This article focuses on gun violence in the school setting and the role of the counselor in helping to reduce gun violence. Gun violence in schools has become pervasive for many reasons, including lack of adequate support staff, undiagnosed mental health issues, students who experience isolation, anger, depression, bullying, as well as access to…

Children and adolescents who experience parental incarceration are faced with significant challenges. Additionally, parental incarceration disproportionally affects African American families and families in urban settings. Due to institutional, economic, and social barriers, access to community mental health services for these affected children…

Latinx adolescents may begin middle school with lower levels of life satisfaction and hope. In the current study, we implemented a small-series (N = 4) single-case research design to evaluate the impact of a group counseling wellness experience to increase Latinx adolescents' life satisfaction and hope. Analysis of participants' scores on outcome…

School counselors are encouraged to employ evidence-based practices to meet students' mental health needs, yet a scarcity of outcome research limits their access to adequately supported prevention and intervention resources (Griffith et al., 2019). To maximize their impact and time, school counselors should consider conducting group counseling…

School-family-community partnerships are associated with positive educational outcomes for students and families. However, there are limited interventions available to assist school counselors in building effective school-family-community relationships with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender parents/guardians and their children. This article…

This randomized controlled trial examines the effectiveness of a motivational interviewing (MI) group on the academic motivation of students at an alternative school (N = 43). Findings demonstrated that MI groups are effective in increasing extrinsic motivation, whereas both the waiting list control and study skills comparison group did not…

The American School Counselor Association (ASCA, 2012) has identified one of the ways elementary school counselors can assist students to become successful in school is to offer small group counseling through the responsive services delivery system. Expressive arts, such as creating mandalas, provide a non-threatening approach for school…

School counselors' training and clinical competencies for providing mental health counseling continues to be a point of debate regarding professional roles and identities. This study focuses on the eight counseling core competencies as defined by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). The research…

Unrecognized grief (also called disenfranchised grief) is an emotion experienced when a loss is not socially supported, mourned, or acknowledged (Doka, 1989). Elementary students often experience unrecognized grief when relationships with friends, family, teachers, support professionals, and pets change or end. While these developments are often a…

While differences of opinion exist on whether mental health services fall within the scope of public education, schools may represent the best opportunity to provide young people with necessary access to mental health care. Professional school counselors are uniquely qualified by training and experience to address the mental health and social…

Latina/o adolescents may begin middle school with lower levels of life satisfaction, hope, and self-compassion. In the current study, a small-series (N = 5) single-case research design was implemented to evaluate the impact of a positive psychology group counseling experience to increase Latina/o adolescents' life satisfaction, hope, and…

Multicultural education is an educational approach designed to ensure equal educational opportunities for all students, including those in marginalized groups. This approach has historically been directed towards teachers, but school counselors have the appropriate training and skills to lead multicultural education efforts, as well. In this…

Children living in poverty face challenges progressing through the educational system prepared adequately for college and/or career (ACT, 2015; Newell, 2013). With momentum gained through national movements, such as the First Lady Michele Obama's 2014 Reach Higher initiative, and state initiatives on college and career readiness, a call has been…

General education, middle school students' experience and outcomes related to their participation in adventure based counseling (ABC) were investigated through the use of qualitative research case study design. Research questions examine what students expect, experience, and perceive as the impact of an adventure based intervention. Analysis of…

While literature abounds on the experience of the adolescent in the "coming out" process and the impact that the event has on the family system, few interventions that are designed specifically to assist parents have been proposed. Parents of lesbian, gay, and bisexual adolescents face challenges that they may never have anticipated and,…