Clinical and Mental Health Issues in Counseling the Gifted Individual

Abstract

Research over the past several decades has identified several unique characteristics and experiences of gifted individuals that have implications for counselors. This article describes internal and external factors that contribute to gifted individuals' nonnormal lived experience and that may require counselors' specific attention to work effectively with gifted clients on clinical and mental health issues. These factors are applied to 4 issues: unhealthy perfectionism, anxiety, depression, and suicidality.

Counseling Gifted Students: School-Based Considerations and Strategies

“…First, counselors must be cognizant that the social, emotional, or developmental needs of gifted students may be overlooked by others, especially if that student is performing well academically (Aljughaiman & Tan, 2008). Second, a student's giftedness may interact with other risk factors and impact how students experience events or challenges (Cross & Cross, 2015). Giftedness in and of itself does not cause problems or distress in students, but understanding a student's giftedness can help a counselor to best understand that student's challenges and how to support them in overcoming them.…”

“…Risks and challenges found in gifted students include stress, anxiety, social difficulties, social isolation, and depression (Bakar & Ishak, 2014;Cross & Cross, 2015;Fisher & Kennedy, 2016;Levy & Plucker, 2008). Gifted students are also at risk for underachievement, which is hypothesized to be due to social or emotional factors, or a lack of challenge, support, motivation, or engagement (Reis & Renzulli, 2009).…”

“…However, small adjustments may need to be made as students' needs and development are accounted for (Cross & Cross, 2015;Fisher & Kennedy, 2016), both when evaluating needs and determining areas for support, as well as in how counseling techniques are implemented. In other words, all qualified counselors already possess the core knowledge needed to work effectively with this population, but they might need to adjust their perspective and approach slightly to be most effective with gifted students.…”

“…Perfectionism is not unique to gifted individuals (Cross & Cross, 2015), but perfectionism has been a focus of research in gifted learners (Wang, Fu, & Rice, 2012). Perfectionism can be healthy or dysfunctional (Levy & Plucker, 2008;Reis & Renzulli, 2004;Rice, Leever, Christpoher, & Porter, 2006;Wang, Fu, & Rice, 2012), although the majority of the literature exploring perfectionism and gifted students focuses on dysfunctional perfectionism.…”

“…Other dimensions of diversity that impact a student's social, academic, and identity development include race, gender, socioeconomic status, and sexual orientation. As with each of these factors, a student's giftedness is a part of their identity, and a counselor should consider how a student's skills, talents, or abilities may be interacting with other factors in their life when evaluating problem situations or forming treatment plans (Cross & Cross, 2015). With the potential impact and interaction effects of giftedness in mind, counselors can tailor their treatment approaches to best meet the needs of this population of students (Fisher & Kennedy, 2016).…”