When it comes to my plan for counseling students, I use a variety of different techniques in order to best help all students. Some of these methods and techniques are listed below.
Individual Counseling
Individual Counseling is a collaborative process between counselor and student that aims to facilitate change and improve quality of life. Individual counseling can help students to confront barriers that interfere with emotional and mental well-being, and it can also increase positive feelings such as compassion, self-esteem, love, courage, and peace. Individual counseling will consist of weekly meetings where the students and counselor will work together to set goals and find strategies to achieve these goals.
Group Counseling
Group Counseling is a shared therapeutic experience that involves the presence of a counselor and a small group of students who are working through similar issues. This collaborative form of healing can focus on interpersonal relationships or on particular concerns shared by group members. There are numerous psychological and emotional issues that are treated in group therapy, ranging from study skills and friendship to anxiety and depression. Generally, groups will meet weekly to bi-weekly for approximately 8 total sessions. Group counseling topics will be decided based on parent and student needs assessment surveys and beginning of the school year discussions with students.
Classroom Guidance Lessons
Classroom Guidance Lessons are classroom lessons taught by the School Counselor that focus on Social/Emotional, College/Career, and Academic Topics. These lessons are an integral part of the school counseling program and important to the academic success of every student. One of the most effective ways for school counselors to help prevent problems is by addressing these issues. Large group lessons are preventative in nature, designed to reach all students, and are taught in the classroom regularly by the counselor.
Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT)
Solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) places focus on a student's present and future circumstances and goals rather than past experiences. In this goal-oriented therapy, the symptoms or issues bringing a person to counseling are typically not discussed at great lengths.
Instead, the counselor encourages students to develop a vision of the future and offers support as they determine the skills, resources, and abilities needed to achieve that vision successfully. This can consist of a multitude of different techniques but often consists of setting a list of SMART(see below) goals, and taking steps to achieve these goals.
By using this form of therapy, more time and energy can be placed on achieving goals and working on existing issues as opposed to spending a large amount of time discussing past problems and events that can no longer be changed.
(SFBT does usually call for a focus on the present and future, but each student is different, and so there may be need to work through past events in order to allow a student to work on goals for the future.
Instead, the counselor encourages students to develop a vision of the future and offers support as they determine the skills, resources, and abilities needed to achieve that vision successfully. This can consist of a multitude of different techniques but often consists of setting a list of SMART(see below) goals, and taking steps to achieve these goals.
By using this form of therapy, more time and energy can be placed on achieving goals and working on existing issues as opposed to spending a large amount of time discussing past problems and events that can no longer be changed.
(SFBT does usually call for a focus on the present and future, but each student is different, and so there may be need to work through past events in order to allow a student to work on goals for the future.
S.M.A.R.T. Goals
S.M.A.R.T. Goals are important to use when setting personal goals. S.M.A.R.T. goals allow for students to set out an easy way to achieve goals with the correct amount of effort. Below is a more thorough definition of each part of a S.M.A.R.T. Goal.
ASCA National Model
Please click on the image below for a more in-depth explanation of the ASCA National Model.