Personal Approach Reflection In Counseling School Settings

After reviewing and learning about several more counseling approaches and techniques, a counseling theory that most resonates and best fits my personality style would be the Person-Centered approach. The person-centered approach, also known as the Rogerian therapy, was founded by psychologist Carl Rogers in the 1940s. Rogers believed that people are capable of making constructive changes in their own lives and are more likely to do so when therapists are transparent, supportive and nonjudgmental. (Corey, 2009, p. 169). The purpose of this approach is to focus on the client as a person and help them grow so that as an individual they could cope with current and future problems. “Clients learn that they can be responsible for themselves in the relationship and that they can learn to be freer by using the relationship to gain greater self-understanding. ” (Corey, 2009, p. 172).

This approach has been widely used with clients experiencing the loss of a loved one, depression, anxiety, alcoholism, etc. Some would describe me as a person who is a great listener, empathetic, judgement free and positive which appears to be some of the qualities necessary to make the person-centered approach more effective. In this model, the therapist serves as a catalyst for change when he/she demonstrates acceptance and compassion. I suppose that many open up to me and share what they feel because I genuinely demonstrate care. When a person shares anything with me, they have my undivided attention and through nonverbal cues, the person is aware that what they have to share with me is important. He or she knows they will not be judged for what they may be feeling or experiencing, after all we are all human are capable of experiencing different emotions. We may not all have the same reaction to the same circumstance and that is what makes us unique therefore with this approach, clients are accepted as they are.

The idea of unconditional positive regard towards the client is crucial to the effectiveness of the person-centered approach. Because people may communicate in various ways, the idea of expressive arts therapy is explored and combines the person-centered approach and creative expression through music, journal writing, drawing, etc. (Corey, 2009, p. 180-181). Some of these ideas were developed by Carl Rogers but later expanded by his daughter Natalie Rogers. “Using drawing, painting and sculpting to express feelings about an even or person offers tremendous relief and a new perspective. Also, symbols carry messages that go beyond the meanings of words. ” (Corey, 2009, p. 182). This statement describing the expressive arts therapy technique stood out to me because there are times when we as people cannot put what we are feeling into words so using the creative movement can make it easier to describe how we may be feeling. This application of expressive arts therapy can be used as a method to decrease behavior. According to Plotts and Lasser, a technique for decreasing inappropriate behaviors could be a reinforcement for appropriate communication. (Plotts & Lasser, 2013, pg. 30).

In some cases, expressive arts therapy could be considered a method of prevention that could impede behaviors from increasing by allowing the student to still express themselves but in a distinct manner. These methods remind me of what I have tried with a particular student. This is my fifth school year teaching and over the last few years I have worked with various personalities but one of my goals has remained the same. One of my most important goals as a teacher has been to guide my students in the process of becoming more responsible individuals. Responsibility may be vague but as I tell my students, I want each one to be more accountable for their actions and understand that although some situations may be out of their control, we do have the power to control how we react and how long we react. We all have the capability to do so, some may need more guidance than others but it can be done. With that being said, I use my toolbox to try to equip my students with what I can and I try my best to breakthrough each one to make a lasting connection.

I have a particular student who has been quite a challenge for me this school year but I feel that finally I have found something that works and connects with the ideas of Carl and Natalie Rogers. I have a 6th grade autistic boy in one of my classes, who is about eleven years old. I have taught a few autistic students over the last few years and most have been easy going and calm. If it was not for the purple special education folders and IEP meetings, I would have never known these students were autistic. These students had great social interactions with others and were completely outperforming my general education students. Although this student too is bright, Fred’s behavior is a little bit different from my previous autistic students. This boy has episodes of meltdowns and tantrums which something I had no experience with. Fred was also diagnosed with anxiety and is afraid of his mother and father dying. His mother and service providers, communicated me with that the best way to prevent outbursts would be to let Fred know in advance what our day in the classroom would look like. After the first few outbursts, I decided to reach out to the school psychologists, a friend of mine who is a social worker, and his RSP teacher about ways I can help him manage these feelings because emotions because they were beginning to impede the learning of other students.

There have been times where I have had to stop my lesson a few times to calm down Fred. And although Fred needs my help, I also have 27 other students in my classroom that also need my attention. I was conflicted. I felt like I needed to find a happy medium between providing the most effective services for Fred and making sure I was getting through the lesson for the rest of my students. After trying the strategies set in place and seeing how ineffective they were at times I decided to have a conversation with Fred after class. I started by asking how his day was going, he mentioned how his day was not going so well because there were many new things he was learning in all his classes and was feeling extremely overwhelmed. He proceeded to apologize for the outbursts he had in class that day. I communicated with him how it was okay to feel overwhelmed and explained to him to how I could relate to how he was feeling. I expressed that at times, I too, feel overwhelmed with work and my school work but I did mention that when I begin to feel overwhelmed I take a deep breath and think about what I can control and focus on that. I also mentioned to him how sometimes when I am at home and I begin to feel upset, I do burpees or go for a run. He proceeded to share with me that when he is at home and feels upset, he draws. I had an “Aha” moment and I asked what if drawing or writing could also help him in my classroom. Fred said we could try it and together we brainstormed how that could look like. We talked about the materials we use in class and he mentioned how we use whiteboards and expo markers to show our work and proceeded to say that he wanted to use the whiteboard to draw whenever he was upset. I also asked what those drawings would like and Fred mentioned it could be a sad or mad face or even a question mark. This conversation with Fred not only combines ideas of person-centered theory but also the ABC model used in behavioral therapy to analyze actions (Plotts & Lasser, 2013, pg. 28). With Fred’s situation, the antecedent would be he is triggered with transitions and being presented with new material while the behavior he exerts are the outbursts and the frequency of these episodes.

In the case of Fred, the consequence may vary. Some days it may be good and he might use the strategies in place while other days, he may react differently and tear his work or slam tables. This same model can be used to analyze conflicts between two individuals and identify triggers and possible outcomes. Knowing triggers and finding ways to work through those antecedents may result in the desired positive outcomes. The next day Fred comes to class and before class I reminded him of the strategy he came up with and I encouraged him to use it if he felt necessary. I was introducing a new a topic and more or less, I had a feeling a meltdown would take place because new material overwhelmed him. About 10 minutes into the lesson, I see Fred open his marker and writes on his whiteboard. He was having a meltdown but I noticed that it was not as much of a distraction to the other students as it had been previously. I saw his board, we made eye contact and I just motioned him to take a deep breath and within two minutes, he was back to normal. I shared this experience and strategy with the rest of his teachers including RSP and his psychologist and it will be a strategy will be added to his behavior plan. I feel that this technique of expressive art therapy that was expanded by Carl Rogers and Natalie Rogers is successful in my classroom because I have fostered a safe environment where students feel they are accepted and cared for. I also believe this has been successful for Fred because he feels accountable and has sense of ownership for coming up with a strategy that works for him which aligns with goals of person-centered therapy.

The goals of person-centered therapy were: “…people who are becoming increasingly actualized as having an openness to experience, a trust in themselves, an internal source of evaluation and a willingness to continue growing. ” (Corey, 2009, p. 170). The therapeutic goals Rogers has for the person-centered model is what Fred experienced. He was open and willing to try something new, he trusted in himself and evaluated if this strategy worked for him in the classroom setting and realized this could be used in his other classes as well. With this student, I would also use positive reinforcement and remind him of the progress he is making because of his effort. Students at the middle school level love praise from their teachers and a simple “Great job today” could make a huge difference. I personally am not too fond of token economies and as I tell my students, in reality, if we do something good we are not always rewarded but I would probably make an exception down the road for this student.

For example, let’s say Fred is using his able to use his breathing techniques and able to gain self-control and there is progress being made, a reward such as 10 minutes of free time on the Chromebook every other week or something similar to that could be motivator for this child or maybe even spending lunch with administrator or a favorite teacher could be used as reward. Reflecting on how I have implemented counseling approaches in the classroom and figuring out what counseling method best suits me, has allowed me to see how certain strategies that I already have in my toolbox can be used in counseling and how those that I have learned are accessible by not only counselors but educators. As mentioned in text, School Psychologist as a Counselor, “The best approach is to consider collaborative working relationships with teachers, aides, parents, administrators, and other specialists. ” (Plotts & Lasser, 2013, pg. 43).