Graduate Studies

A new trend is emerging in education that recognizes the need to provide gifted students with special counseling services. Due to their unique nature, gifted students may need more help than their regular classmates with a variety of stressors such awareness of abilities, frustration, social and family issues. Leta Hollingworth, a leading advocate for counseling gifted students, has worked successfully at dispelling the common myth that gifted students are always well-adjusted and successful. Her work has been instrumental in promoting the mental health needs of gifted students. Traditionally the number of gifted students receiving special counseling for their abilities has been rather low, but as educators and counselors become more aware of the social and emotional needs of gifted students, additional supports are being created and implemented to ensure success for these exceptional students.

As a future gifted educator, my goal is to provide my students with a high quality educational experience. To achieve this goal, I have to be both more aware of and responsive to the social and emotional needs of gifted students. Fortunately I am not alone in this line of thought; within the last decade the number of counseling services available for gifted students has increased. I believe that the integration of counseling services into gifted education is a valuable means of helping students recognize and address problems stemming from or exacerbated by their giftedness. I welcome this exciting new trend as a positive change in both the fields of mental health and gifted education because it focuses on the many needs of the gifted student, not just the need for intellectual stimulation—it is a more organic approach to education.

This case study focuses on Eva, a 10-year-old, white, female 5th grader, who is currently receiving both gifted and counseling services within her school environment. Eva entered the PLUS (gifted) program at the beginning of 3rd grade; at the end of 3rd grade she began receiving counseling services. My research on Eva was guided by the following four questions: (1) what problems is she having? (2) How do these problems relate to her giftedness? (3) What types of counseling services and support is she receiving? And (4) how does she perceive the effectiveness of these counseling services? The presentation of the findings will be divided into five main sections as follows:

I. Eva and her family situation
A. Personal Characteristics
B. Home life
C. Parents and Guardians
D. Conclusion
II. Eva and academics
A. The PLUS program
B. Personal aspirations and achievements
C. Conclusion
III. Eva and support systems
A. Counseling Services
B. Other support systems
C. Conclusion
IV. Synthesis and analysis of Data
V. Application of findings to Gifted Education

All interviews for this study were conducted at Lion Pride Elementary School, located in Lion Pride, South Carolina. During the course of this study I interviewed Eva’s gifted teacher, Ms. Reynolds, and her school-based therapist/counselor, Ms. Rieger, once each for a period of 45 minutes. I interviewed Eva twice, each time for an hour during school—once in the morning and once in the afternoon. I also briefly met with the school principle, Ms. Calhoun and two of Eva’s regular teachers, Ms. Martin and Ms. Darnell. Before meeting with Eva, I was granted total access to her permanent academic record, which included among other things, all of Eva’s grades and standardized test scores to date. Eva’s mental health chart and medical records were also made available to me with the exception of private notes from therapy sessions. The following information about Eva is a combination of excerpts from the various interviews and her school records.

I. Eva and her family situation

A. Personal Characteristics

Eva is a short, thin girl with long brown hair. At first she seemed shy but willing to answer questions. During our first interview, she asked if she could choose her own pseudonym for the study, and then promptly named herself Eva. During both interviews we sat on the floor in the counselor’s office and she continually played with objects and sand in a small sandbox; she said she was more comfortable speaking to me with her hands occupied. I began by asking Eva to describe herself, at first she was reluctant to do so, and instead of telling me personal characteristics, she told me about things she is good at. When I asked her a second time to describe herself she told me what she liked to do, for example, reading, skating and playing outside. At the third prompt she said she did not know what to say and switched the subject back to things she knew she did well and enjoyed doing.

When Eva was asked to describe things she is good at, she responded first by naming physical activities. She sees herself as being good at sports such as roller-blading, bowling, basketball and baseball. Eva also thinks she is good at dancing and playing the piano since she has been doing both for many years. I asked Eva if she was good at any academic subjects and she responded that she is best in math, good at reading and that she is an excellent speller. She loves to read both in and outside of class. Eva considers herself to be an advanced reader and she is proud of her reading accomplishments. She was eager to discuss her favorite books and authors. When I asked her what she was not so good at, her immediate response was academic; social studies even though her favorite (and gifted) class is social studies. I asked Eva what she liked best about herself and she said, “I don’t know, I guess maybe I’m caring, I really like animals.” Again, Eva seemed reluctant to talk about her strong points outside of academics. When asked what she did not like about herself, Eva described herself in terms of previous behavior problems by saying, “I’m pretty good, I used to be bad, now I’m, I’m good now, I guess.”

B. Home life

Eva was born on May 29, 1991. Her mother, Amy, had been both married and divorced the year before Eva was born. Amy had Eva with one of her boyfriends, Jim, in 1990; they broke up before Eva was born. Amy was 17 when Eva was born and the biological father, Jim, has not been a consistent or positive presence in Eva’s life. Jim is remarried and has two other children whom Eva does not see. Eva and Jim had a major fight in April 2001 and have not spoken or had any contact whatsoever since then. I asked Eva if she would like to speak with her father again and she said, “Not really, he’s mean.”

Between 1991 and 1995 Amy had five boyfriends, all of whom were abusive towards her and Eva. In 1995 Amy married again, this time to Josh, a long-term boyfriend. Eva lived with her mother, Amy, stepfather Josh, and their two children Bethany (age 4) and Sienna (age 2) in Lion Pride, South Carolina, until September of 1998. Before Amy and Josh were married, Eva describes her relationship with Josh as pleasant. After the marriage and especially after the birth of their first child, Josh became both verbally and physically abusive towards Eva. Josh is also verbally abusive towards Amy and shows his biological daughters preferential treatment. Because of tension between Eva and Josh, Eva went to live with her maternal grandmother, grandfather, and uncle; Tonya, James and Josh respectively, (also in Lion Pride) in September of 1998. Eva has lived with her grandmother, whom she calls Nanny, for about three years now. Before moving in with her grandmother, Eva and her mother were constantly fighting. In Eva’s medical chart, Amy describes Eva as verbally abusive (“She calls me stupid.”), defiant and manipulative. Eva was prone to throwing temper tantrums and at times destroying furniture. On a few occasions, Eva made violent threats to her mother and physically harmed her mother and sisters. Amy said that she eventually gives into Eva in order to stop the fighting.

Eva also fights with her stepfather, Josh. The incidents with Josh often escalate into a screaming match with both of them throwing things at each other. Amy usually intervenes and physically separates the two. Josh distinctly dislikes Eva and is both verbally and physically abusive towards her (and her dog). Josh attended one family therapy session at the elementary school and refused to return. During that one session, Josh stated that he “hates Eva because she is manipulative and disobedient.” To date there have not been enough physical implications of abuse to legally remove Eva from her family.

For the last year Eva’s mother and stepfather (Amy and Josh) have been legally separated and dating other people. At the beginning of September 2001, one month before they could legally file for divorce, Josh moved back in with Amy and they have decided to work out their problems.

In August of 2001, Eva’s grandmother contacted Ms. Rieger, the school-based therapist, to discuss placing Eva in a children’s home. Tonya no longer wants to be responsible for Eva and wants her out of her house by December. Amy and Josh do not want Eva to move back in with them either. Unfortunately, the only local children’s home is Christian based and Eva’s family, being Jehovah Witnesses, refuse to let her live there. Unless a placement can be made, Eva will have to move back in with her mother and stepfather and two half-sisters in December 2001.

C. Parents and Guardians

Since Eva’s mother and grandmother have been her primary caregivers, I asked her to describe them in more depth. Amy finished high school shortly after Eva was born and she has never attended any college or university classes. Amy is currently a waitress at Shoney’s Restaurant and has always had a waitressing job. Eva describes her mother as being attentive to her and concerned with her schooling. Eva usually sees her mother everyday during the school week; Amy brings her to school in the morning and picks her up in the afternoon (primarily because she brings her other daughter, Bethany, to the same elementary school for K4 everyday). In the afternoon, Amy spends time going over Eva’s homework until it is time for Josh to be home. At that time she leaves Eva alone at her grandmother’s house. As far as homework and grades are concerned, Eva does not feel like her mother is demanding of her, but she does feel like her mother really encourages her to do well in school and supports her projects. Eva also stated that she got her “smarts” from her mother.

In therapy, Eva has described her mother as crying a lot and being unable to protect her—she does not feel safe with her mother. Amy has a history of quick panic attacks and when Eva has a temper-tantrum, Amy has a panic attack. Since both Eva and Amy become very emotionally charged, it takes a long time to resolve problems when they occur and there is great difficulty with communication between the two. Amy also has a history of the same fears and anxieties that Eva exhibits, i.e., fear of storms (Keraunophobia), strangers (Xenophobia), break-ins (possibly Scelerophobia) and enclosed places (Cleithrophobia). Eva’s fears are primarily learned from her mother. However, Eva’s fear of enclosed places has been reinforced by that fact she has been locked in closets and stairwells. In therapy, Eva also talks about her mother’s relationship problems.

Ms. Rieger, the counselor, describes Eva as being able to “process as well as any adult [she] has ever worked with. She’s very bright. She is even able to process events with her mom and discuss them objectively and rationally and recognize mom’s patterns with her boyfriends and her relationships, specifically patterns of abuse.” Noted in Eva’s chart is that she feels like she has to take care of her mother and help her with her problems. Instead of seeing her relationship with Amy as that of mother-daughter, she sees it more as an equal friend-to-friend relationship. Eva thinks of her grandmother, Tonya, more like a mother. Though she has exhibited some behavioral problems with her grandmother, Eva says it is easier to control herself around Tonya. Eva also believes that her grandmother is better able to take care of and protect her than her mother is. In her chart, Eva stated that her grandmother is “mean” but that they love each other very much. Tonya also spends time going over Eva’s homework with her. Eva feels like Tonya also encourages her to do well in school and to study hard--but that she does not push her. Tonya finished high school but never attended any higher education classes. She has worked as a cleaning lady for several years and raises Chihuahuas as a side business. Eva often accompanies her on weekend jobs and helps her clean; she also helps look after the dogs. Tonya is retiring from the cleaning business and is opening a restaurant with her sister. Eva’s grandmother feels that the restaurant is going to be a big time commitment and has told Eva that she will not have as much time to spend with her anymore. Eva is unaware that her grandmother no longer wants her in the house.

D. Conclusion

Because of the turmoil and unrest Eva has faced in her home life, she has learned to exhibit extreme behaviors in her defense. Eva also responds to the violence she has incurred by reacting in similar ways, i.e., threatening her mother and breaking furniture. Family circumstances have led Eva to manipulate situations as much to her advantage as possible and the fact that her mother eventually gives into her just reinforces Eva’s behaviors.

From speaking with Eva and reading her charts, it is clear that Eva loves her mother, but does not respect her. Eva knows that Amy has made poor decisions concerning her well-being and this knowledge manifests itself in Eva’s fears and feeling that her mother cannot protect her. Though Eva feels that her mother and grandmother support her academically, they clearly do not provide her with enough emotional support. To compensate for this absence, Eva is disobedient and throws fits in order to gain attention and recognition. Though Eva may feel as if she has taken control of the situation at the time, her manipulative ways have served to further alienate her from her family members. Since September of 1998, when Eva moved in with Tonya, both Eva’s relationship with her mother and her behavioral problems has greatly improved as a direct result of her improved living conditions.

II. Eva and Academics

A. The PLUS program

Eva became involved in the PLUS (gifted) program at the beginning of her 3rd grade year. Her mother had received a letter over the summer stating that Eva qualified for the program based on her PACT (Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test) scores; she ranked in the top 99% for her school. Eva remembers being excited about joining the program because she knew that “if you did really good on it (PACT), better than anybody, they picked you to go into a special class.” The first two years Eva did not really enjoy the class because she thought the teacher was mean and there was too much work, she even considered dropping out of the program. However, this academic year the gifted program was restructured and a new gifted teacher hired. Eva decided to remain in the program and is extremely happy that she did.

At Lion Pride Elementary, the gifted program focuses around the social studies curriculum and is now an actual class built into the students’ schedules. Fifth graders meet twice a week (Monday and Wednesday) for two hours at a time. During this time they cover the prescribed elementary social studies curriculum and engage in many related enrichment activities. When I was there, the 5th grade class was discussing ancient civilizations and creating projects to show how information is gathered today about past civilizations. Eva was quite excited by her project and took me to the gifted room to show me her site and to show me posters from previous projects that were still on display. Obviously Eva is extremely proud of her work in the PLUS program.

Ms. Reynolds, Eva’s gifted teacher, had previously shown me the same work and discussed what Eva was like in class. According to Ms. Reynolds, Eva is a very bright, self-motivated student. Compared to other students in the class, Eva is on target with her work and performance. Her lowest grade so far this semester has been a 95. I asked Mrs. Reynolds to describe Eva and she said, “Eva is well organized, a group-project leader, creative and very attentive to detail.” I asked Ms. Reynolds to describe Eva’s demeanor in the classroom and she stated that “Eva is more quiet than the others, a doll baby to teach, and she volunteers to stay after class to help clean. She also comes every Friday during her recess to help straighten the room.” Ms. Reynolds further described Eva in terms of her interactions within the classroom as being a bit introverted, but sociable with her peers.

When I asked Eva to describe the PLUS class as compared to her other classes and she said, “this year it’s fun ‘cause we have a new teacher and we get to do more projects and stuff. They’re fun projects and we have fun doing them.” She also said, “PLUS is kinda a little bit more work, ‘cause you have to think about stuff but then when you do, it’s fun.” Eva said that going to PLUS feels like “getting out of school for two hours. I wish I had social studies for two hours everyday.” Another reason Eva enjoys the PLUS class is because her two best friends are also in the class and they often get to work together on projects. Sometimes these two friends also stay after class or come during recess to help Eva clean and straighten the room.

Since social studies is the only gifted class Eva attends, I asked her if she felt differently in that class than she did in the other non-gifted classes. Eva said that she did not really feel any differently in there but she liked being in the class for a few different reasons; her two best friends are in it and it is a smaller class (9 students) with a longer instruction period (2 hours) with more interesting and creative project work. I asked Eva how she felt being a gifted student in classes with regular students and she said that she didn’t feel any differently in there, but that she had more time to do her homework and did not have to study at home nearly as much as some of the other students. She also said that she was not afraid to ask for help if she did not understand something and that she had noticed many of her classmates would not ask for clarification.

B. Personal Aspirations and Achievements

When speaking with Eva, it is easy to see that she is excited about school and learning. She greatly enjoys reading and she often writes (and illustrates) stories and letters about events in her life. She wrote a book about her experiences this past summer in camp and illustrated her favorite activities. Her chart contains several examples of her stories, poetry and letters she has written both at home and during therapy. Eva stressed that she was very proud of the numerous reading awards she has received during school. It is important for Eva to be ahead of the others in both the quality and quantity of her reading as compared to her classmates. Eva is very concerned with getting good grades and she has set extremely high goals for herself. I asked her to describe her goals:

Well, my goal for math is to get at least a 98 average. And I got a 95 so I’m trying to pull that up right now. And in science, I gotta, my goal is like a 98 ‘cause I’m really good at science and I think I gotta like, 97. Really close to it. And in social studies. I just, I don’t go to social studies as much because I have to go to PLUS, but, I don’t know what average I’m getting ‘cause we don’t do weekly papers but on all my papers I’m getting almost all hundreds and stuff. Then in English I’m doing really good ‘cause we’re studying about like changing the nouns and stuff and that’s easy. And spelling. I’m really good at spelling. I can spell almost every word and so I’m making a 100 in spelling. So that’s my goals. And my goal for reading is to make 30 points every six weeks and I got 30 points this 6 weeks already. Well, this nine weeks ‘cause they changed it. So I got 30 points so far. And that’s all I guess.

I asked her to explain why she wanted at least a 98 average, and she replied:

Well, I wanted to make good grades this year so I could pass and go to the middle school, well I've passed every grade so far, I just wanted to make sure I passed and so I said, well a 98 is close to a 100 and I know I probably can’t make a 100 ‘cause you have to make 100s on everything and that’s really hard and so I said 98s would be easy to make if I make good grades on everything.

I asked Eva if there were any other reasons why she wanted to make such good grades, and she told me that she wants her teachers to be happy and pleased with her, and that she wants to be pleased with herself. She did not mention pleasing her parents.

If Eva does not receive the grade she wants, she asks for bonus questions or project work to make up the difference. So far this initiative has been rewarded and teachers offer her the extra work she requests. She also receives homework coupons by being a good, quiet student who turns in her completed homework and assignments on time.
Eva will be entering 6th grade next year and will therefore be at a different school. I asked her what she was looking forward to in middle school and she told me she was most excited about learning Algebra (and having Coke machines in the school because she is tired of milk). She is also excited that Ms. Reynolds will be her gifted teacher in the middle school and that focus will change from social studies to science.

C. Conclusion

The PLUS programs offers Eva stimulating opportunities for intellectual growth that she would not receive in regular classes. Because Eva is bright, she is able to both successfully complete and enjoy the work, thus boosting her self-confidence and feelings of self-worth. Being in the gifted program offers Eva an even greater chance to shine in the academic environment because it draws attention to her mental abilities and focuses on something she knows she does well.

School has been an ideal place for Eva because she finds security in her academic abilities and she thrives in the caring environment. Eva has learned to successfully navigate the school environment to her fullest advantage; realizing that she can receive the emotional support and intellectual praise she needs from her teachers and counselor if she pleases them (with her exemplary grades and her good behavior). When examining Eva’s personal academic goals, it is clear that she has set high expectations for herself and that she is motivated by her teachers’ praise and attention to work hard at achieving her goals. It is also likely that Eva works so hard in school because she feels in control of her situation, whereas she does not feel much control over her home life.

It was also quite obvious teachers favor Eva, every time I picked her up from or brought her back to class, she immediately went up and hugged the teacher. At the end of each interview, she even hugged me.

III. Eva and support systems

A. Counseling Services

At the end of 3rd grade Eva began receiving counseling services for anger management, depression, dysfunctional family problems, manipulative behaviors, perfectionist tendencies, over-achievement, anxiety and stress. Not all of the issues for which Eva receives treatment are directly related to her giftedness, but many are exacerbated by her ability to process and think at a higher level.

I asked Ms. Rieger, Eva’s counselor, to describe Eva when she first began treatment:
At first, Eva was immediately placed on medication to help with her anxieties and depression. She originally came to me with extreme phobias and fears. A lot of these fears are shared by and learned from her mother. Eva’s medication (Zoloft) has helped to calm her down and ease some of the anxiety. Eva used to not even be able to go into a public restroom toilet and close the door. Her mom would have to stand in front of the door. Now she is able to do that. She used to not be able to go to the bathroom at school, she had a fear of enclosed places, and she had an extreme fear of storms. Eva had a lot of fears regarding strangers, the dark and people trying to come and get her. Teachers came to me and complained that Eva would often look out the classroom window to make sure no one was looking in. Eva would also express concern if storm clouds seemed to be gathering. She was exhibiting signs of borderline paranoia. The medication has helped lower her anxiety level, and it has really helped put her in a better position to deal with her sadness about her family situation.

I asked Ms. Rieger to comment on Eva in terms of issues relating to Eva’s giftedness. Ms. Rieger said that Eva has a high emotional IQ as well as being intellectually gifted. She believes they have been so successful in therapy because Eva is able to understand and discuss her behavior in an objective manner. Ms. Rieger stated that some of the problems Eva is having are strongly related to her gifted nature, such as her manipulative behaviors, perfectionist tendencies and her need for over-achievement. Ms. Rieger also said that Eva has needed help improving her social skills:

Eva is smart and she knows how to get what she wants and she is willing to literally fight for whatever it is. She can be very tricky to handle because she can be very manipulative and difficult. She is not above screaming and throwing a fit…Eva shows many perfectionist tendencies and she has the potential to be very hard on herself. She needs to work on relaxing her own self-imposed standards. Her teachers have even approached me about helping her reduce the demands she makes on herself academically. Eva and I are currently working on this…to help improve her social skills, Eva has attended my rehabilitative psychosocial therapy camp for two years now and that has really helped her develop positive interactions with her peers. She has responded well to the Ropes Courses and Challenge-by-Choice activities. Eva loves to be outside, but at school she prefers to not take part in recess. We are working to make her more comfortable socially interacting with her peers, but the process is slow. Being so bright and facing troubles at home has really stretched Eva too far at times.

Ms. Rieger uses counseling techniques such as play therapy (manipulatives in a sandbox), role-playing situations and discussing possible outcomes based on different behaviors, bibilotherapy, and anger management techniques in her sessions with Eva. Also mentioned above, Eva has taken part in Ms. Rieger’s summer camp two years in a row.

I asked Eva to describe her work with Ms. Rieger. Eva said she has really learned a lot of anger management skills and conflict resolution techniques, but she still feels like she needs to be in therapy. In fact, she would like to increase the sessions from once a week to twice a week. I asked her to describe some of her new anger management techniques and she gave me an example of a recent fight with her stepfather. Instead of screaming and throwing things when he teased her, she left the room, talked to her mother and wrote a letter about what happened. Eva said she knew this would be a better alternative than “throwing a fit.” After describing this to me, she told me that she likes learning how to control her impulses. Having different alternatives gives her a sense of independence and control over her situation that she did not feel before she began treatment.

In addition to removing herself from the situation and not acting out her frustration, Eva said is learning to manage her anger by role-playing family situations and analyzing what she could have done better. Eva also greatly enjoys bibliotherapy; she finds it easy to identify with different characters and situations in stories and as mentioned earlier, Eva often writes about her emotions and reactions to events in her life. She shares her writings with Ms. Rieger quite often, but has yet to share much with her mother or other family members.

In addition to receiving therapy, Eva has been taking anti-depressants since the end of 3rd grade (when she began counseling, she was also assessed by an MD). Eva commented that taking her medication (Zoloft) everyday is helping her; she feels less anxious and sad, and is able sleep better at night because she does not worry as much as she usually does.

Both Eva’s mother and grandmother have requested that the dosage be increased, but the MD assigned to the case, Dr. Hardin, does not think that necessary. In her notes, Dr. Hardin wrote that she would like to actually decrease and stop the medication soon since therapy seems to be benefiting Eva. Dr. Hardin is leery of Eva’s parent’s suggestion to further medicate her instead of working with her on her problems. Twice in a row the family requested new prescriptions because they had misplaced the bottle. The first time was considered accidental, but the second time the MD suspected the family was intentionally increasing the dosage to better control Eva. During this time period Eva was complaining of headaches, a symptom of an improper dosage. The family’s request for increased medication and suspicion of improperly increased dosage implicates their abusive tendencies towards Eva. As a result, Eva’s medication is now distributed at school and her parents only receive enough to cover weekends and holidays.

B. Other support systems

When I asked Eva what other kinds of support she was receiving from the school for her problems, she told me about two of her main academic teachers, Ms. Martin and Ms. Darnell. Eva described both as understanding her and being sensitive to her family problems. I spoke briefly with both Ms. Martin and Ms. Darnell and they described Eva as being a wonderful, loving student who sits quietly in the back of the class and always knows the right answer. Both teachers show Eva special consideration because she is so helpful; she volunteers to stay in class during recess and after school to help clean and straighten the room.

Both academic teachers and Ms. Reynolds (gifted teacher) recognize that Eva does not always enjoy spending time with her peers, especially at recess, and so special allowances are made for Eva to stay inside and be responsible for certain classroom jobs. None of the teachers think that Eva has any real problems with her other classmates, they just chosen to respect her decision to spend more time alone or with adults instead of her peers. I asked Eva if she felt like her family supported her emotionally and understood her problems and she said, “not really, I mean, I, I know they love me and all, but sometimes its just real hard and we don’t always get along.”

C. Conclusion

Eva has greatly benefited from the counseling services available to her within the school. During her treatment she has received emotional guidance and support that has helped her grow into a more mature person. Eva has developed certain skills in therapy that have made it possible for her to more appropriately and effectively negotiate family situations. By exploring different anger management techniques, Eva is also learning to recognize and alter her manipulative behaviors. Therapy is helping Eva ease the stress she imposes on herself academically. Even through Eva is still struggling with many of her issues, her charts; therapist and Eva herself speak of marked improvements in her behavior.
Eva also feels emotional support from her teachers, Ms. Darnell, Ms. Martin and Ms. Roberts. She finds these teachers to be sympathetic to her needs both inside and outside of the classroom. Eva strives to please all of her teachers and they reward her effort with kindness.

Eva has made definite progress with her behavior problems and other related issues. However, if Eva returns to living with her mother and stepfather, Ms. Rieger believes that Eva will backslide greatly and there will be many more unpleasant struggles and resentment within the family.

IV. Synthesis and analysis of Data

When considering all of the information about Eva, it is important to keep in mind the four main questions behind the case study: (1) what problems is Eva having? (2) How do these problems relate to her giftedness? (3) What types of counseling services and support is Eva receiving? And (4) how does Eva perceive the effectiveness of these counseling services? The answers to these questions support my hypothesis that counseling services are not only beneficial, but necessary for providing gifted students with a high quality school environment.

Though the majority of Eva’s problems are family related, she does exploit her intelligence to manipulate situations to her advantage. Because of Eva’s precarious family situation and previous unpleasant experiences, she has developed behaviors that are extreme and detrimental to her mental health and family relationships. It is quite possible that Eva’s behaviors are so manipulative in nature because of her ability to assess and react to her situations at a level above her chronological age. In this way her intelligence serves the purpose of protecting her, but her actions conversely distance her from her family and perpetuate family strife.

In addition to receiving counseling for her manipulative behaviors, Eva receives therapy to help her address her need for over-achievement and her perfectionist tendencies. These are two very serious problems for gifted students, and if left untreated, they may cause extreme stress and anxiety within the person. Eva is at danger of setting herself up for disappointment and failure if she does not learn to set realistic goals for herself. As mentioned above, Eva has decided she needs to make at least a 98 in all of her classes to please her teachers and herself. Eva may able to achieve this goal now, but she needs to realize that she cannot always perform at such high standards and that is okay if she does not.

For Eva, school, unlike her family, is nurturing. She knows that she does well at school and that if she pleases her teachers they will be kind and attentive towards her. Eva both needs and thrives in an environment that challenges her intelligence and recognizes her emotional need for compassion. Eva can also exercise control over her school environment by setting and achieving high academic goals for herself. She has learned that making good grades and pleasing the teachers result s in positive feedback and reinforcement for her, through propelling her to try even harder the next time. Counseling is helping Eva realize that she does not have to constantly pressure herself to make perfect grades in school in order to be appreciated as an individual and respected by adults.

When reviewing Eva’s charts for the past two years, and speaking with Ms. Rieger, it is easy to see that Eva has benefited from counseling services. Some of the services Eva has receives include anti-anxiety medication, summer camp and individual therapy. The anti-anxiety medication has helped Eva overcome irrational fears and alleviated her general depression enough to enable her to objectively discuss her family situations. Summer camp has given Eva the opportunity to successfully challenge herself without the reward of a good grade. Summer camp has also helped Eva build her social skills by making her interact with her peers on a purely social level outside of school in order to achieve a common goal. Though these two services have been good for Eva, individual therapy has been the most productive.

During individual therapy Eva is able to spend time talking about herself and her problems. Her concerns and problems are taken seriously by an adult and she is shown the proper respect due a child. Therapy has helped Eva recognize, analyze and change her manipulative behavioral disorders. Learning various anger management techniques and role-playing situations has given Eva viable alternatives to act more appropriately. Along with feeling like she has more control over her home environment, Eva can begin to work on setting realistic academic goals for herself. If Eva’s home life is more satisfying, she will not have to rely on school as much for the emotional support and guidance that she needs.

Eva knows that she has gained a lot through her therapy and she is happy to have an outlet to discuss her problems and concerns. Eva said herself that she wishes she could spend more time working with Ms. Rieger because their sessions help her get along better in her daily life; she now sees herself as “pretty good,” whereas she used to just think of herself as “bad.” Fortunately for Eva, she also finds support and comfort in her teachers. She feels as if they understand and appreciate her. For Eva, school has been a positive and stable environment, and counseling has helped her better understand and appreciate herself.

V. Application of data to gifted education

Counseling services provide gifted students with an opportunity to discuss their issues and concerns with a non-academic professional whose main purpose is to improve their mental health. Gifted students face many stressors and problems stemming from their gifted nature (stress, anxiety, over-achievement, perfectionism, etc.) and they need help recognizing and addressing these issues if they are to be successful and happy in life. Intellectual stimulation is not enough to develop a well-rounded person; emotional and social needs must be taken into account. Eva has benefited greatly from counseling services.

Eva fact sheet:

White female
10 years old (b. May 29, 1991)
Currently in 5th grade
Straight A’s K-5
Eva states she is better in mathematics than language arts
Language Arts grades are higher than those in mathematics
Says social studies is her least favorite class

Began PLUS (gifted) program in 3rd grade, admission to program based on PACT (Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test) scores, she was in the 99th percentile
PLUS program is social studies based in this elementary school (science based in middle school)
During grades 3 & 4, PLUS was a daily pullout program, the gifted program has undergone restructuring and now PLUS is a regular class. Class is primarily taught using enrichment techniques--many projects and co-operative learning strategies
Eva attends PLUS for two hours twice a week, it is her favorite class
South Carolina gifted program follows same guidelines as Georgia

Began counseling services at end of 3rd grade
Diagnosed as having Disruptive Behavior Disorder meaning she has violent fits of rage and angry outbursts in the home. No disruptive behavior has been reported in the school settings. Counseling services focus on anger management techniques, conflict resolution strategies and anxiety coping skills.
Eva also exhibited strong phobias and fears associated with storms, strangers, and enclosed spaces. She has trouble sleeping because she is afraid of break-ins. Counseling has helped her deal with some of these problems, but she still has safety issues.
Eva also suffers from a mild depressive disorder.
At beginning of treatment, Eva was prescribed Paxil and then switched to Zoloft. She still takes Zoloft on a daily basis and has responded positively.
MD, counselor and a few teachers have diagnosed Eva as a perfectionist and fear that her perfectionist tendencies may become serious problems later if not addressed soon.

Family history:
Mother not married at time of Eva’s birth, she was 17.
Mother suffers from quick panic attacks, lacks sufficient parenting skills, unable to set rules and follow through with consequences. Says she will seek help and has yet to do so in past 2 years.
Biological fathers no longer part of Eva’s life; does not want any contact with her. Eva does not want to see him, says he is abusive and mean.
Eva has lived with her grandmother and grandfather the last 3 years. Says it was her decision to move because she couldn’t get along with her mother and stepfather.
Mother married stepfather 5 years ago; they have two daughters of their own. Mother and stepfather currently separated, have strained and abusive relationship, are considering getting back together.
Mother describes Eva as verbally abusive, defiant and manipulative.
Stepfather distinctly dislikes Eva and is both verbally and physically abusive towards her and her dog.
Grandmother has contacted school about placement options for Eva, as she no longer wants Eva living with her. No family member wants Eva.
The only problem with placement is that the local children’s home is Christian and Eva’s family are Jehovah’s Witnesses.
If no viable option is found soon, Eva will have to move back in with Mother and Stepfather by Christmas.