A Brief History of ESM

● Roots can be traced to the 1920s

● How to Counsel Students: A Manual of Techniques for Clinical Counseling
(E.G. Williamson, 1939)
- An early statement of the model
- Oriented for counselors
- Became a major influence on school counseling programs
● Typical Services (Before Schmidt’s update in 2003)
- Counseling
- Educational and occupational information
- Student appraisal
- Placement
● Philosophy of the essential services model
- Rooted in differential psychology
● Branch of psychology
- Deals among other things
- Measurement of human traits and environments

Components
● Counseling
- Individual Counseling
● Founded in specific theoretical models (Fortunately, almost all of
the many individual theoretical models of counseling fall into one
or more of six major theoretical categories: humanistic,
cognitive, behavioral, psychoanalytic, constructionist and
systemic.)
● Can also be informal information sharing (Informal counseling is
defined in different ways. It consists of nothing more entering
into conversation and listening to someone, such as being
available or pulling someone aside for a quiet word about some
problem they're having.)
● Often serves a remedial purpose (Remedial Goals: Remediation
involves assisting a client to overcome and/or treat an
undesirable development. It is an intervention aimed at assisting
a person to achieve a normal or increased level of functioning.
Especially, when performance is below expectations in a
particular area.)
- Group Counseling
● Includes both counseling and guidance activities
● Counselors use groups for a wide array of purposes including:
preventive, developmental, supportive, and remedial
● Because of the difficulties involved, counselors often seek
teacher input when scheduling group sessions
- Student Counseling
 ● Essential as students face a myriad of critical issues affecting
their personal, social, educational, and career development.
● Counseling relationships with students should be private and
confidential.
● Counselors should have referral services for students who need
more in-depth attention.
- Parent and Teacher Counseling
● Students are the primary clients of school counselors.
● There is no clear consensus among school counselors as to
whether or not they should provide services to teachers and
parents.
● It is always proper to make a referral when in doubt.

● Consulting
- Administrative conferences
- Student/parents/teachers conferences
- Student services
- 504 committees
*Develop plans to provide
necessary accommodations
and services to students with
disabilities
- Individual student planning
*Personal & academic goals
& career planning
- Teacher in-service education
*Trainings to upgrade
knowledge & skills
- School climate development
*Positive environment
- Instructional services
*classroom guidance
*guidance curriculum

● Coordinating
- Referral & follow up
- School-wide events
- Peer helper programs
- Teacher advising programs
- Maintenance of student records
- Test administration & dissemination of results

● Appraising
- Student Evaluation
 ● Testing
● Inventories
● Observation & Interviews
● Group Assessment
- Environmental Evaluation
● Assessment of School Climate
● Assessment of Families
● Peer Group Assessment

Importance and Problems of ESM

● The essential Service Model touches on the overall development of a student
(personal-social, educational, and career development)
Problems of ESM
● They do not account for all the counselors' activities in the school counseling
program
-registration of new students should not be part of school counselor roles.
However, counselors are the professionals who can assess the students and
are most qualified to register the student in school.
● Some delivery mechanisms (eg. counseling) are elevated and some are not
which may find it difficult to understand for the stakeholders and other school
members.
(Explanation: Some stakeholders and school members may find it difficult to
understand how the program functions when some delivery mechanisms are
listed as services and some are not)

REFERENCE:
● Schmidt, J. J. (2003). Counseling in Schools: Essential Services and
Comprehensive Programs, 4th ed. Boston, MA.: Allyn & Bacon.
● Brown, Duane & Trusty, Jerry. (2005). Designing and leading comprehensive
school counseling programs. Belmont, USA: Brooks/Cole-Thomson Learning.
● BORDERS, L. DIANNE; DRURY, SANDRA M. (1992). Comprehensive School
Counseling Programs: A Review for Policymakers and Practitioners. Journal
of Counseling & Development