A Negative View Toward Therapeutic Counseling In The Public Schools*

Abstract

The purposes of this article are to: 1)summarize the role and status of the high school counselor, 2 ) summarize some viewpoints towards counseling and psychotherapy, 3 ) draw some conclusions based upon 1 and 2, and 4 ) state a position for future discussion and development. By means of this laborious route the position will be advanced that: 1) The high school counselor is ill equipped to be a therapist; 2 ) The therapist role is not expected of him; 3 ) There is a distinction, not clear cut but understandable, between counseling and psychotherapy; 4 ) Counseling is an activity which should not arouse defensive reactions; and 5) We should be concerned with the optimum development of high school counseling and not confuse the task with the problems of therapy or counseling psychology.

From discipline to responsibility training: A humanistic orientation for the school

“…If geographically feasible, the student once again is given the option t o return to school on a parttime basis with the understanding that when his behavior improves he can be r e-admi tt ed . Moore (1960) concludes that school for some students can be deleterious because there are no community resources. "The school should be the most active campaigner for other community services for children, ranging from foster homes and clinics to psychiatric hospitals and detention facilities dedicated to rehabilitation."…”

Role theory, role conflict, and counseling: A conceptual framework.

“…"Whither counseling psychology?" This question, raised perenially by psychologists concerned with counseling implies a host of complex problems related to the role of the counselor (Adkins, Bentley, Langland, & Wrenn, 1963;Bixler, 1963;Moore, 1961;Thompson & Super, 1964;Wrenn, 1962Wrenn, , 1963. Among the issues mentioned most frequently are the role a counselor should play with a client, the most appropriate training for a counselor, and the difficulties of maintaining effective counseling in a school system designed primarily for the transmission of knowledge.…”

Psychobehavioral Therapy in the Schools: Implications for Counselor Education

“…contradicts certain admittedly negative views toward therapeutic counseling in the schools. For example, Moore (1961) took the position that secondary school counselors are ill-equipped to do therapy, that the role of the school counselor does not require therapeutic services, and that there is a diffusion of views on "counseling" which negates placing the counselor unquestionably in a therapeutic role. Moore concluded that counseling "need not be construed or defined as therapy."…”