in terms of school mental health services. In one of these, which is the more common, schools offer assessment, minimal treatment, and counseling for children placed in special education, while limiting counseling services and providing more academic guidance for children in regular education (Flaherty, Weist and Warner, 1996).
The other scenario involves an enriched model that generally depends upon partnership with one or more community agencies. This is the expanded schoo...