ABSTRACT
Children and adolescents can be left out of the theories classes, which is an issue raised by many in Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Education Programs programs. This chapter focuses on those theories. Theories that are especially helpful when working with children and adolescents include Adlerian, solution-focused brief counseling, rational emotive behavior therapy, group counseling, child-centered counseling, narrative counseling, gestalt, reality and choice therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy. The chapter outlines cognitive and behavioral strategies used in counseling children and adolescents. One way of understanding the child’s or adolescent’s constructed reality, and in which a path to intervention unfolds, is through observation. Often described as the Hawthorne Effect, merely observing a phenomenon yields power to make changes. Counselors model in session by merely reflecting on an observation during a session. One of the important aspects of working with adolescents is developing a “real” therapeutic relationship.
