8 TPC Digest Arielle Bendit, Melissa Mariani, Paul Peluso, Elisa Calabrese Supporting Early College High School Students: The Effects of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Perfectionism on Perfectionism, Negative Affectivity, and Social–Emotional Well-Being Decades of positive stereotyping have led parents, educators, counselors, and researchers to overlook the emotional and developmental needs of high-achieving students. There are a number of situations, compounded by the additional factor of high ability, that put high-achieving students at a more unique risk for developing mental health problems. High-achieving students are more likely to internalize problems and expectations, struggle with high standards and perfectionism, and be reluctant to ask for help. When these needs go unaddressed, this population is left vulnerable to social isolation, stigmatization, and psychological distress. Perfectionism is a frequently cited trait in high-achieving individuals and is one of the most common concerns among parents of highachieving children. Individuals struggling with perfectionism may experience poor psychological health due to the fear of failure, excessive self-doubt in their abilities to achieve, and consistently setting unrealistically high standards and expectations. With perfectionism emerging as a critical vulnerability factor for a variety of mental health disorders, appropriate counseling interventions are needed to support the high-achieving population. Unfortunately, many of the school-based counseling programs available are not specifically geared toward supporting high-achieving students in accelerated curricula. Further, prevention and intervention services being utilized within comprehensive school counseling programs need to be tailored to meet the student population’s unique needs. Tailoring programs is essential when considering interventions to support high-achieving students, as they typically perform well enough academically, yet their emotional health concerns remain undetected. Therefore, this research explored the effectiveness of a targeted cognitive behavioral therapy for perfectionism (CBT-P) small-group counseling intervention on the perfectionism, negative affectivity, and social–emotional well-being of grade 9 to 12 high-achieving early college high school students. Forty-two participants were selected from the sample population through the use of mental health screeners. Mental health screeners are used in schools to help identify students who may be in need of supplemental counseling services by assessing their levels of social–emotional well-being and psychopathology. Participants were then sorted into two groups. Counselorsin-training, fulfilling their mental health internship requirements, facilitated eight weekly CBT-P small-group counseling sessions with participants in the treatment group. Participants in the comparison group did not receive the CBT-P intervention. Participants in both the treatment and comparison groups completed pretests and posttests. The study found that those in the treatment group experienced a significant decrease in self-oriented perfectionism and negative affectivity (e.g., anxiety, depression, stress) after receiving the small-group intervention compared to the comparison group. However, there was no significant difference found in socially prescribed perfectionism or social–emotional well-being between the two groups. Overall, this study highlights the importance of implementing more tailored interventions and supports CBT-P as an effective counseling intervention for high-achieving students. Additionally, this study extends what is known about the underlying factors that may impact highachieving students’ well-being. Counselor education programs can utilize this knowledge to provide much needed education and training for working with high-achieving students in accelerated programs. Arielle Bendit, PhD, LMFT, is a postdoctoral fellow at Florida Atlantic University. Melissa Mariani, PhD, is an associate professor at Florida Atlantic University. Paul Peluso, PhD, LMHC, LMFT, is Senior Associate Dean of the College of Education at Florida Atlantic University. Elisa Calabrese, EdD, is Director of Javits Gifted and Talented Education Grant for Florida Atlantic University Lab Schools. Correspondence may be addressed to Arielle Bendit, 777 Glades Road Bldg. SS-8, Rm 229, Boca Raton, Florida 33431, abendit@fau.edu.
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