Gifted University Students: Development and Evaluation of a Counseling Program

Abstract

We developed, delivered, and evaluated a unique group counseling program for underperforming, gifted university students. Aligned with developmental and contextual models of giftedness, the program was designed to achieve four overarching goals using eight counseling themes relevant to academic success as identified in the literature or best practices. We evaluated the program using interviews with the participating students (N = 8), a questionnaire, and reflection among the counselors who delivered the program. Findings and recommendations for developing counseling programs for gifted students are presented.