School and family counselors work together to reduce fighting at school

Professional School Counseling, Oct, 2004 by Brian S. Canfield, Mary B. Ballard, Bonnie C. Osmon, Cecil McCune

To address the problem of fighting in four urban middle schools, school and family counselors collaborated to provide school-based multifamily counseling as an alternative to the mandatory 3-day external suspension program. Supported by district leaders and local school principals, the program was successful in reducing fighting recidivism rates. This article provides an overview of program organization and implementation, along with the achieved outcomes.

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The role of the school counselor in providing violence prevention and intervention programs has received a tremendous amount of attention in the counseling literature over the past several years (e.g., Riley & McDaniel, 2000; Sandhu, 2000). In 1999, the American School Counseling Association (ASCA) developed a position statement for counseling students at-risk. Included in ASCA's definition of at-risk were students "exhibiting behaviors that may be harmful to self and/or others" (Para. 2). A primary role of the school counselor was to "identify. and intervene before they (the students) move through a continuum of self-destructive behavior" (Par. 3). Among ASCA's suggested interventions were responsive programs that included short-term individual, group, and family counseling.

Looking for ideas beyond zero tolerance policies, metal detectors, and security guards, administrators in many school districts have turned to school counselors for leadership and guidance. One example occurred in a northern Louisiana school district as area administrators noticed an increase in the number of fighting incidents occurring in their schools. After a series of meetings to get acquainted, brain storm, and plan, school officials decided that a district-wide program was needed to address the personal and social concerns of the fighting students and their families. By the time the planning phase had ended, a school-based, multifamily counseling program, involving family counselors from the community, was born. Administrators, teachers, and counselors were enthusiastically hopeful that the inclusion of the family in the intervention process would aid in the reduction of fighting incidents at school. The purpose of this report is to document the program that was implemented, describe the outcomes, and encourage other school counselors to consider the value of utilizing school-based family counseling.

The concept of including school-based family counseling as a direct component of the school counselor's program will require a paradigm shift for most. Family counseling has never been a traditional role and function of the school counselor and has only recently received attention in the professional literature as a vital, school-based service (Davis, 2001; Fine, 1992; Fine & Carlson, 1992; Hinkle, 1993; Hinkle & Wells, 1995; Mince, 2001). However, research has provided much evidence supporting the effectiveness of including school-based family counseling interventions to address a variety of school-related problems, including fighting at school (Caffery, Erdman, & Cook, 2000; Evans & Carter, 1997; Sayger, Home, & Glasser, 1993). The Caffery et al. study reported positive changes in student behavior when a university counseling center teamed with the local school district to provide family counseling. Evans and Carter discussed the benefits one public school system received after developing a collaborative relationship with a local university's counselor education program. Through the university-based program, master's level interns in a school-based family counseling training program were placed in area K-12 schools. Reports of improved classroom behavior, academic achievement, and attendance soon followed. Lastly, the facilitation of a school-based multifamily social learning program was successful in reducing the aggressive behavior of elementary school boys (Sayger et al.). These examples only highlight the value of school-based family counseling.

Few school counselors would deny the benefits of working with a family versus the individual student when addressing school-related problems. However, many school counselor education programs provide extensive courses or clinical experiences in systems theory and practice, leaving many school counselors feeling unprepared to conduct family counseling (Hinkle & Wells, 1995; Kraus, 1998). A lack of administrative support has also made the inclusion of family counseling in K-12 programs very difficult (Davis, 2001; Doerries & Foster, 2001; Evans & Carter, 1997; Hinkle & Wells; Kraus; Mince, 2001; Rotter & Boveja, 1999; Sayger, 1996). Furthermore, the academic, career, and administrative counseling responsibilities of many school counselors often monopolize their schedules, leaving little if any time for individual or family counseling (Ballard & Murgatroyd, 1999; Caffery et al, 2000; Evans & Carter; Nicoll, 1992).

Alternatives have been proposed for meeting the immediate school-based family counseling needs of students and their families when the school counselor is unable to do so directly. Several authors (e.g., King, Randolph, McKay, & Bartell, 1995; Mince, 2001) have advocated for the creation of new family specialist positions within the school system. Others have presented studies describing the effectiveness of utilizing outside agencies such as university counseling centers and counselor education program interns (Caffery et al., 2000; Evans & Carter, 1997). Regardless of who provides school-based family or multifamily counseling services, important evidence suggests that family counseling can be essential when assisting students with school-related problems (Becvar, Canfield, Becvar, 1997; Doerries & Foster, 2001; Kraus, 1998). A prerequisite to providing school-based family or multifamily counseling is a thorough knowledge of systemic thinking and systems interventions. Therefore, school counselors who find themselves unable to facilitate these services directly should pursue the necessary partnerships that would provide for school-based family counseling as part of their school counseling programs.