Dollarhide and Saginak (2012) and
Kahn (2000) eased my apprehension in conducting consultations. Strong
collaboration skills are critical to effective consultation. Collaborating with
others requires recognition of the strengths that each party brings to the
table. This is one area I feel prepared. However, this list Dollarhide and
Saginak (2012) give on the characteristics of collaboration is a little more
daunting: "courage, a willingness to risk, objectivity, ego strength,
flexibility, adaptability, willingness to compromise, confidence, and a spirit
and attitude of optimism that exudes cooperation and perseverance"
(p.164). I admit that taking risks is not my forte as well as ego strength. I
am also more of a realist so a spirited optimism is challenging. Lastly, the
objectivity is probably the most difficult for me. I acknowledge that I come
from a long-standing perspective of being a parent and therefore often find
fault in the teacher rather than my child. I recognize this as an area that I
must address and remain aware during consultations with teachers. Collaborating
with a multitude of professionals, including but not limited to school administrators,
school psychologists, social workers, staff, etc., is something I welcome. I
believe that we all bring unique perspectives of the student or students in
question that will only provide a more thorough holistic view of the student.
I agree consultation needs to be
more readily defined for not only school counselors but also for everyone.
Consultants are generally stereotyped as having the answers that they are
willing to impart to others. Consultation as defined by D. Brown, Pryzwanski,
and Schulte (1998, cited in Dollarhide & Saginak, 2012) is "a
voluntary problem-solving process…engaged primarily for the purpose of
assisting consultees to develop attitudes and skills that will enable them to
function more effectively with a client…" (p.170-171). Integrating the
solution-focused model with consultation helps to keep the ownership on the
consultee and not the consultant. Kahn (2000) clearly described
Solution-Focused Consultation (SFC). It was beneficial to have the case study
for reference and to understand what SFC looks like. The process is obviously
aligned with solution-focused counseling and therefore I find that I am no
longer as apprehensive with consultation as I was before reading the article.
However, it was appreciated when Dollarhide and Saginak (2012) gave the scenarios
distinguishing the differences between solution-focused consultation and
solution-focused counseling. However, they brought to attention an area that I
am concerned with; when a teacher's behavior or attitude is what needs to be
changed, not the student's. This is a delicate area that I would appreciate a
little guidance.
Dollarhide, C. T. & Saginak, K. A. (2012). Comprehensive school counseling programs:
K-12 delivery systems in action (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River,
NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Kahn, B. B. (2000). A model of solution-focused
consultation for school counselors. Professional
School Counseling, 3(4), p. 248-254.
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