Effective Approaches to School Counseling and Counseling Stages

Chapter 6 Individual Counseling

Reasons why the ASCA National Model (2012) calls for brief approaches to individual counseling Primary mission of schools is to promote academic success & interventions that remove students from the classroom potentially interfere with mission Group oriented interventions, such as classroom guidance & group counseling may be a more time effective way to provide services School counselors who rely upon individual counseling have difficulty impacting the entire student population & thus may not be seen as valuable members of the staff Some studies (e.g., Brown & Minami, 2010) have found that brief counseling is as effective as more long-term approaches

Necessary Aspects of Person-Centered Counseling Counselor must be congruent and assimilate various aspects of their own experience Counselor must demonstrate unconditional positive regard toward the student Counselor must demonstrate empathetic understanding of the student s internal frame of reference

1) Relationship Stage Goal is to relax student & develop trust Time needed to establish rapport varies considerably Mandated, cross-cultural & younger may take longer Some students never come to trust counselor With more reluctant students, first use safe activities Children-favorite interests/school subject, sports, etc. Children-games (Connect 4, jenga), shooting baskets Ivey, A. E., Ivey, M. B., & Zalaquett, C. P. (2010). Intentional interviewing & counseling (7th ed.). Brooks Cole.

1) Relationship Stage Explain goals & process of counseling People often talk with me when they re angry, upset, or confused, or if they have a goal in mind like making more friends or improving grades. I focus on helping people determine their goals & solutions that will work for them. The first time we get together, I like to hear more about your goals & expectations of what you would like to get out of counseling. Students referred by others Your dad called because he was concerned about your grades. Your mom was worried. She thought you seemed real down lately. Student referred for discipline issues I think its important that when you ve done something that has gotten you into trouble you look back to see if you want or could do it differently

2) Story & Strengths Stage Self-referred: So what brings you here? , How can I help you? , What would you like to talk about? What can I do to help you today? , What are you thinking about changing? Open-ended questions: Would you like to tell me more about that? As you re talking about this, what are you feeling? Counselor should attend to student s implied solutions For younger & less verbal children, provide alternative modes of expression-art, play, music, etc. Summarize problem: You re really confused. You ve trusted Amy but you re hearing that she s saying nasty things about you. You ve thought about talking to Amy about the rumors but you re not sure she would tell you the truth.

3) Goals Stage What do you want to be different? What would you like to get out of this situation? What would you like to change? If you had a magic wand & just by waving you could change anything, what would that be? Exploration of what ideal outcome would look like & goal/desire would bring them What would that do for you? How do you imagine that would make things different? Explore feasibility of plan/goal May skip Stage 2 with reluctant student

3) Goals Stage Assess student s perception of success On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being having no control of your anger & 10 being have great control, where would you rate yourself right now. What would you need to do to go from a 6 to a 7. Assess commitment to change On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the thing you have most ever wanted, what was that, & 1 being you want it a little but it isn t that important, how important is your goal?

4) Restory Stage What are options you ve been thinking about? What steps would you have to take to get better grades. What have you learned hasn t worked? What has worked for you before? Which of the ideas you ve generated do you like most? Explore likely consequences of possible options You can t predict the future, but what is your best guess about how your parents would react if you did that? How do you think your boyfriend might react?

5) Action Stage Counseling promotes change & insight may not be enough Explore specifics of plan: What specifically would you do? How do you see yourself trying this out? Who might be most responsive? Role-play with student Approaching a teacher, asking person for date, making friends, confronting friend Homework assignment Explore with student whether they are like to attempt solution/plan Explore with student whether they wish to continue counseling

Developmental Approach to Individual Counseling Developmental Orientation Sensorimotor/Preoperational Behavioral Counseling Theory Play Therapy-Client Centered or Psychoanalytic Reality Solution Focused Structured Cognitive (e.g., Kendall) Person-Centered Cognitive Existential Concrete Operational Formal Operational D Andrea, M. (1988). The counselor as pacer: A model for the revitalization of the counseling profession. In R. Hayes & R. Aubrey (Eds.), New directions for counseling and development (pp. 22-44). Denver, CO: Love Publishing.

Reality Therapy - Needs: Universal, but also unique, requirements that serve as internal motivators Needs Belonging Description Enemies Connectedness to others Controlling others & arguing, which are attempts to force others to be like me Blaming others for failure & procrastination Making excuses, which leads to the same mistakes Taking life too seriously & thinking only one way to live Abuse, neglect, bullying Competence, achievement, recognition, esteem Independence, autonomy (while sensitive to others) Enjoyment Power (Influence) Freedom Fun Self-protection (bullying), maintenance of health Survival

Reality Therapy - WDEP System Goals, strength of commitment Actions, thoughts, feelings, & physiology Wants Direction & Doing Evaluation Thinking through the consequences Are my behaviors getting me what I want? Are my behaviors helping or hindering? Devising strategies/steps Planning Wubbolding (2010). Reality therapy: Theories of psychotherapy. Washington, DC:American Psychological Association.

Solution Focused Theory - Assumptions People are growth oriented & proactive self-healers The resources people need lie within personal history Listen for people s implied solutions No problem is constant, there are always exceptions to problems Reality is constructed through language, & if you change a person s language, you create a cognitive shift Adapted from Murphy, J. J. (2008). Solution-focused counseling in schools (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.

Scaling Questions/Progress Use to assess abstract issues Managing anger, self-esteem, confidence On a scale of 1-10, how well are you handling your anger? What would be doing if you were to go from a 4 to a 5? What steps could you take to get it to a 6? Discuss what student will do to increase a point Discuss who will notice the change If response is 7 or higher, ask student to explain why they are so confident What will they notice that you are doing different?

The Cognitive Model Core Beliefs I am not good at school Situation perceived through lens of core beliefs I will not do well in this new type of math. Automatic Thoughts The teacher thinks I m stupid because my answer was wrong Reaction Emotional: Sadness, anxiety Physiological: Flushed face Behavioral: Avoidance or low energy

FEAR F = Feeling frightened E = Expecting bad things to happen A = Attitudes & actions R = Results & rewards Kendall, P. C. (1994). Coping cat program for anxious youth. Workbook Publishing: Ardmore, PA.