Blog 6 - Nakia Eckert

The first section that jumped out to me in Chapter 8 “Counseling” in our text was the section on Developmentally Appropriate Counseling. I found this section to be one that calls on School Counselors to always be mindful and to employ the Solution-Focused technique of meeting the client where they are in their own process. As much as Counselors are not supposed to “give advice”, we are supposed to help students through their decision-making processes. I was fortunate enough to grow up in a family of Counselors, so I always had help making decisions (sometimes a little too much help), but I feel for those who grew up with no one at home to help them think through decisions of any size. A statement I found to be of particular importance is, “Young students are still developing their abilities to understand cause and effect, so evaluating alternatives in terms of possible consequences is particularly challenging…Helping young students understand that it can happen to them may be a hard sell, but without addressing this, young people are not effectively or realistically assessing the consequences of their choices” (Dollarhide & Saginak, 2012, p. 128). I have a 17-year-old sister who is a senior in high school. She has a great head on her shoulders and has no interest in drugs or alcohol, for which I am thankful. However, I am always mindful when she is talking to me about choices that some of her friends have made that I approach her from her point of view and not my adult view (which could lead her and other students that we will work with) to feel as though they are being preached to or given a lecture.

The other part of this chapter I enjoyed reading was the section on Peer Facilitators. I can see that others enjoyed reading about this concept as well. I believe that the best way to facilitate change is to empower others to make their own changes and then pay it forward. This is a concept that is used at HACC in the Learning Center. We employ students who have successfully passed (usually a grade of A- or A) a course and are recommended by a professor. These students tutor other students who might be struggling with the same class. It is a chance for our students to receive assistance from someone who is “like them” and in many cases these students take direction much better from someone who they can relate to versus a professor who they might view as an authority figure. “There are benefits to the student population as a whole; peer helpers provide a safe method of connecting with the counselor in cases where trust is an issue, and it empowers students to see themselves, like the peer facilitator, as capable” (Dollarhide & Saginak, 2012, p. 135).

Dollarhide, C.T., & Saginak, K.A. (2012). Comprehensive school counseling programs (2nd Ed.). New York:   Pearson, Inc.