ABSTRACT
Collaboration with teachers, counselors, and principals is the most frequently indicated social contact for therapists, since information from them is critical. They observe the child from a more objective perspective, are trained in working with children at the same developmental stage, and are terribly important figures in the child's life. Often, the therapist can simply ask a parent to get the teacher to write a note or give them a call in order to gather more information about the child's behavior, academic performance, and social skills in the school's setting. This alone is supportive to the teacher who realizes that the child, family, and therapist are working together on problematic areas and that he or she is considered a partner. Phone contact or an on-site visit
to the school allows the therapist to provide specific suggestions, although often times general comments such as "the patient's problems will take time to change and everyone will need to keep working on them together in order for him to turn the corner," can be very supportive and helpful. Remarks about family dynamics, intrapsychic dynamics, and the like may represent a breach of confidentiality that should be carefully considered unless one is certain that the family and child are comfortable with this level of disclosure. Likewise, the therapist must be confident of how this material will be handled and of the importance of sharing. School personnel almost always perceive therapist contact as positive and supportive; they are left realizing that there is a broader team taking responsibility for this child rather than simply the school and parents. Support about changes taking a reasonable period of time and the setting of reasonable expectations are significant interventions and should not be minimized.
