Voices in the Wilderness: Counselling Gifted Students in a Swedish Egalitarian Setting

Abstract

An egalitarian setting; that is, a setting established on an ideological and cultural basis, in which individual differences traditionally is a sensitive and often problematic issue, the counseling of gifted individuals present a particular problem. Sweden provides the setting in which the current study was carried out. This qualitative case study focuses on how one highly gifted individual-a 27-year old male-has experienced his school years and university training and how successful counselling for him was construed. The case is argued to be fairly typical, and it is also suggested that Received Mentorship might be the only way to counsel a gifted individual in a forbidding egalitarian setting. The article concludes by proposing a number of recommendations for Counselors who work in similar settings.

Psychosocial Experiences and Adjustment Among Adult Swedes With Superior General Mental Ability

“…As one respondent puts it, “You can get support if you don’t quite perform, but if you do more, you are expected to tone it down.” The children at the high end of the spectrum may therefore be left to themselves, without adequate recognition of their needs, indeed without even knowing “what’s wrong.” School experiences as well as society’s egalitarianism may have implications for development, adjustment, and view of self up into adulthood. Persson (2005) argued that in Sweden, the common view is that high-functioning cognitive abilities are best hidden and require no special attention. Thus, it seems that the advantages of high abilities are not recognized, while the potentially stressing social disadvantages, such as feeling different, not being accepted, and not fitting in, are left unmanaged.…”

“…School experiences as well as society's egalitarianism may have implications for development, adjustment, and view of self up into adulthood. Persson (2005) argued that in Sweden, the common view is that high-functioning cognitive abilities are best hidden and require no special attention. Thus, it seems that the advantages of high abilities are not recognized, while the potentially stressing social disadvantages, such as feeling different, not being accepted, and not fitting in, are left unmanaged.…”

Counseling gifted children and teens.

“…With qualitative methods, Hébert and Olenchak (2000) examined the mentorship experiences of three students and found that an open-minded, nonjudgmental, strengths-focused mentor could help underachievers regardless of the their age or circumstances. Persson's (2005) qualitative case study in Sweden was focused on "received mentorship" to provide counseling support for gifted individuals in an egalitarian setting that did not emphasize individual differences.…”

The Unwanted Gifted and Talented: A Sociobiological Perspective of the Societal Functions of Giftedness

“…Bjorn, Swedish, now in his mid-30s, was also plagued by teachers and school and received no stimulation at all during his school years (a full case study has been done on Bjorn, see Persson, 2005). In fact, it went so far that he decided to "limit his own capacity to think and reason" by sniffing a harmful solvent, which he argued would damage his brain only "a little".…”