The Strength-Based Model for Counseling At-Risk Youths

Abstract

In her strength-based model to train counseling psychologists, Smith (2006 [this issue]) criticizes deficit models of counseling. Rather than focusing on at-risk adolescents’ victim status, she argues that counseling psychologists should concentrate on identifying at-risk youths’ cultural and individual strengths. One can infer from her new paradigm that within the field of counseling psychology, the first step for social growth is accepting the reality of racial, gender, and social class discriminations. Smith provides a bold model that will challenge counseling psychologists to test its propositions and hypotheses; however, much of what Smith emphasizes can be found within traditional and nontraditional approaches to counseling psychology, especially in Adlerian psychotherapy or individual psychology. For example, her propositions parallel the four-stage model of Adlerian counseling. Finally, the stages of her model are very similar to those of Cormier and Nurius (2003). Smith (2006) challenges counseling psychologists to discuss and research her strength-based model for counseling at-risk adolescents. My reactions to her article are divided into the following sections: Philosophy of the Strength-Based Model, Academically At-Risk Students, and Summary and Conclusions.