This article advocates for the collaboration of counseling psychologists with school counselors, other educators, and mental health professionals to enhance the career development of the nation’s children and youth. Drawing from the theory of developmental-contextualism, the authors describe how school-to-work programming in schools can be effectively designed to prepare youth to transition from school to work to life. They describe two collaborative school-based programs that build on counseling psychology’s commitment to integrative, theory-based interventions and to rigorous evaluation methods. The two programs presented, Achieving Success Identity Pathways (ASIP) and Tools for Tomorrow, were designed to enhance youth’s motivation for academic success and vocational development. A number of implications for training and research are described.
An Occupational Therapy program based on the Sensory Integrative approach was conducted with 6 profoundly retarded adult clients in a facility for the mentally retarded, Results indicated that significant gains were demonstrated by clients in the special program group in the areas of visual tracking and focusing (P ≤.05). balance, protective and righting reflexes (P ≤.01), body awareness (P≤.05). fine motor and formative concepts (P≤.05), acceptance of vestibular stimulation (P≤.05) and in social interaction (P≤.05). Results for the control group, who were not involved in any alternative program showed no significant gains in any of these areas. This approach to programming is particularly useful as it enables the therapist to structure the initial program at a very low functional level and to maintain the activity demands at the appropriate level for each client, accomodating for day to day fluctuation in his/her coping abilties.
It is essential that the quality of residential services is monitored, both to identify service deterioration and to improve service quality. Current models of community services have produced fragmentation among service providers, and a separation of purchasers and providers. These different groups need to work together to share a vision and a model of good practice. Participation in the auditing of each other's services, and a focus from commissioners on being supportive rather than punitive, assist in this. Audit also enables a view of the strategic challenges which face services to be developed. These challenges include ensuring that staff are skilled in supporting clients to live as ordinary a life as possible, as well as meeting any additional complex needs they may have.
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