School Counseling Guide

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is becoming more widely known in schools, and the rate of diagnosed children is increasing. School counselors must stay up to date on latest research about medication, resources for parents and teachers, and techniques that have proven to be effective when working with students. Current research shows that few counselors feel adequately trained and are unaware of their roles when approaching issues such as school policies, medication, and treatment plans for students with ADHD. In many schools the school psychologist is looked to for this type of support, however school personnel and polices vary, and now more than ever counselors must be well versed and trained in this area.

In a study completed by Ann Bauer, “School counselors and psychotropic medication: assessing training, experience and school policy issues” Bauer concluded several key issues school counselors are concerned with. First, she identified that schools have different policies about dispensing medication. School counselors were found to be the next alternative to the school nurse when dispensing medication. The school secretary, principal, classroom teacher and even the attendance officer were also identified as individuals who dispense psychotropic drugs to children in schools. To meet the needs of school counselors, Bauer made several recommendations. She recommends coursework which includes children’s diagnosis and pharmacology at the master’s level, advocating for services from trained school nurses to provide services to students, and exploring curriculum and methods from professional organizations such as the American Psychological Association (APA) and the American School Counseling Association (ASCA) (Bauer, 2004, 9).

One example of a curriculum method is the REBT group counseling method designed by Linda Webb. This intervention is completed in 6 sessions. Each session is designed to help students become more self aware of their behaviors, take charge of their attention, recognize challenges and identify support sources at school. During the six sessions, students are exposed to a variety of structured learning experiences and are asked to reflect on their feelings and actions (Webb 2003). Webb asked students and teachers to complete a School Success Inventory (SSI) as a means to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. Results from the self-reporting and teacher rated SSI showed that students with ADHD improved in their success at school.

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