SCHOOL COUNSELORS AS CONSULTANTS: USING ......SCHOOL COUNSELORS AS CONSULTANTS: USING...

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SCHOOL COUNSELORS AS CONSULTANTS: USING SOLUTION-FOCUSED LANGUAGE TO MOVE FROM PROBLEM-TALK TO SOLUTION-TALK Trigg A. Even, PhD, LPC-S, NCC

Transcript of SCHOOL COUNSELORS AS CONSULTANTS: USING ......SCHOOL COUNSELORS AS CONSULTANTS: USING...

SCHOOL COUNSELORS AS CONSULTANTS: USING SOLUTION-FOCUSED LANGUAGE TO MOVE FROM PROBLEM-TALK TO SOLUTION-TALK

Trigg A. Even, PhD, LPC-S, NCC

August 7-8, 2014 Irving, TX

Teaching and Counseling Toward Solutions Conference

Solution-focused School Counselors..3

1. Connect first with real people who own real problems

2. Listen to problem statements in a different way 3. Understand that MEANING is given to experience

and shared through LANGUAGE 4. Recognize that language is a display of IDENTITY 5. Act purposefully to facilitate a SHIFT in a person’s

construction of self !CONNECT - ENLARGE THE MEANING - OPERATIONALIZE

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Problem Statements are the Gold Mine of SOLUTIONS

C O N N E C T

Connect…to the person, not the problem Joining Building Rapport Forming an Alliance Bridging Getting to Know You Sharing Listening Reflecting Validating Attending to both intra- and inter-personal domains

!The depth of the CONNECTION influences the strength of the SOLUTION !Corrective Emotional Experience !

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E N L A R G E !

THE !

M E A N I N G

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Piaget said that knowledge/thought is constructed. ! Experience – thought –

organization ■ Re-experience new thought

re-organization

Semiotic function: mental representation of the world around you ! Includes thoughts on self, others, life,

etc. ! Plasticity - stable over time but

able to change

Piaget & Inhelder (1969)

E N L A R G E !

THE !

M E A N I N G

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(Botella & Herrero, 2000; Neimeyer & Neimeyer, 1993).

Meaning…”Human beings are meaning-makers…oriented towards understanding the world around them and their own place in it. Being human means actively engaging in one’s own interpretation of experience and one’s own pursuit of significance”

Language…Language is the way we tend to organize experiences and the meaning we give them. But, language is something we do in relationships…we share, we dialogue, we behave, and we observe.

E N L A R G E !

THE !

M E A N I N G

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(Botella & Herrero, 2000; Neimeyer & Neimeyer, 1993).

Identity…Language shared in relational context forms the basis of identity - one’s sense of self, others, and her or his world. At the most fundamental level, all problem-talk is understood as a dialogue about this sense of self.

I think my experience of ________ means this: _______. • I am _______ • Others are _________ • My world is _________

Lipchik (2002)

Language is more than telling thoughts and feelings …

Language is everything used to interact with the self, others, and the world. ! Behavior, interpersonal processes, purposeful movement,

etc. Language (words + actions) displays the semiotic function (construction of experiences) and the motivational PURPOSE towards a felt need, wish, or goal.

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www.thersa.org

Realities of K-12 Education

Does education need to be REFORMed?

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Realities (problems)

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Realities (problems) CONSEQUENCES

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Realities (problems) Consequences IDEALS

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Problems & Consequences Reveal Ideals

Problem/Consequence

Ideal

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O P E R A T I O N A L I Z E

Shifts…The solution-focused way is about facilitating a shift…from what is not from what is not working to what is working; from what is not wanted to what is wanted; from self-as-problem to self-as-promise; from problems to solutions! The IDEAL contained in the problem statement IS THE SOLUTION!! !!

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Miracles

The MQ narrows the focus toward the HEART’S DESIRE

The answers given [are] clues into what the client desires and sees from his worldview. It’s the most important issue of all to the client, and one that he will more likely work toward. By learning this information, the school counselor gets a chance to cooperate with where the school client is, lessening resistance and getting direction . . . And emerge with a workable goal (Metcalf, 2008, p. 114).

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Miracles and the Centrality of the Self

We cannot change others We cannot change our students, their parents, or teachers Students and teachers cannot change each other We cannot change precipitating events People can only change themselves

The MQ should be used to locate the client’s “core” concern and need. Continue the process until you and the client reach something personally meaningful and tangible . . . Something the client will DO.

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Don’t Want Do Want

Don’t Want (the problem)

self-as-problem

Do Want (the solution)

self-as-possibility

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Miracles and the Centrality of the Self

In consultation with parents or teachers: ! Concern/complaint ABOUT a student ■ Who OWNS the problem/complaint? ■ Who is your customer? ■ CONNECT with the person

! ENLARGE THE MEANING - explore and expand ! OPERATIONALIZE - Commit to a plan of action

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Trigg A. Even. PhD, LPC-S, NCC Texas Wesleyan:

817.531.4824

[email protected]

!Private Practice

972.268.5408

[email protected]

!!

!www.midlothian-counseling.com

www.therapy-focused.com