I found this book fairly intimidating, but then I am neither a parent nor a school counselor. This is, however, an excellent resource for anyone dealing with gifted children. This is a vast resource of information for those serving, educating and dealing with gifted children. I will echo the one criticism; there should have been a detailed index to help sort through and access the massive amount of information included in the book. I intend to pass this along to a friend who IS a school counselor, in hopes that she will be able to use this resource. I'd hate to leave such a well-researched tome just sitting on my shelves. ( )

I was looking forward to receiving this book in the mail, and was stunned at how much information was packed into it when it arrived. The Handbook for Counselors Serving Students with Gifts and Talents: Development, Relationships, School Issues, and Counseling Needs/Interventions is an invaluable resource for any person in the education field. While its focus is geared towards Counselors in the public or private school system, the Handbook is an excellent place to turn to for information as both a gifted adult and a parent of gifted children. While I may not be the target audience in the strictest sense (I am not a school counselor), I find it a valuable place to find the relevant research I am looking for in my own quest for a quality education for my children.

As a word of caution, this guide is simply a point of reference. While the research quoted within in mainly of recent date, you will still have to search out the original research cited for a greater understanding of the relevant material. If you as a counselor or even as a parent are looking for a guide to understanding the differing needs of gifted children (who are all quite different in their needs and challenges), this is the perfect place to start. It is full of the research, figures, and examples needed to find the information sought after. The collection of research that this book represents on the challenges of gifted children in the education system (both academically and personally) is excellent. I would highly recommend it as a reference book for professionals and non-professionals alike.

I received this book through a giveaway at LibraryThing.com in exchange for an honest review. The opinions in this review are my own. ( )

Handbook for Counselors Serving Students with Gifts and Talents: Development, Relationships, School Issues, and Counseling Needs/Interventions is a valuable, wide-reaching text that should be on the shelf of every conscientious school counsellor.

The content in this text is impressively encompassing. Authors consider giftedness from a variety of perspectives, including urban and rural settings, LGBTQ students, and issues of age, gender, and race. The book's structure underscores the dual roles of the typical school counsellor, giving generous space to personal counselling (including extensive discussion of the gifted self and social relationships) and providing coverage of academic counselling (including college planning and career planning). The chapters are thoughtfully organized and descriptively titled, so a practitioner should be able to find what she is looking for by scanning the table of contents (the book does not contain an index).

This book is written for professionals and practitioners. Although the language was intended to be accessible, the chapters are not meant for general readers and will likely repel non-specialists. The chapters are fairly short and are packed with facts, figures, examples, and authorities; this structure is exactly the way a handbook of this type should be organized.

Scholars and specialists in the field will observe that the chapters are limited in their orientations and development. If we keep in mind that this volume was built as a handbook, for the purpose of on-the-spot reference, that observation becomes much less pertinent. Every chapter includes a list of references for further reading and research, and the volume presents articles from dozens of scholars and professionals to give a more inclusive view of the topic. While the book cannot offer depth (although the body stretches to almost 700 pages), it does offer breadth and supports the diverse and dynamic work of practising school counsellors.

My main criticism of the volume is the limitation of its application. It is United States centred, and some of the information conveys that bias. Counsellors from outside the United States may be able to adapt ideas to their local settings, but the bias does limit the potential reach of this volume.

There has recently been a resurgence in research and publishing on the gifted and talented. Those who work with gifted and talented students should appreciate Handbook for Counselors... as a significant and timely resource. ( )

An excellent reference text, with plenty of background research and practical advice for addressing the needs of gifted students.

While written primarily for Counsellors, Teachers and others within the educational field will find this book very helpful in designing or adapting lesson plans to meet both the pedagogical and emotional needs of the gifted students. ( )

What a gift to have such a comprehensive resource to use in working with gifted and talented young people. It is definitely geared towards School Counselors but has so much information that anyone working with this population will get something out of it! It explains what gifted vs. talented is, the intensities/overexcitablilities of this population (why they act the way the do) and discusses ways to work with them. It discusses pretty much any kind of population one might work with as a school counselor, but then applies giftedness to it, or makes it gifted-specific. The handbook is formatted effectively, so it will be easy to pick and chose the things I want to review and to easily gather information for problem solving/advising. I was thrilled to see the book was coming out, knowing that it would help fill the gaps in serving GT students, but was even more pleased to actually have it in hand and see how thorough and thoughtful a resource it is. The text offers a wholistic view of not only the issues that may come up in working with such kids (testing, teaching, counseling), but offers a wholistic view of the students as having academic, social, and emotional needs. ( )