Chapter 14

Family Counseling in the Schools

Family Stressors Poverty

Lack of sufficient health care

Drug/alcohol addiction

Exposure to violent crimes

Academic transition points

Evolving definition of who comprises a family Single parent families Biracial families Blended families Same gender families Grandparent headed families

Why Is Family Counseling Appropriate in the School?

1. Family and school are the two places that have a strong common goal of developing children

2. When problems arise at school, it may signal the need for intervention

3. Interventions aimed at family change may be more effective for difficulties arising from a child’s home life than interventions aimed at symptom relief

Why Intervene at the School Level?Parental involvement in school has been shown to have positive impact on children

Facilitating parental involvement requires an individual with the knowledge and skills necessary to confront the complex dynamics often found in families

Does Family Counseling Work in the Schools?

Effective mode of treatment for a large variety of student concerns

Shown to produce positive change quickly

Cost effective

Multicultural Issues Assess acculturation levels of families

Ethnicity may impact the child and parents differently

Parents and children may choose to negotiate between culture and dominant culture in different ways

Key assumptions when attempting to do culturally sensitive counseling

Families should express their feelings

Many cultures are more restrictive in directly expressing emotions

Families are paying greater attention to verbal statements than nonverbal

Families rely upon more subtle forms of communication to interpret the counselor’s intent

Multicultural Issues, cont….Families will be comfortable in voluntary disclosure of personal information

Families may not answer voluntarily provide personal information unless directly asked.

Problem solving strategies should be linear and/or logical

Families may be more comfortable with holistic or intuitive strategies

Errors counselors may make when working with families from other cultures

Over or under estimating the importance of one or more cultural values in the family’s life

Failing to differentiate among various subcultural groups

Failing to understand how a cultural group behavior will vary according to other environments

Systemic Approaches

Linear vs. systems approach

Individual phenomenological perspective vs. examination of patterns of communication and interaction among family members

Linearity vs. circular causality: Linearity examines events and possible consequences while circular causality helps one examine all of the possible related interactions or events in a circular pattern.

Overview of Theories

Humanistic Approaches(Existential)

Believes root cause of family’s concern to be emotional suppression

Helps individuals within family to express feelings and not control behavior through feelings

Emphasizes open communication, empathy and self disclosure

Sees family therapy as an emotional encounter

Structural Approaches

Focuses on boundaries and hierarchy among family members

Boundaries balance the need for privacy and openness

Hierarchy of family relates to the various subsystems within family

Overview of Theories

Solution Focused Approach Examines how the family has

attempted to solve the problem

Orientation is toward the future and to change with a quick, concrete, working solutions

Presenting problem is viewed behaviorally

Counselor’s role is to validate family’s experience, guide members as they shift behavior, and build on existing strength

Strategic Approach

Family’s problems are seen when family becomes stuck trying to maintain homeostasis when change is required

Emphasizes goal direction and examines the rules of the system

Strategic counselors are problem-focused and prescriptive

Focus is on the problem and the families interactional sequence

Techniques focus on interrupting the interactional patterns that are maintaining the problem

Overview of Theories

Social Construction and Narrative Approach

Based on the belief that knowledge is constructed with our relations and interactions with others

Individuals are seen as constructing their own world view of reality

Counseling is then a meaning making and a language generating process where the counselor creates meaning with the client

Counselors engage the family in conversation that allows the telling of their stories

As work progresses the goal is to change the narrative, so when retold, the stories include hope and previously unacknowledged alternatives

The counselor is a collaborator with the family

Brief Family Counseling ModelStep 1: Determining the appropriateness of counseling

Small steps can lead to big changes

Is the family willing to accept help?

Is the family’s concern within my professional expertise?

Is this problem of long-duration or more short term?

Step 2: Initial Contact

Gather information from a variety of sources to assess need

Frame the problem in a way that reduces barriers for a family to seek help

Keep in mind the cultural considerations

Have classroom interventions not achieved the desired result?

Brief Family Counseling Model

Step 3: Setting up the meeting

Consider alternative meeting times outside of typical school hours in order to accommodate a family

Setting the tone: It is important to convey to the family that you are in a position to help and are not taking sides or passing judgement

Step 4: Initial meeting

Greet each member

Discuss meeting format and process of counseling

Review informed consent

gather history of family and of presenting problem (see next slide)

What information should I gather?History of problem, including times when problem does NOT occur

Recent changes to family structure

Describe a typical day/week

Prior attempts the family has made to resolve issue and assess outcomes

THEN WHAT?

Communicate hope for the future and that the family is not alone in this struggle

Place problem in a new perspective and emphasize shared responsibility for the problem

TechniquesGenograms and family life line

provides structural look at family Places relevant family history into view

Play Therapy/doll house Techniques

Role Play Assists in tracking of sequences in family and allows a closer look at patterns the

family uses when having difficulties

Bibliotherapy

The mobile Illustrates the interconnectivity of families. That one family member’s actions can

impact others

The Ropes/Pass the Animal Assists in learning to take turns and create an openness to change

Humor Lowers resistance and can keep sessions fun