A national obsession

February 2010

Society's preoccupation with dieting, weight and body image increases the need for counselors trained to address eating disorders and associated issues

By Lynne Shallcross

If you think elementary school students are only learning their ABCs and 123s, think again. Some are also absorbing societal messages that place importance on counting calories and dropping dress sizes.

Anna Viviani, a counselor in private practice in Peoria, Ill., who works with eating disorder clients, remembers a conversation she had recently. A school counselor told her that children as young as first and second grade are talking about dieting and body dissatisfaction. Indeed, research has shown that 42 percent of first- through third-grade girls want to be thinner. Studies have also found that 81 percent of 10-year-olds are afraid of being fat, while 50 percent of fourth-grade girls are on a diet.

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Managing resistant clients

Counselors might need to adjust their own mind-set to successfully overcome resistance in session and usher in client change

By Lynne Shallcross

You can't change anyone else; you can only change yourself. Many counselors have used this common bit of wisdom to help clients overcome problems, but it's crucial that counselors internalize that idea themselves, says Clifton Mitchell, a professor and coordinator of the community agency concentration in the counseling program at East Tennessee State University.

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