Helping Students and Teachers CONNECT: An Intervention Model for School Counselors

Research has demonstrated that the quality of the student-teacher relationship affects students’ social/emotional development, academic achievement, and classroom functioning. Positive student-teacher relationships help promote a pattern of continued success in student adjustment while negative relationships set a course for continued school and personal problems. The school counselor has a unique opportunity to influence the school success of a large number of students through facilitating positive student-teacher relationships. This article presents the CONNECT model, which utilizes skills based in the tenets of Child-Centered Play Therapy. CONNECT offers a method of working with teachers to demonstrate skills and attitudes that will help teachers in promoting successful relationships with their students.