Health‐Related School Guidance: Practical Applications in Primary Prevention

Abstract

Health‐related guidance adopting a primary prevention intervention is delineated to present a role model for school counseling.

A five-level model of intervention: School psychology and guidance counseling in Israel.

“…With the rapid development of the psychological education movement, school counselors have become involved with more specific skills training geared to an anticipatory guidance level of intervention. For example, health-related school guidance (Klingman, 1984) embraces anticipatory guidance to prevent the onset of cigarette smoking in youth, as well as to encourage stress management and prepare for specific predicted developmental and situational life-crises. These activities are based on the assumption that nonclients can be taught specific skills to enable them to cope more effectively with anticipated events, for example, with Meichenbaum’s stress inoculation program (Meichenbaum, 1977).…”

Enhancing students' test coping skills: Report of a psychological health education program.

“…Recent trends in school and counseling psychology show that the medical model, traditionally guiding psychological treatment and intervention in the schools, is gradually being replaced by many practitioners with a more comprehensive model of primary prevention and psychological health education (Klingman, 1984; Meichenbaum, 1977; Meyers, Parsons, & Martin, 1979; Zigler, Kagan, & Muenchow, 1982). In direct contrast to secondary and tertiary intervention involving high-risk and affected populations, respectively, increasing emphasis is now being placed on the primary prevention of psychological disorders among student populations.…”

Tertiary intervention: Conceptual framework for school counselor education and practice

“…Health-related issues can be systematically approached through tertiary activities within health-related school guidance (Klingman, 1984a). Target groups include children with chronic illnesses, with invisible disabilities (e.g., diabetes), and those who perceive themselves as sick (i.e., secondary gains).…”

“…Primary prevention focuses on lowering the incidence of mental health problems, secondary prevention on early identification and prompt treatment of problems, and tertiary prevention on reducing the long-term effects of disabilities. While both primary and secondary stages of prevention have been elaborated in the professional literature of school psychology and school guidance and counseling (e.g., Conyne, 1983;Klingman, 1978Klingman, , 1983Klingman, , 1984aKlingman & Ben Eli, 1981;Lewis & Lewis, 1981;Zax & Specter, 1974;Zigler, Kagan & Muenchow, 1982), tertiary prevention as a systematic intervention within the educational system has generally been neglected. Two main reasons cited for such neglect are (a) that this is the most difficult category to understand as prevention and (b) that it is often confused with rehabilitation, a term which is currently in wide use (Goodyear, 1976;Mann, 1978).…”