Schools can be the optimal place for the coordination of the efforts of educators, families and mental health professionals to ensure that every child learns in a safe, healthy and supportive environment. Mental health services are an important resource that schools provide to help students benefit from education. By removing social/emotional…

The suggestions in these booklets are designed to help youth professionals who help children and adolescents with problems, but who have little time. Volume 1 contains answers for helping children and youth deal with apathy, attention deficit disorders, noncompliance, poor motivation, anger problems, and avoiding teen pregnancy. The chapters are:…

A number of school districts have set up employee assistance programs (EAP) that offer help for employees having personal or family problems that affect their job performance. Guidelines for establishing an EAP are offered. (MLF)

Factors considered include physical health, life satisfaction, and adolescent development and behavior in the handicapped. Some behaviors and symptoms to help practitioners recognize depression and suicide potential in the handicapped are presented along with several steps to take if depression is suspected. Also considered is suicide prevention.…

This article reviews techniques such as bibliotherapy, positive self-talk, and self-concept activities useful in suicide prevention curricula for gifted students. A guidance program designed for the social and emotional needs of the gifted student is proposed, covering such issues as perfectionism, societal expectations, and premature or…

Outlines components of fear in outdoor adventure activities. Reports ratings by 311 Outward Bound students of 23 common fears in the outdoors. Discusses techniques of fear reduction therapy: systematic desensitization, flooding, modeling of coping methods by instructors, and rehearsal of adaptive behaviors. Contains 16 references. (SV)

Presents strategies to help teachers cope with personal tragedy. The workplace offers a valuable social network for sharing with colleagues, administrators, and students. Teachers may find the constant schoolday demands leave little time for worry. Specific coping strategies include asking for help, temporarily changing the curriculum, and…

A study of 136 graduate social work students found that burnout (strain) was significantly related to each of 3 stress indicators and 2 outcome measures (intention to quit school and physical and psychological symptoms). Direct stress-to-outcome relationship was nonsignificant. Evidence of a buffering influence of social support was limited. (MSE)

This article describes concepts underlying the idea of the "family as a system"; compares and contrasts four approaches to family therapy (those of Virginia Satir, Jay Haley, Murray Bowen, and Salvador Minuchin); and offers suggestions to teachers referring parents for family counseling. (DB)

This article on gifted children who have dyslexia or are at risk for school failure focuses on (1) effective individual and group discussion and counseling formats for school settings; and (2) the integration of all services into individualized programs for these children. (DB)

This article considers the pedagogical theory of constructivism in the integration of curricular content areas and the infusion of the arts in the context of the recent terrorist attacks. It uses products created by third-grade students to illustrate how drawing and discussion can be used as precursors to narrative composition. (Contains…

This guide for crisis debriefing teams (CDTs) in the Aurora public schools (APS) in Colorado is intended to provide immediate guidelines for schools to access trained support to deal with crises (such as serious injury or death) that can affect school communities. It is intended for use by counselors, psychologists, nurses, social workers, and…

Second in a two-part report on a 1982 study by the staff of the Education and Work program at Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL), this issue presents the complete findings from case studies of 44 unemployed men and women. In order to determine how unemployment affects people, NWREL's study identified and explored the following four…

School-based, social problem-solving (SPS) training offers promise both for the prevention and remediation of social maladjustment of disabled children, with emphasis placed on social competence, social skills, and social problem-solving. Strategies for maximizing SPS skills acquisition include repetition, modeling, and role-playing. (CB)

Provides a rationale for using bibliotherapy, then examines the proper way to administer it. (FL)