Family counselors in a pediatric specialty clinic setting

Numerous studies point up the psychosocial needs of chronically ill children, as well as the fragmentation or lack of services to meet these needs. Following an earlier study demonstrating the effectiveness of nonprofessional family counselors in improving the self-concept of children with chronic illness, this project placed five counselors in the pediatric specialty clinics of a teaching hospital. They were well accepted by all professional staff, and they provided a variety of services for families, improved communication among and coordination of care givers, and felt satisfaction in this role. This program provided an important expansion of social work services at low cost.