Guest
Does couseling help? Well as a counselor, I guess I'm a bit biased , but I say absolutely! The key is matching the child & disorder with the right professional (what I like to call goodness of fit). Treating kids like the ones I read about on the board is a specialty (like heart surgery); not everybody (therapist) can work effectively with these guys.
Working with kids with severe emotional/behavior disorders(and their families)is as much an art as it is a science. To me it's like learning to play the blues; you can only get so much from academia, you have to get out and pay your dues. You've got to want to be better than good.
Unfortinately, like in many professions, there are alot of mediocre individuals in the counseling field. So how does one make a choice? I encourage parents to shop around as they would for any other important investment. I try to encourage parents to talk to other parents for referals; go to support group meetings for parents who have children who may have some of the same struggles, find out what professionals have worked for them. The two factors I suggest parents look for are Character and Competence. Does this person have a Character(personality) that is compatible with the child and secondly do they have the Competence (the skills) to help with the disorder at hand.
As for kids with specific neurological differences such as Aspergers, I think counseling can also be effective. With tools such as social stories or helping the child feel a sense of competence over the disorder, these are two ways I think counseling can be helpful.
My personal opinion has always been that therapy (especially with behavior disorders ) should be directed, ie the therapist knows where he/she is trying to go with a client and how they plan to get there. I learned in graduate that this is somewhat of a cultural bias on my part in that African Americans (like myself), tend to prefer directed counseling as opposed to the more traditional non-directional approach. Bias or not, a directed approach has really been helpful to me in working with tough behaviors.
While I was sad to read some of the negative feedback on counseling, I am really glad that muttmeister posed the question.
Working with kids with severe emotional/behavior disorders(and their families)is as much an art as it is a science. To me it's like learning to play the blues; you can only get so much from academia, you have to get out and pay your dues. You've got to want to be better than good.
Unfortinately, like in many professions, there are alot of mediocre individuals in the counseling field. So how does one make a choice? I encourage parents to shop around as they would for any other important investment. I try to encourage parents to talk to other parents for referals; go to support group meetings for parents who have children who may have some of the same struggles, find out what professionals have worked for them. The two factors I suggest parents look for are Character and Competence. Does this person have a Character(personality) that is compatible with the child and secondly do they have the Competence (the skills) to help with the disorder at hand.
As for kids with specific neurological differences such as Aspergers, I think counseling can also be effective. With tools such as social stories or helping the child feel a sense of competence over the disorder, these are two ways I think counseling can be helpful.
My personal opinion has always been that therapy (especially with behavior disorders ) should be directed, ie the therapist knows where he/she is trying to go with a client and how they plan to get there. I learned in graduate that this is somewhat of a cultural bias on my part in that African Americans (like myself), tend to prefer directed counseling as opposed to the more traditional non-directional approach. Bias or not, a directed approach has really been helpful to me in working with tough behaviors.
While I was sad to read some of the negative feedback on counseling, I am really glad that muttmeister posed the question.
