What School Counselors May Not Realize About Solution-Focused Counseling

The Power of Solution-Focused School Counseling

Well , hey there , school counselor , Welcome back to the School for School Counselors podcast . I'm Steph Johnson , glad to be back here with you another week . We missed last week on the podcast . It just about broke my heart , but y'all , I was so sick I couldn't even raise my head off the pillow for about three days . Not sure what it was , never went and got the you-know-what test . I'm fairly certain it may have had something to do with that . But nevertheless , here I am this week , raring to go . I have so much to talk about with you and I cannot wait to get this episode started .

I do want to remind you quickly , before we jump into things this week , that if you haven't had a chance yet to leave a rating in your podcast platform of choice , or if you haven't stopped to leave us a review in Apple podcast my gosh , we would love that so much . Really , it would be better than anything else that you could do . We just really want to spread the word . We want to get the word out about the School for School Counselors podcast . There's a lot of heart and soul going into this podcast , as you can tell , and we want to make sure that it is accessible and known about by anybody who might be able to benefit . So if you have a second once you're finished listening today , hop on over , leave us a rating and a review . It makes a world of difference and we will be forever in your debt and nothing for nothing . I'd love to read your review on an episode coming up . I'd love to read those . They're so , so fun and I just imagine you sitting there typing away on your phone or typing away on your keyboard . It's just so cool to think that that's out there and happening in the world . So thanks for being a listener , thanks for being here in these conversations with me , and thanks ahead of time for your rating and your review . So you know that I record these episodes week by week .

I don't do what a lot of podcasters have told me I should be doing , which is called batching . It means you sit down and you record , you know , 12 or 15 episodes all in one , pop over a span of a couple of days , get them all done , bang , bang , boom , put them in the schedule and out they go . There's a couple reasons I don't like that . Number one my brain just doesn't work that way . That's just just not how I roll . But secondly , I don't feel like it's super authentic . Maybe it's just my therapy background , I don't know .

But I really feel like I need to be in the moment with you . I really feel like I need to be day to day with everybody , seeing what the concerns are . What's the conversation revolving around right now ? What are folks thinking about or struggling with or wanting to get better at so that I can bring you the very , very best on the podcast , not just some random list of junk I came up with six months ago and now we're finally scheduling it to be published ? That makes no sense to me and no shade to anybody that does it that way . We all have our own work clothes and ways we need to do it .

But all that to say this week , after being out from the podcast for a week , being ill man , I have all kinds of ideas that I want to share with you . Thinking time for me is a dangerous time because I come up with a lot of things and so I'm going to go rogue . I do kind of have a loose list of topics that I want to get to Sometime in the year . I'm going to go rogue off that I'm not going to talk about this weekend . Instead , I'm going to tell you that I just finished a master class with my mastermind group about solution focused counseling and we were just practicing those things . We were reviewing the fundamentals of solution focused approaches and we were identifying ways we would use those in scenarios . It was real time think tank kind of idea exchange . It was phenomenal . We always kind of assess everybody when they come in to see how confident they feel with these approaches before we start and then we check again after we're done to see what's going on and we're showing some great growth there . So I have some thoughts in my mind about solution focused work that I think you could benefit from as well , and true to wanting to be authentic with you and real and in the moment . I want to share those with you while they're on my mind .

You know , I think we're working in a time in school counseling right now that's pretty tough and as a full time school counselor , just like you , I know the kinds of things that you're up against every day , not only with students and resolving issues and confronting challenges on campus . But our climate at large is for the most part , I would say , in a lot of areas , very distrustful of our work , very leery of letting students work with us a lot on campus and or very misinformed about what we should be doing on campus when we're there . And I'm not just talking about parents , I'm not just talking about administrators or coworkers . I feel like there is just a misperception among most of the population about what we do . A lot of that is because you can't see what's going on in counseling , right , it's not like a tutoring session , it's not like we're taking grades on our counseling sessions . So it's really hard to provide some concrete evidence of what's going on in those sessions , what we're talking about , what kind of change , who's we're inspiring . It's a tough gig , for sure . At any time it's a tough gig . But now it seems we have a lot of parents who do not want us digging into their family's business , right ? They don't want their student disclosing things that may be happening , perhaps at home , perhaps within their family system , maybe some of their family beliefs it could be any number of things .

And we're seeing a lot of initiatives in some different states right now that appear to be aimed toward curtailing the efforts of school counselors , limiting access , providing other personnel to do the work that we're doing . It really feels like a climate of distrust . I think healthy skepticism is good in anything . I don't think you should ever blindly just say this is all wonderful , it's great , and I also don't think you should ever say this is all terrible and horrible . In some very extreme instances those might be true , but typically the truth and best practice lies somewhere in the middle , and as counselors , we know that because we deal in that all day , every day . But we're working with and living around people who don't have that same worldview and it makes it different .

So what I'm trying to get at is when we talk about solution focused school counseling . I believe this could be a great ally for us in this era of distrust for school counselors , when people are worried that we're indoctrinating their children , when people don't want their hidden secrets uncovered all these kinds of things and they're imagining us putting their students through some sort of Freudian exercise or something . I don't know , I think maybe they imagine it like they see on their Netflix shows , which is definitely not what we do in schools . But as we develop a fluency in being able to not only work within solution focused approaches but to be able to talk about them , to be able to describe them and educate people about them in a way that's very authoritative , in a way that conveys that we know our business , we know what we're doing and because of that there's no threat to be had . I think it's really , really important , because if we don't have buy-in , if we don't have trust , if we don't have administrators and parents on our side as we're trying to alleviate students' discomfort , as we're trying to empower them to pave their way toward their best futures , we're going to feel like we're swimming against the current every single step of the way , and that's not a fun way to do your job , is it ? No , we've all probably had times in our careers where we felt like that , where , no matter what we did , no matter what we said , things just weren't going the direction we needed them to go .

Solution focus counseling is a beautiful approach for schools in a couple of different ways . Number one it is very time efficient . There are only a few visits required to start seeing the kinds of positive changes in students that we want to see . It's not a long drawn out process . It's not weeks and weeks and months and months of students visiting our offices in a dither upset , emotional , angry . Whatever it is , it's not going to de-escalate a student four times a week . It's none of those things . It's very time limited , it's very targeted and it's very purposeful in the way that it works . The second thing is that it allows us the ability to make the argument that we don't need to poke into students' information . We don't need to get into all the dynamics , we don't need to get into all of the family systems and all those kinds of things . Solution focused work . That is most often not helpful .

In solution focused work , we want to be focusing on the here and now , what is currently happening . If we're talking about the past , we're talking about times when this problem wasn't apparent . This problem wasn't concerning what was different about those times , those kinds of questions not getting into . What did they say next ? Well then , what happened when they got out of jail ? Well then , what happened when he came back home ? Those kinds of questions aren't necessary in a solution focused counseling lens .

And when we can really describe the process , when we can do so with an air of authority , when we can be well spoken about it and really explain what those solution focused processes look like , we're going to be able to get buy-in from folks who are going to be able to believe that we're not talking to their kid , just to get into their business . There's a huge , huge fear about that , so we want to make sure that we avoid that at all costs . This brings me to the thought of a lot of the resources that are out there and again it's going to sound like I'm dogging these folks and I promise I'm really not . There are some great resources out there for school counselors to download and utilize with students . But what I'm seeing here in the last probably four to five years is a huge emphasis on these generic problem solving curriculums . And while I do agree that our work in school counseling really needs to be focused on sort of skills-based interventions right , we don't need to be digging into past histories . Family relationships dynamics usually doesn't need to be a huge concern at the outset . At least we need to be focusing on how can we get this student on track in their school career , right .

But we often see folks we had a scenario like this in our masterclass just this afternoon . There's a scenario of a student who had some family concerns . For sure , they were not living with their biological parents . They were often showing up to school looking a little disheveled , uncamped , sometimes hungry . So we have some basic needs that need to be met for sure . Not passing state assessments , struggling in certain classes , lacking attention I'm probably describing someone that could be at your campus right now , right . And then sometimes this student is not accepted by others because of their appearance , because of their outbursts , and sometimes they get highly emotional in class . They become a little destructive , making inappropriate statements , arguing back with teachers , all of these things .

And so we were talking through the scenario and I said before , we approach this through a solution-focused lens . Tell me how do you think a school counselor would typically jump into addressing these problems ? And it was fascinating to hear everybody's ideas and thoughts on what that would be . And they were spot on , absolutely spot on . And I tell you , the mastermind is full of the smartest school counselors you could ever meet . That is no hyperbole , friends , that is the honest to goodness truth . I don't know how we've managed to attract so many rock stars in our mastermind , but it's phenomenal

Effective School Counseling Strategies

.

So here are some things we talked about in a typical school counseling relationship we might see as a starting point . First , you might see a lot of people exploring kind of the trauma aspect of this situation . Why is mom in jail ? How long has it been since you've seen dad ? What's your relationship like with the person you're living with now ? Those kinds of things Just really getting into the trauma lens . How long has this stuff been going on ? How do you feel about it ? Lots of feelings , questions , lots of feelings , questions , right , just kind of digging down into the emotional aspect of the situation , trying to find a way to pull this student out of this spiral .

We also talked about , kind of in the same lens , the lure , the temptation to start pulling kids into these skills-based , problem-focused small groups . And if you've been listening to this for any amount of time , you know how much those little groups bother me . But nothing for nothing . You might see a school counselor pull this student into perhaps an anger management group , perhaps a study skills group , right , and we immediately go to that . We start providing these generic band-aid activities , trying to get students back on track , and sometimes we see results from that . Sometimes we can see some short-term gains , but if we're not really addressing some more fundamental issues , those gains aren't going to be sustainable . They're going to fade away at some point and the student's going to revert back to either the original behavior or sometimes it's worse . We got to be really , really careful with that .

That's why I don't like these generic anger management groups or things like that . I don't know that they're super helpful . I have yet to see anybody sell a curriculum . I use air quotes again for that . Sell the curriculum on TBT and provide evidence that it worked . Have you ever seen that ? Have you ever seen somebody publish it and say I've run this group 20 times and here are my stats . You never see that right . And again , not trying to dog on people who make that stuff , there are some excellent resources out there . I think I'll do an episode sometime on some of my favorites , because I think you'd be surprised at some of the things I do use from sites like Teachers , pay Teachers .

But we don't need to be rushing into fixing things , solving things , giving students these tools that's kind of how we think about it . Coping skills that's another one . Everybody wants to jump to . Coping skills . How are you going to cope ? That's great if we can cope , but if we can only cope for so long , we got to figure out another way out , and so solution focused is going to give us that map . And then , third , we talked about a typical school counselor in a situation with a student like this is probably going to focus on physical needs . They're going to be focusing on making sure the student is fed , making sure the student is clothed . Perhaps we're providing ways for them to get clothes washed . Perhaps she has a hairbrush and some deodorant and things stashed somewhere in the school that she can go grab when she gets to school in the morning . There are going to be lots of things going on .

But when I flipped the script a little bit and asked all of our masterminders now through a solution focused lens , what would you address first ? And they thought about it for a minute and then had the best answer ever . They said we're not really sure what we would address first because we're going to have to first have the student identify it . And they're exactly right . In solution focused , we don't show up with these pre formulated agendas . We don't hear the word anger and pull out our anger packet . We don't hear the word failing and pull out our study skills packet . That's not how solution focused works .

I'll tell you , to start a solution focused session with a student like this , that they would come in and visit with me If they'd never met me . Of course , I'm going to explain who I am , what I do and why I do it right and always explain to them , as I'm the kid helper on campus , when kids have big worries or big problems , I'm the one that knows how to help them solve their issues . Notice the wording there . I'm not solving anything . I'm here to help you solve what you need to solve . That's a big distinction in the way I hear a lot of school counselors describe their role . Then , before I do anything , before I ask a question , before I invite a conversation , anything , I'm going to have students sit down and scale all the aspects of their school day . I have a scale on my desk , it lives there . It has emoji faces on it . So it's very , very clear to students , no matter their age , no matter their cognitive ability . They're going to be able to look at this scale chart and pretty much figure it out . How's math going , how's reading going , how are your electives going ? How's your friend game , how's recess ? We go through all those pieces of their school day and by doing that , I'm already starting to focus in on where we're going to go .

The student in the scenario if I were to sit her down and talk with her . We know she has all of these things . We know she has concerns in her home life . We know that she has some academic concerns . We know that she also has some strengths . We had some strengths presented in the scenario as well . We know she's having some friend troubles . We know she's having some troubles with being teased and things like that . We know she's confrontational , sometimes destructive . There are a lot of things going on here and we're not going to be able to solve them all at once , but it's like a sweater you start pulling on one little thread and pretty soon you'll have the whole thing unraveled Right . It's all interconnected .

So after scaling all the aspects of the student's life , I'm probably going to have a pretty good read on where she sees the problem . Does she see the problem as home ? Does she see it as academics ? Does she see it as friends or does she see it as herself ? And then from there we can get into some solution-focused work . We're going to be able to try to find those times , those moments in which she doesn't feel so powerless or angry or hurt or whatever it is that's going on . We're going to be able to find those exceptions . We're going to be able to build on them . She's going to be able to create her own map toward a solution and it'll be an incredible process .

But it has to be customized to that student . It has to be customized to their reality and I think that's a piece we often forget in school counseling . We walk in with our own agenda , we want to be the fixer right and sometimes , as one of my masterminders said last week , sometimes we want that little bit of instant gratification of being able to provide a solution and there's a little bit of a rush in feeling like we're a little bit of an authority figure . Be honest . But we've got to be careful about that , because the moment we walk in with an agenda is the moment we disempower the student . And why do we walk in with these agendas ? Because we are not solid in our own expertise . Either we don't trust ourselves , we don't feel like we are well-versed enough to get the result , or sometimes we're a little bit scared of where the conversation is going to go .

What if they say something that I'm not prepared for ? What if I don't know how to get out of it ? What if I don't know what to do next ? What if they don't say anything ? What if they just say I don't know , I don't know what do I do then . So those are the kinds of things we talked about in our master class this afternoon . Guys , it's so easy to access this . If you want to learn more , hear the whole conversation that we had .

It's housed in our Mastermind Library right now , as well as the resources that we provided what we call a quick guide , which is just a quick memory jogger of the flow of what a solution-focused series of conversations could look like , as well as my emoji rating charts are in there for folks to download and just grab and use as they need to , and I also gave them a link to a resource that I wish that I'd had when I started school counseling , because I'm here to tell you I uncovered something this past week that will knock your socks off , will make solution-focused counseling infinitely easier With any student you run across from elementary through high school . It's going to be a cheat file of sorts . If you're familiar with our jump file concept , it's kind of like a jump file , for solution-focused counseling is phenomenal . All that is housed in our Mastermind Library , so you can log into your Mastermind Library if you're already a member and go grab that now , and if you're not , join the Mastermind . I'm telling you , it is the most dynamic , exciting and empowering school counseling community on the face of the earth .

We've seen a few folks trying to emulate what we're doing in the School for School Counselors Mastermind , and good luck to them . I don't know that they're going to be able to recreate the magic that we have in our Mastermind , and that's not because of me . It's because of the phenomenal people that are there , who have been there for years , who keep showing up week after week in our Tuesday evening chats to consult , to support one another , to empower one another and to have these kinds of discussions about our work . Because when we get better at what we do every single day , we not only empower ourselves and we not only empower our campus , but we are empowering our vocation as a whole . When one of us gets better , we all get better . When one of us is better able to explain the whys and what's of what we're doing on campus , it reflects on every single one of us . And that's the dream , guys . That's the goal here . It's not just about isolated skills groups , it's not just about downloadable resources , it's not about any of that stuff . It's about empowering one another to make school counseling the best it can possibly be .

So I hope this conversation helped kind of reframe your lens on solution-focused work . It's not just talking about the positive , it's not just focusing on the good things and then trying to figure out what to do after that . I think that's what a lot of school counselors think about solution-focused approaches . I'm hoping to bring you some more solution-focused thoughts and ideas in some upcoming podcast episodes in the future , but for now , I just really want to challenge you to be critical about the approaches that you're using with students , whether it's solution-focused or whether it's something else . Be aware of why you're using it . Challenge yourself If a parent were to call you and say , can you give me a brief summary of what you're doing with my student in the next three sessions and why you're doing it ?

Could you answer them ? If someone were to ask you what is the evidence base for your approach in this activity or your approach in this small group , could you not only describe it but describe it with authority and could you explain why that approach is going to be the best in that particular situation ? These are the kinds of conversations that we need to be having in school counseling Beyond what to print , beyond how to put a small group together . We need to be talking more intentionally about the nuts and bolts of what we're doing with students , why we've selected those approaches and how those approaches are going to help students realize their best versions of themselves .

School Counselors Podcast

All right , I'm going to let you guys go for this week . I'll be back soon with another episode of the School for School Counselors podcast , so keep listening and don't forget to go submit that rating and review for the podcast . We'll love you forever for that . We're going to thank you over and over again once we see that , come through . All right , go out . Have a great week this week . I hope you have the best week ever . Take care .