Biography
From bully-proofing children to easing the adjustment to a new school, Donna Henderson is an expert on the everyday issues confronting children and their parents. Co-author of the books Counseling Children and Developing an Effective and Accountable School Counseling Program, Henderson’s comments and advice for parents have been featured in the Associated Press, the Washington Post, the Toronto Globe & Mail, and many other media outlets.
She can address such topics as fostering a good relationship with a child’s teacher, helping children adjust to social pressures at school, dealing with “mean girls,” and mastering the dos and don’ts of school volunteering.
Henderson served as president of the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision and Chi Sigma Iota, the counseling honor society. Before she began training school counselors, she served as a teacher and school counselor for 12 years. Henderson can also address international issues in counseling and mental health. She co-developed a training course to help volunteers in developing countries respond to mental health issues.
Areas of Expertise (7)
Bullying
School Transitions
Middle School
Parent-Teacher Communications
School Counseling
Counseling Children
International Counseling
Media
Documents:
Videos:
Audio/Podcasts:
Education (4)
University of Tennessee at Knoxville: Ph.D., Counseling
James Madison University: M.A.T., English
Meredith College: B.A., Undergraduate Studies
Peace College: A.A., Undergraduate Studies
Media Appearances (2)
Bully-proofing your kids
CNN
2011-10-11
"Parents whose default response is one of intimidation may inadvertently model bullying behavior for their children," says Donna Henderson, a professor of counseling at Wake Forest University. "Or, if parents are the targets of bullying behavior from other adults and they don't address it directly, kids will assume that's the way to respond to bullies."...
How to get kids to give back to others during the holiday season
Southeast Missourian
2011-11-24
A demand to participate isn't the way to go, but parents can encourage teens to look for volunteer opportunities on their own, said Donna Henderson, a professor of counseling at Wake Forest University in North Carolina...
Articles (4)
Mental Health Facilitator (MHF) Service Implementation in Schools in Malawi, Africa: A Strategy for Increasing Community Human Resources
The Professional Counselor
The Mental Health Facilitator (MHF) program utilizes a population-based curriculum and has been implemented in Malawi for the past seven years. This article reports findings from an ethnographic study that explored how 40 MHF stakeholders have experienced the MHF program. This transdisciplinary program is a 30-hour training in community mental health that focuses on fundamental helping skills; identification of stress, distress and mental disorders; and appropriate community referral and follow-up. Results indicated four interrelated themes representing participants’ beliefs about their experiences with the training, including the curriculum’s responsiveness to the Malawian context, the availability and limitations of resources, the processes involved, and a variety of identified outcomes. Implications for community implementation and future directions are identified.
From Good to Great: Examining Exemplary Counselor Development
Journal of Counseling and Development
Some counselors excel in the profession. Few do so while maintaining a balance in life. This article examines the life of one such individual, Samuel T. Gladding. He models for counselors an aspirational process of making significant contributions to the profession ...
The Creative Arts in Counseling
Humanistic Perspectives on Contemporary Counseling Issues
Earlier you read that humanism embraces the richness of the human experience. Creative arts embody that magnificence of life. Furthermore, people's creative power constitutes a critical, positive force in their lives...
Manageable evaluation
Counseling and Human Development
Counselors need information. They engage in a complex profession, working with a variety of people in different types of settings. To fulfill the inherently diverse expectations, counselors must monitor and assess their performance and the impact of their practices ...