Counseling Needs of Gifted Students: An Analysis of Intake Forms at a University-Based Counseling Center

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate perceptions of the counseling needs of gifted children from the perspective of parents who sought help from a fee-based counseling center for gifted students. The counseling center provided assessment and educational and career guidance, as well as family social/emotional counseling, all of which were differentiated to meet the needs of gifted children ages 4-18. Participating parents completed intake forms that included a 47-item client problem inventory and were designed to assist the counseling process. One hundred and twenty of these problem inventories were analyzed to determine which counseling needs led parents to bring their children for counseling services and whether there were any differences in perceived needs among three different developmental levels of children (preschool, preadolescent, and adolescent). Results suggested that age had a statistically and practically significant effect on parent perceptions of career and child (psychosocial) concerns and a practically significant effect on school, family, and peer concerns. For all age groups, parents perceived their child’s greatest counseling need to be educational planning, followed closely by school concerns. Psychosocial concerns were also salient for parents of children older than 6. Career planning was important for parents of children older than 12. Peer and family concerns were less salient than the other categories of concern. The study suggests that gifted children do have unique needs for differentiated counseling services and that counseling services for gifted children should emphasize educational planning and be targeted to the needs of specific developmental levels.