Blog 8 – Chapter 10 and Solution Focused Consultation article  

This chapter was very informative and addressed some of the concerns that I am having with transitioning from a teacher to a counselor. Both collaboration and consultation with students, parents, and colleagues is a focus and concern of mine. Even as a teacher I find myself making these things a priority because I see so much value in having positive working relationships, but it proves to be a real challenge. From the very start the authors discuss the importance of all parties to be able to have “courage, willingness to risk, objectivity, ego strength, flexibility, adaptability, willingness to compromise, confidence, and a spirit and attitude of optimism that exudes cooperation and perseverance” (Dollarhide & Saginak, p. 164, 2012).  I cannot possibly go into the depths and details of how each of the above mentioned pieces are a challenge when working with teachers and parents, and it would sound quite negative. So, what is the solution? The text is completely right in saying that these things are of great importance and would (and do) benefit students greatly when working efficiently. What can we do to get the ball rolling and continue progress in these areas throughout the year?

First I appreciate the text laying out different models in collaboration and consultation because I think following a model or protocol is often the best way to present this kind of work or begin this type of discussion. The more it can be about a process or procedure the less personal it may seem to the teacher or other professionals. The text presents a variety and this is also important to me because the longer you are in school the more familiar you become with the roles of teachers and the dynamics of the relationships between them. Some models may lend themselves better to a school population or specific teachers. Adelman and Taylor’s model was appealing because of its very general layout and adaptability to many situations; however the specific structure of the collaborative culturally competent model lends itself to a counselor and psychologist in a particular setting finding common ground.

The scenarios and examples were very helpful in this chapter since there were so many models presented and a wide variety of concepts were discussed. When I finished my reading I felt that I would be referencing this information in the future as a resource.  

The article followed nicely to the concerns I mentioned when reading the chapter. I have to admit that this method, in the article, seemed much easier to read, understand and see myself using. This is probably because we have so much practice with solution focused counseling, with adults, in Theory I, and students in Theory II. Funny how we used solution focused counseling to help each other in Theory I and I have even found myself using similar methods with friends, but I never thought to use it in consulting with other teachers as a counselor. This article is also a good resource to come back to later.

Dollarhide, C. & Saginak, K. (2012). Comprehensive school counseling programs: K-12 delivery

systems in action (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Khan, B. (2000). A Model of solution-focused consultation for school counselors.

            Professional School Counseling, 3(4), 248-254.