Through the years, gifted adolescents have suffered from a lack of formal guidance from the school counselor. Probably the most common reason for the lack of quality counseling for the gifted student stems from the general yet erroneous belief that the gifted child can take care of himself/herself. Alvino (1981) noted that when counselors do work with gifted students, they place primary emphasis on cognitive development and often overlook the students' emotional needs. To help the gifted adolescent, Walker (1982) advocated group guidance with emphasis on decision making. Williams (1982) depicted the Rogerian client-centered approach as crucial to career-related aptitudes. Simpson and Kaufmann (1981) felt that counselors could help all gifted adolescents develop their full potential in a vocational sense. Hyman and Brody (1984) noted, however, that the counselor is often a poor, ineffectual source of encouragement particularly for the female gifted adolescent seeking vocational guidance. Kerr (1983) wrote that raising the career aspirations of gifted females is most important. Whatever the reason for ineffectual guidance and counseling for the gifted adolescent, not one is defensible. The counselor must help the gifted adolescent acquire essential decision making skills. The gifted student's vocational aspirations and achievements ultimately depend on this. (Author)