Building Teacher Capacity Through Group Consultation

Posted by: Lori Walls on October 27, 2011 4:01 pm
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The role of a teacher usually involves very public and social endeavours, but as a new teacher I often found myself feeling isolated from colleagues when it came down to dealing with students who were displaying emotional or behavioural difficulties. It can be a vulnerable and intimidating experience to seek help from fellow teachers when one is new to the profession due to a fear of being viewed as inexperienced or incompetent. Several years of teaching later I realized that all teachers face these types of challenges with students despite their years of experience, but often the feelings of isolation and the hesitation to seek help remain. Writing now from the perspective of a school counsellor, I believe that with the increased demands on teachers and counsellors it is more important than ever to find ways to collaborate and consult on difficult issues in order to build capacity, extend resources, and to break down barriers that have lead to isolation.

Farouk (2004) posited a model of group consultation that involves teachers providing emotional and professional support to one another with the school psychologist playing a facilitative role. As with any group work, there are issues that must be addressed prior to assembling the group. Farouk suggested establishing support for the group at a management level and then seeking membership in the group by giving a description to teachers that outlines the group’s purpose, function and practical implications. During the first meeting of the group roles need to be defined, the process explained, and issues of ethical considerations and confidentiality discussed. As the school psychologist/counsellor, your role in the initial meetings is to keep the group on task, balance the input, and to model the type of process and discussion questions needed to keep the group moving in a problem-solving direction (Farouk, 2004).
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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

A Brief Introduction to the Check, Connect and Expect Program

Posted by: Lori Walls on October 13, 2011 12:09 pm
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The Check, Connect, Expect program (CCE) is a tier 2 intervention model within the school-wide positive behaviour support model (SWPBS) of intervention. The SWPBS was established to support students and staff in efforts to decrease problem behaviours by providing interventions intended to increase positive social behaviours within the school. The CCE program is in keeping with the goals of the response to intervention pyramid and aims to target problem behaviours in a proactive and responsive manner in order to reduce the need for further academic or external supports. Over the course of a two year study, 18 school sites with diverse student populations were studied. Results indicated that 84% of students in the program (n=338) did not go on to require tier 3 intervention services. The program was therefore shown to be a cost-effective and successful means of ameliorating student behavioural difficulties while increasing positive daily interactions in the classroom.

One of the goals of tier 2 interventions is to identify students at risk of school failure due to behavioural difficulties as early as possible. To accomplish this, teachers were asked to identify at risk students and to complete a behaviour rating scale. Student scores were then compared with a national normative sample and those meeting the specified criteria were eligible for the program. Paraprofessionals were hired as student coaches and underwent a two day training course on how to implement the program. Program coaches were then supplied access to consulting services with a behavioural specialist, typically a school psychologist, in order to discuss any difficulties that might arise.

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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Burnout: A Common Problem for School Counsellors

Posted by: Lori Walls on September 27, 2011 2:34 pm
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I decided to write on the topic of school counsellor burnout since it is already the third week into the new school year. If you are like me it was exciting to start back, but reality has since set in and things seem a bit overwhelming with all that needs done. Burnout is a term that is often applied to those in helping professions and is typically identified as emotionally exhausted, withdrawal from and cynicism toward clients, and a sense that you are no longer accomplishing tasks. Friedman (2000) suggested that burnout occurs in several stages: the emergence of stress, the emergence of stress-induced experiences, and the emergence of reactions to stress-induced experiences. These stages can progress along a cognitive track that includes thoughts focused on a lack of personal and professional fulfillment or along an emotional track that involves feelings of exhaustion and general overload. Friedman indicated that many theories of stress and burnout have been posited, but one factor common to all theories of stress is that those under stress and on the road to burnout report a discrepancy between what they expected and what they have actually observed. This discrepancy can lead to a deterioration of professional and personal self-efficacy and ultimately burnout.

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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Easing Transitions

Posted by: Lori Walls on September 16, 2011 1:50 pm
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This week marks the beginning of the 2011/2012 school year. For many students a new school year brings with it both excitement and apprehension.  If the return to school includes changing schools, such as for those students moving from elementary to middle school, middle school to high school, or high school to post secondary, apprehension can outweigh excitement. Transitioning to new schools becomes even more complex when it is combined with changes brought about by puberty, social development, and the demand for increasingly difficult cognitive tasks. Elias (2001) suggested that changing schools is a major source of stress during the developmental process and it is therefore important for school counsellors to have an awareness of the developmental needs of the age groups that they serve, as well as an understanding of the psychosocial tasks and skills necessary to make these transitions successful.

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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Delivering and Receiving Bad News: What School Counsellors Need to Know

Posted by: Lori Walls on August 18, 2011 2:48 pm
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It can sometimes be challenging to come up with topics for the school counselling blog. For this week’s topic I began thinking back on the interactions that I had with school counsellors during my own early school years. One of the interactions that had a significant impact took place during my middle school years and involved the delivery of the news of my grandfather passing. In my own professional career as a counsellor I have often delivered difficult news to a client or a student and I would like to think that, much like the school counsellor who informed me that my grandfather had passed, I was able to effectively communicate the difficult news, convey empathy, and offer support.  However, when thinking about the conscious steps I had taken to prepare and plan for these occasions it became clear that I had never received any direct training or even attempted to seek out any information on how to be effective in these types of situations.

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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Dialectical Behavior Therapy

Posted by: Lori Walls on July 21, 2011 3:13 pm
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This week I attended a workshop on how to use Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) with difficult clients. I thought it might be valuable to share some of the strategies presented. Most people in the mental health field know DBT as a therapy for individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder. Although DBT was originally created to work with Borderline Personality Disorder, and has undergone 11 empirical studies with clients who have the disorder, the therapy has also been empirically validated for populations including eating disorders, suicidal teens, and depression in the elderly. However, based on the information in the workshop it was clear that the skills taught in DBT are transferable to multiple client issues.

 DBT evolved out of traditional cognitive therapy and incorporates cognitive techniques with mindfulness and acceptance strategies and Zen practices. The therapy focuses not only on changing maladaptive behaviours, but balancing change with acceptance of things that cannot be changed. In order to achieve acceptance of things that are not under the client’s control, DBT teaches a number of skills. These skills include distress tolerance skills, mindfulness skills and emotional regulation skills. The therapist’s role is not only to teach, process, and model the skills with the client, but to thoroughly understand, validate and accept that the behaviours being exhibited by the client have served a function in the client’s life despite producing maladaptive consequences. The goal is to balance the position of the therapist (the thesis) with the position of the client (the antithesis) and to find a middle ground.

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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

The Importance of Understanding Context

Posted by: Lori Walls on July 8, 2011 2:27 pm
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Part of being a graduate student is the task of trying to secure funding for research by writing and applying for grants. A result of the grant application process is developing a thick skin when reading the feedback rejection letters. In response to one of my recent grant applications I received comments indicating that during a period of my undergraduate studies (almost 20 years ago) I had let some of my marks slip. This resulted in the grant reviewers deeming my academic achievements as a spotty performance.  After my initial outrage I desperately wanted a chance to explain the context in which the slipping had occurred. Realizing that it was futile to explain I started to think about the influence of context on the academic and social success of the students that I currently work with and how enhancing my understanding of these factors may translate into different and more adaptive interventions.

In a recent study conducted by Dominguez, Viteiello, Fuccillo, et al. (2011) the additive and interactive effects of children’s context-specific problem behaviours and classroom quality dimensions were examined to determine their influence on  children’s approaches to learning. In this study teachers rated the problem behaviours and approaches to learning of 275 preschool children selected from an urban sample in the United States. Independent assessors conducted classroom observations to evaluate classroom quality. This study is of particular interest as it allowed “children’s needs to be addressed in a contextually and developmentally appropriate manner with the goal of promoting more successful engagement in learning opportunities” (p.177). 

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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Reflective Practice: An Essential Part of Developing Cultural Competency

Posted by: Lori Walls on June 22, 2011 2:10 pm
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 Most school counsellor’s approach their jobs with the goal of wanting to helping students achieve their best in academics, adaptive functioning, and social competencies. It is my belief that to do this requires the school counsellor to commit to a regime of reflective practice which can be a difficult task. I recall the first time that I encountered a culture competency model of counselling and was asked to identify my biases to my fellow classmates. My immediate reaction was that I didn’t have any biases and that I would be willing to work with any student on any issue. Upon further questioning and reflection I realized that having biases is unavoidable and that one of the most important aspects of being a counsellor is to acknowledge and exam our world views to develop an understanding of how those views shape our practice perspectives and influence our interactions with students. Sue and Sue (2002) described culturally competent counsellors as having an awareness of their own assumptions, values, and beliefs, having knowledge about the worldviews of others, as well as possessing the skill necessary to use therapeutic modalities and interventions that are most appropriate for the individual client. Schools are a microcosm that reflects the ever changing and growing diversity in today’s society and as such it is more important than ever that counsellors commit to deepening our understanding of ourselves and the impact our views have on our interactions and interventions with students.

As this week marks the beginning of PRIDE week in Toronto and the topic of this blog is about developing competency when working with diverse populations, I started thinking about the importance of the school counsellor in helping to create and maintain the school as a safe and supportive place for all students.  The following link is to a guide created by Wells and Tsutsumi (2005) titled, Creating Safe, Caring and Inclusive Schools for LGBTQ Students.  I found the guide useful in helping to understand the needs of LGBTQ students.  The guide offers information, strategies and ethical guidelines to help school counsellors develop supports, services, and interventions for LGBTQ students.

http://www.ismss.ualberta.ca/documents/people/kriswells/LGBTQGuidebookforCounsellorsWellsTsutsumi2005.pdf

Sue, D., & Sue, D. (2002). Counselling the culturally diverse: Theory and practice. NY: John Wiley & Sons.




*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Self-Injury: The Role of the School Counsellor

Posted by: Lori Walls on June 10, 2011 2:15 pm
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I recently conducted a series of interviews for a research project where a number of the participants were adolescents. While speaking with the youth it was hard not to notice how many of these individuals presented with major scarring up and down their arms from what I assume, were repeated engagements in self-harming behaviours. This observation was the impetus for investigating the role of the school counsellor in the prevention and intervention of self-harming behaviours.  In the literature, self-harming behaviour is most often referred to as non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and is defined as the intentional destruction of body tissue that is not culturally sanctioned and is without conscious suicide intent. The most common forms of NSSI are reported as self-cutting, scratching, burning and hitting. North American prevalence rates for NSSI in the adolescent population range from 15-28% with the age of onset ranging between 13-15 years (Heath, Baxter, Toste, & McLouth, 2010).

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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Cyberbullying: Intervention Ideas for Schools

Posted by: Lori Walls on May 27, 2011 10:09 am
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In the past year there have been a number of stories in the news outlining the problems of cyberbullying. In some cases the end result was the victim taking their own life, which is one reason this topic should continue to remain relevant to school counsellors and psychologists. In a recent study by Wade and Beran (2011) it was noted that a substantial portion of Canadian students in grades 6, 7, 10, and 11 are involved in cyberbullying and that girls are more likely than boys to be the target of this type of harassment. Although there is currently no standard definition of cyberbullying it has been defined as “an individual or group wilfully using information and communication involving electronic technologies to facilitate deliberate and repeated harassment or threat to another individual or group by sending or posting cruel text and/or graphics using technological means” (Mason, 2008). Despite the lack of a standard definition of cyberbullying, there is consensus that the results of the bullying negatively impacts students’, physical, social, emotional, and cognitive functioning.

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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA