Developing the whole child: A developmental approach to guidance with the gifted

Abstract

These recommendations assume that good counseling involves all the individuals in the system, not onlybecause those individuals are part of the problem, but also because they are part of the solution. Counselors, if they are to be successful, need help from teachers, parents and others. After all, although counselors have a unique role to play in the gifted program, it is rarely the only role they are asked to play. Finally, guidance and counseling will never be successful as long as they are conceived of as twice a week visits fromthe counselor. To be effective, they must be an integral part of the child’s normal everyday experience. Guidance and counseling services for the gifted should form a core of support for the developing child. This article has suggested how these services might meet the needs of gifted children in particular. The gifted need the help of persons who understand their needs, who take them seriously, and who respect them as they really are. To do less is to develop thought but not feelings, intellect but not emotion. © 1982 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.