With significant challenges in rural schools such as limited mental health resources, poverty, high visibility, and physical isolation, rural school counselors face a set of unique experiences and challenges. We present an ecological framework to conceptualize the roles, responsibilities, and challenges of rural school counselors and provide…

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are a group of disorders directly caused by prenatal alcohol exposure. This spectrum of disorders cause neurodevelopmental, neurobehavioral, and mental health effects. The consequences of prenatal alcohol exposure are permanent, leaving children and adults with behavioral and learning difficulties throughout…

There is probably no more difficult aspect of school-based mental health practice than navigating assessment, prevention, and postvention related to youth suicide. Although many schools follow best practices and respond appropriately, there are important lessons to be learned from cases that resulted in litigation. This article reviews key cases…

This article discusses a three-phase model aimed at obtaining vocal speech with students who display selective mutism at school. The three phases discussed include: (1) establishing reinforcer influence; (2) enhancing motivation to speak; and (3) generalize to nontherapy settings. The utilization of this approach to get speech to occur and…

Cyberbullying has become a well-documented problem plaguing the mental health and safety of teenagers in schools. An examination of the literature that includes other complex social/emotional issues provides a framework for more effective cyberbullying prevention and intervention strategies. This article examines current research, highlights…

This article serves as the first in a series addressing comprehensive suicide prevention programming in the school context. Suicide is currently the second leading cause of death for 10- to 24-year-olds in the United States. As schools are a place where the majority of youth spend a significant amount of time, it follows that they are a natural…

Every year brings new research studies that aim to describe early childhood development. Despite this boom in research, there has been little useful translation of these studies into clear recommendations for educators and mental health practitioners. This book shows experienced educators and mental health practitioners who work with young…

Most research on positive psychology interventions (PPIs) has involved young adults and adolescents, but not young children. O'Grady (2013) suggested some conceptually promising pedagogical strategies that teachers can use to integrate PPI into the elementary school classroom. These general ideas include: (1) teaching the language of emotions and…

Anxiety is one of the most pervasive mental health concerns affecting students, yet a significant number of students with anxiety disorders remain underserved. If left untreated, anxiety can hinder students' personal/social, academic, and career development. The purpose of this article is to provide professional school counselors with helpful…

Though schools have become the default mental health providers for children and adolescents, they are poorly equipped to meet the mental health needs of their students. "Evidence-Based Practice in School Mental Health" differs from other books that address child and adolescent psychopathology by focusing on how to help students with…

Three-quarters of the world come from collectivistic group-oriented cultures. As the world becomes more globalized it is inevitable that group counseling will be a major choice of healing and psychological intervention internationally. However, a review of scholarly articles from "The Journal for Specialists in Group Work" and…

The social justice issue of human sex trafficking is a global form of oppression that places men, women and children at risk for sexual exploitation. Although a body of research exists on the topics of human trafficking, literature specific to the mental health implications for counselors working with this population is limited. Counselors should…

Suicide remains the third leading cause of death among young people in the United States. Considering that youth who contemplate suicide generally exhibit warning signs before engaging in lethal self-harm, school-based mental health professionals can play a vital role in identifying students who are at risk for suicidal behavior. Nevertheless, the…

Rehabilitation counseling must embrace an evidence-based practice paradigm to remain a vital and respected member of the future community of professions in rehabilitation and mental health care and to fully discharge its responsibility to assist consumers in accessing effective rehabilitation interventions and exercising truly informed choice. The…

This article surveys the past, present, and future trends of counseling in China. Historically, mental health problems were addressed within the family. Currently, psychotherapy from trained practitioners is available on a limited basis, at least in urban settings. The challenge of mental health in China is tremendous, and the efforts to meet that…