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The mental health field contains many professionals with various orientations and

approaches to helping those in distress. According to Erford (2018), “Many of the theories and

techniques professional counselors use to help clients and students meet personal, social, career,

and academic counseling goals are the same as those used by psychologists” (p. 6). While the

professions overlap and have some similarities, there are often many differences in how they

conceptualize client issues and formulate treatment interventions. Johnny is a 16-year-old male

presenting with his mother due to his angry outbursts at school, failing grades, disrespect to

adults, alcohol use, and trouble with the law. School Counselors, Social Workers, and

Psychiatrists would all view Johnny’s case differently.

Since Johnny is a 16-year-old male, a high school counselor would be engaged. Erford

(2018) states, “high school counselors need to be sensitive and responsive to adolescents as these

teenagers create a sense of identity, which may involve students trying to understand their place

in the social context and experimenting with new behaviors” (p. 283). Johnny’s behaviors would

be viewed with these facts in mind. His counselor would not long-term therapy but would

instead provide short-term counseling services to Johnny. The high school counselor would also

work in collaboration with the key stakeholders in Johnny’s life. The key stakeholders would

include Johnny, his mother, Johnny’s teachers, administrators, and any willing adults from the

community that may have witnessed or experienced Johnny’s outbursts and disrespect. The

counselor may want to meet with Johnny’s mother to discuss her concerns and gain more

information regarding Johnny’s outbursts, disrespect to adults, and his issues with the law. The

counselor would empower Johnny’s mother to take an active role is Johnny’s academic and

personal success, and as a result, the counselor may refer the mother to community programs

focused on at-risk teenagers. This could include things such as mentoring programs or family
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counseling sessions. The counselor would also want to meet directly with Johnny to discuss

causes for Johnny’s failing grades, his anger issues, and his persistent trouble with the law.

Because time is limited, the high school counselor may employ Solution-focused brief

counseling (SFBC). According to Sobhy and May (2010), “SFBC is a postmodern therapeutic

system which focuses on helping clients create solutions in a straight-forward manner within a

limited amount of time” (p. 1). The counselor would focus on finding solutions to help Johnny

improve his grades, deal with his substance abuse issues, and control his attitude and other

negative emotional behaviors. More time would be dedicated to working towards wellness and

empowering Johnny to reach his full potential in his current state, as opposed to focusing on past

events and developing a pathological understanding. Additionally, the high school counselor

would want to work with Johnny’s teachers and the administrators of the school, to develop a

collaborative strategy to improve Johnny’s academic success and behavior.

A licensed social worker’s view of Johnny’s case may be similar to the high school

counselor’s view, mainly since both professionals focus on advocating for their client and

finding appropriate resources. Per Erford (2018), “the training of social workers focuses more

heavily on identifying systemic barriers to client success and identifying and accessing resources

that will help clients overcome those barriers” (p. 6). Like school counselors, school social

workers also take a collaborative approach. They tend to act as a go-between of sorts, providing

services to students, parents in the home environment, and teachers in the school system.

According to The College of St. Scholastica (2017), school social workers “are trained not only

in intervention strategies, but also in identifying the source of behavioral conflicts in students.

They help staff and parents better understand the risk factors that may lead students down the
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road of substance abuse.” With their unique training and skillsets, the school social workers

would be alcohol use and educate all impacted parties on additional resources for Johnny.

The child and adolescent psychiatrist would view Johnny’s case differently than both the

school counselor and the school social worker. Both school counselors and social workers

utilize the wellness model, focusing on the here and now, improving quality of life, and

collaborating with the client to set goals for change that lead to success (Erford, 2018).

Psychiatrists use the medical model, and therapy would involve a long-term commitment.

According to Erford (2018), “the goal of psychotherapy is to alleviate sickness, with the therapist

as the expert using information about the client’s past to provide insight into thoughts previously

kept out of awareness” (p. 4). The psychiatrist would use knowledge of Johnny’s biological,

psychological, and social factors in order to make a diagnosis and develop a treatment plan

(AACAP, 2015). Unlike school counselors and school social workers, psychiatrists are

medically trained. The psychiatrist on Johnny’s case may take an integrated approach to therapy.

According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (2015), this approach

“may involve individual, group or family psychotherapy; medication; and/or consultation with

other physicians or professionals from schools, juvenile courts, social agencies or other

community organizations.”

School counselors, school social workers, and child and adolescent psychiatrists would

hold different views on Johnny’s case and have different approaches to therapy. School

counselors and school social workers would use counseling, focusing on the wellness model,

short-term counseling sessions, collaborative efforts, and referring Johnny and his mom to

external resources. The child and adolescent psychiatrist would use psychotherapy, focusing on

the medical model and a long-term commitment to therapy and possibly use medication as a
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form of treatment. All three professionals would act as advocates and do what was in the best

interest for Johnny and his mom.

References

AACAP. (2015, October). Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists. Retrieved from

Erford, B. (2018). Orientation to the Counseling Profession. New York: Pearson.

Sobhy, M., & Cavallaro, M. (2010). Solution-focused brief counseling in schools: Theoretical
perspectives and case application to an elementary school student. Retrieved from
http://counselingoutfitters.com/vistas/vistas10/Article_81.pdf

T. C. of S. S. (2017, July 24). Can social workers impact teen substance abuse? Hear about the
caretakers on the frontlines. Retrieved from http://www.css.edu/the-sentinel-blog/can-social-
workers-impact-teen-substance-abuse-hear-about-the-caretakers-on-the-frontlines.html