School Counselors Serving Students with Disruptive Behavior Disorders

School counselors are in a prime position to collaborate with school and community stakeholders to both prevent and respond to the challenges experienced and exhibited by students with one or more disruptive behavior disorders (DBD). In this article, the DBDs discussed include conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, intermittent explosive disorder, and adjustment disorder with disturbance of conduct. After a brief examination of the costs, classifications and characteristics, comorbidity, and prevalence of this category of mental health disorders, this article presents risk factors and cultural considerations. Finally, the author explores implications and interventions for school counselors.