Blog 13

            When I first opened up this chapter from Dollarhide and Saginak (2012), I already knew what one of the biggest emerging issues in school was, mental health.  After reading some of the chapter, mental health has been growing within the school and while some students come out and say something, others just keep it all in.  I knew that mental health is a big issue in our schools because I have seen in grow from my first year to my second year as a GA for housing at Millersville.  Last year, we had a few mental health issues that need immediate attention, but this year there have been way more.  Just during my on call week for my job during the beginning of the semester, I had six suicidal cases.  That to me was a huge jump from last year.  I also see some other mental health issues also becoming more prevalent like depression and anxiety.  It is no surprise that mental health is an emerging issue in the school but why do you think that is?  Is it because our society has changed and more and more people need help, or is it our DNA that is changing for the worst?  Maybe it could be that since our society knows more about different kinds of mental health issues that people have become more aware of them in the lives of students.  Well, whether it be one or the other, school counselors or even our society need to come up with some kind of solutions so that this issue is no longer an issue for students.

            Amatea, and Clark’s (2005) article was very interesting to read on the topic of what school administrators thought about school counselors.  Over the course of their study they found that school counselors have four different kinds of roles.  They are innovative school leader role, collaborative case consultant role, responsive direct service provider, and administrative team player role.  I think my favorite role and the role that I hope my administrators have is the collaborative case consultant role.  For myself, I love to counsel students and to help them out with their problems, that is my passion.  I would like that to be my primary role even though I know that I will have to be the other roles as well when I finally get a school counseling job.  I thought that it was interesting that administrators had different kinds of roles for school counselors, but I am not shocked at the least because I figured that they would not know everything that a school counselor does.

Amatea, E. S., & Clark, M. (2005). Changing schools, changing counselors: A qualitative study of school administrators' conceptions of the school counselor role. Professional School Counseling, 9, 16-27.

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

Post #13 - Chapter 13

Reading Chapter 13 from Drummond and Jones (2012) this week seemed to coincide well with some of the topics covered by our class’s evidence-based practices presentations recently.  The first thing that stuck out to me while reading the chapter was the section that covered crisis counseling and management.  Drummond and Jones note that “in a proactive and preventive effort, counselors would educate all partners in the warning signs of crisis (as developmentally appropriate)” (2012, p. 233).  Later in the chapter, they go on to say that “crisis planning is a multistep process” (p. 235).  These statements reminded me of the presentation of the PREPaRE Method of managing school crisis, and how this method emphasizes prevention and preparation for psychological trauma.  I was also reminded of the man from the video who emphasized the consideration of natural disasters that are most likely in the geographical location of your educational setting.  Similarly, the PREPaRE Method encourages schools to have all school faculty educated in the school’s specific crisis management plans.  This is important because the crisis can grow if it is not handled well.  Drummond and Jones also suggest that students be trained to be aware of warning signs in their friends and the need to inform an adult of their concerns when they suspect a friend or classmate is suicidal.  I immediately thought of Aevidum, and how this club is carrying this mandate out.  In light of the panel discussions we’ve had recently, I also thought about creating some type of anonymous reporting mechanism, like the online tool that HACC uses or the SAP locker that another counselor mentioned. 

One topic that was somewhat new for me was that of gender issues in schools.  The report by Clark, Oakley, and Adams (2006, as cited in Drummond & Jones, 2012) was surprising to me.  It stated that in the United States, boys are achieving at lower levels than girls and that women have surpassed men not only in high school graduation rates but in university enrollment and degree completion.  If this is the case, why is it that men continue to receive higher wages than women in the United States?  Perhaps more women graduate from high school and college because they know that without these degrees, their chance of earning an income that they can actually live off of is slim to none.  Therefore, the accusation by Rivers and Barnett (as cited in Drummond & Jones, 2012), that the crisis is a “manufactured” one and “the product of both a backlash against the women’s movement” and the media’s tendency to report on the next big crisis for the nation seemed to have greater merit to me.  However, I did find the gender differences as discussed by Gurian (as cited in Drummond & Jones, 2012) to be quite fascinating, especially the discussion about the differences between how boys and girls process emotions.  This is a topic that I would like to research more in the future so that I can take Gurian’s advice by helping to develop organizational and teaching strategies more likely to assist both males and females in achieving academic and personal/social success.

Reference

Dollarhide, C.T., & Saginak, K. A. (2012). Comprehensive school counseling programs: K-12 delivery systems in action. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Blog 13

I found it interesting to read the questions following the vignette at the beginning of chapter 13 in Dollarhide and Saginak’s (2012, p. 230-1) text because I was definitely picturing a stereotypic suburban mother: tall, blonde, with Christian Louboutin kitten heels on, storming around Gila Vista Elementary School like she owns the place. I wish there had been an opportunity for an honest discussion in the class about what everyone else pictured, because the thought that others might have imagined something else while reading the chapter did not even cross my mind. Furthermore, I felt that the scenario played out near-perfectly, besides the violent reaction from the mother. I was pleasantly surprised that the teacher did not gossip with Erin about the mother’s behavior. I was impressed that Erin had the composure to intervene, follow up with the teacher, and create a plan to meet with the student. Of all the vignettes we have read, this one evoked the happiest reaction from me and allowed me to feel that as a counselor, I might have the same tranquility when dealing with unexpected situations.

                Erin’s reaction plays into the article by Amatea and Clark (2005) when the researchers discuss how counselors need to become much more focused on student advocacy instead of simply counseling students on a planned basis. If Erin had stayed in her office and waited for the student in the vignette to come to her with a problem, she may have never seen him. Instead, Erin chose to cultivate a relationship with the teacher and step in to advise that everything was running smoothly. She then went a step further and was proactive about making a plan for the student instead of focusing on her frustration or anger toward the mother.

                I suppose, if I am viewing the vignette in light of the article, Erin could have taken notes out of Amatea and Clark’s (2005) “Collaborative Case Consultant” (p. 22) and focused on both of the important stakeholders in the student’s life: the teacher and the parent. This could potentially create a safe space for the family to work out the school-related issues/questions and allow the mother to believe that school faculty cares about her personal frustrations.

Amatea, E. S., & Clark, M. (2005). Changing schools, changing counselors: A qualitative study of school administrators' conceptions of the school counselor role. Professional School Counseling, 9(1), 16-27.

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

 

As a caveat to the ethics blog, I see that there is a specific ethical standard to abide by collaboration guidelines. This applies to the second ethical dilemma I wrote about. While I would listen to my gut instinct in an ethical decision, I would be able to be certain in my decision to collaborate because it is outline in the ASCA National Model.

Blog 13 - Nakia Eckert

The first thing I want to say is that I feel that this class has changed my perspective on the importance of a comprehensive guidance program. I was a little negative in the beginning of the semester regarding how I felt about pushing a guidance curriculum agenda in the schools. I thought that School Counselors just needed to do what they were told and would not have the opportunity to advocate for their positions and effectiveness in the schools. This class has really shown me that that is simply not the case and that without a comprehensive guidance curriculum, counselors will end up spinning their wheels and will be unable to make the systemic changes that are necessary to ensure the success and happiness of their students.

Chapter 13 focuses on what a lot of us have been talking about in class and in our presentations and I am sure in our CSCP projects. After reading the Case Study, I felt that the counselor did the right thing and act responsibly for the student. It was probably best that the mother ended up storming out of the room and that the counselor did not try to intervene while the mother was so upset. I cannot imagine how stressful it is to have a child who you feel is not being treated fairly by the school system. Whether the parent is right or wrong in their assessment, the counselor needs to approach this from the point of view that the mother loves her son and would not be angry if she did not care. This was beautifully explained last night by Melissa Ostrowski on the counselor panel. Working with parents is very difficult, but the counselor will be able to do a lot of detective work by speaking with Samuel as soon as possible.

One area of interest in the chapter was the rise of self-destructive behaviors that can range from alcohol and drug abuse, self-mutilation, etc. One area that was not mentioned was negative body image. I feel that this is a very self-destructive behavior that manifests internally and can grow into eating disorders or other types of self-destructive behavior. There is a lot of attention being paid to body image in the media and I feel that the image of skinny equaling better is starting to dissipate, but there is still a long way to go when telling children what makes someone beautiful. “In a CSCP, counselors would attend to all self-destructive behavior in holistic, systemic, balanced, proactive, integrated, and reflective ways…as well as examine the effect of the behavior on academic, career, and personal/social development, and would provide counseling, referrals, advocacy, and consulting as appropriate” (Dollarhid & Saginak, 2012, p. 234).

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

Blog 13

When I read the case study “Samuel’s Mother” the one thing that jumped out at me was that Erin decided to intervene “after a few minutes”. I don’t think I could stand by and watch something like that for a few minutes without at least letting the teacher know I was there if she needed me. I don’t believe that you should rush in and think you can “save” every situation (we are just not that powerful!) but I do believe we should have each other’s backs as staff. When I read the challenge questions and it asked us to be honest about what we “saw” as we imagined this scenario I have to be honest and say that I didn’t really have a clear picture of the mother in my head. Usually I do but not this time. My first thoughts were to assist the teacher and I also was wondering if Samuel was witnessing his mother’s outrage. I think it was just parents at this event but those were the thoughts that first ran through my head.

My client this fall in Brief Counseling was a 9 year old boy on the spectrum with ADHD and who also is in the gifted program at his school. His mother had talked to me about his problems with executive functioning and I quickly realized my lack of expertise in this area. I enjoyed working with Joel and although I was initially frustrated with what I deemed a lack of much progress in our sessions, I realized that he is a pretty complicated case. I instead looked at what we had accomplished and decided to celebrate those things. The Japanese word “kaizen” means to celebrate even small gains in a person. I also realized the need for continued education and professional development in so many arenas. We don’t have to be experts in everything but we should at least have a basic understanding of many of the issues our students may be facing. The other thing is to have a great list of resources in your office and know who is well respected in their field.

I found the section on Spirituality interesting to read and think about in a school setting. I worked for a church for many years so we talked a lot about spirituality and also the views of our particular church and denomination. I have a little angst thinking about talking about these things in a public school or at least I wonder how I will talk about this subject. I personally find this subject very meaningful as spirituality and religion have always been an integral part of my life. This is one area that I feel pretty comfortable talking about I have had a fair amount of exposure to world religions. I look forward to exploring this area more as I work in a school setting.

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

Blog 13

            I am not going to lie about my feeling on the opening vignette. When I first read it my immediate thoughts were along the lines of wondering what the hell had I just read. However, after I read the accompanying questions for the vignette things became a little clearer and I admittedly was offended. Was the text insinuating that I was supposed to assume that the yelling mother was a minority? That she was impoverished? That she possessed some sort of mental health issue? Because those aspects never crossed my mind. My immediate thoughts were that this was a middle class European-American mother that was of fine mental health but she had a strong disdain for the school feeling that it did not offer the best opportunity for her son. Only afterwards did those thoughts cross my mind. That is not to say that I don’t acknowledge the existence of factors such as cultural ways of communication (high versus low context) or socioeconomic status that could have come into play. However, I also feel as if those factors only should come into play when there is a clear and positive assurance that these factors may be coming into play. However, the vignette did an excellent job setting up the ever-changing dynamics and constructs we, as counselors, have to worry about, that I don’t feel other educational professionals are even aware of or take concern of.

            One thing I think that the chapter and article did exceptionally well was to highlight and frame the need for counselors to best address the needs of students. Moreover, addressing the needs of the student’s family and/or community and not just the needs of the student. I think that is best highlighted in that quote from the article: “[The school’s principal] believed that the counselors often had a "bigger picture of the needs of the school than other staff members." I think this is always true. While our future coworkers are educated in pedagogical techniques (Teachers) or motivating other faculty members to produce best results (Principals) we’re taught to look beyond the numbers. Sure, there are some teachers that attempt to do this but they find themselves hamstringed by local, state, and national policies often times. However, we’re taught to almost instantaneously look beyond what is deemed best for the school and focus solely on the students’. Our accountability/success is directly tied into that whereas teachers can be excellent teachers but if they get a kinesthetic learner but have to teach traditionally, it’ll reflect badly on their measure of accountability; standardized testing. The same basic principal falls on the principal and accountability as well. I think that this is why these emerging facets are thrust upon counselors first because they deal with what we’re inherently supposed to address in the first place. That is also why I think it’s our job to educate our eventual coworkers on these matters. That was even highlighted in the article where “another principal noted that as a result of her counselor's influence and leadership, she and her staff had changed how they thought about students' academic problems and the role students could have in assessing their own performance.” I’d wager that constructs such as poverty, multicultural factors, and the like immediately came into mind for other faculty but certainly did for the counselor(s).

            All in all I think this chapter and article reinforced just how important the need for counselors is. We’re not just helping one student at a time through individual counseling sessions. Rather we’re systemic change agents because we’re ethically trained to be by understanding various dynamics, that aren’t so easily discernable, that come into play and effect children. And as the chapter made evident, there are new concerns always on the horizon and who will be the first individuals taking the brunt of education on these concerns? Counselors. Hell, I think that Mrs. Ostrowski, Mr. Sharpe, and Mr. Milton hammered these points home in the conversation tonight.

Dollarhide, C.T., & Saginak, K.A. (2012). Comprehensive school counseling programs (2nd

           

Ed.). New York:   Pearson, Inc.

Amatea, E. & Clark, M. (2005). Changing schools, changing counselors: A qualitative study

            of school administrators' conceptions of the school counselor role. Professional School

Counseling 9(1), 16.