Question

Judith is a licensed professional counselor (LPC) in private practice. She has a contract to facilitate psycho-educational groups for students in a local public high school. Many of the students in her groups are dealing with the divorce of their parents. Judith has decided to create a specific psychoeducational group for adolescents whose parents are divorcing or divorced. What should be covered in her pregroup screening interviews with the students?

Answer 1

• As Judith is working with minors within the high school she will need to make sure that she knows the laws and regulations of the state for counseling minors. Before the pre-group screening, it would be important for Judith to first obtain permission form the parents for their child to be included in the group.
• It would also be imperative for Judith to talk to the parents about the purpose of the group as well as talk about confidentiality as they are minors, but it is important for the relationship between their child and Judith to have confidentiality.
• In her interview with the students, she should first seek to establish the main reason why the parents are divorcing. She should ask the students identify the main causal agent of the divorce without taking sides. Judith should ask questions to determine the circumstances that have been prevailing before the decision of parents to divorce is reached.
• Such cases include domestic violence, drug abuse as well as sexual harassment. She should create a table to determine the primary causal agent in this case. She should also ask the students how they perceive a situation in which their parents’ divorce.
• She ought to determine whether the students of the divorcing parents feel happy, sad or angry. Judith while interviewing the students should ask questions to establish who, between the father and the mother, the youths prefer living with if the divorce succeeds. She should ask the students to state a reason why they prefer either of the parents to the other in case the divorce case succeeds.
• Finally, Judith should ask the students, depending on the prevailing circumstances at home, do the students support the divorce or urge the parents to settle the misunderstanding between them. Judith will have established a clear understanding of the topic and will use this data to help these youths effectively.