Impacts of Solution -Focused Group Counseling on Student's Self - Regulation and Scholastic Accomplishment

Contemporary school counselors have the duty to support the academic, vocational, individual and social development of all students. New vision school counseling requires a belief in the capacity of all students to obtain high levels of academic achievement and meaningful futures in a global economy and technologically advanced world. New vision school counselors engage in systemic leadership, advocacy, collaboration, counseling, coordination, assessment, and data analysis. Serving as social action agents, new vision school counselors identify and remove inequities and other barriers to academic achievement. Solution-focused counseling is an efficient and direct approach that emphasizes problem identification and solutions. Practitioners following a solution-focused approach focus on student skills and solutions rather than deficits and problems. This positive emphasis appears well-suited for students who possess sufficient academic skills but lack the motivation, confidence, and perseverance needed to be successful. The professional school counselor is a certified/licensed educator trained in school counseling with unique qualifications and skills to address all students’ academic, personal/social, and career development needs. Professional school counselors implement a comprehensive school counseling program that promotes and enhances student achievement. Professional school counselors are employed in elementary, middle/junior high, and high schools and in district supervisory, counselor education, and post-secondary settings. Their work is differentiated by attention to developmental stages of student growth, including the needs, tasks, and student interests related to those stages.

AN OVERVIEW OF GROUP COUNSELING

Group counseling represents an important intervention for addressing children’s psychological needs. In fact, group counseling can positively impact children on an individual perspective and also serve a useful role for the school. Littrell and Peterson (2002) observed that groups afford the opportunity to positively impact the school. Unfortunately, Fleming (1999) observed that, although the National Association of School Psychologists addresses a need for counseling training, specialty training in group counseling is not required. (Note: The Professional Standards for Training of Group Workers, articulated by the Association for Specialists in Group Work [ASGW, 1991], supports a minimum of 10 hours of training with 30–45 hours of training for specialists.) Schaefer (1999) observed that, on an individual level, short-term group treatment can be most effective in helping children develop adaptive processes for coping with a range of problems. Overall, groups can be positive. Still, what types of groups are generally used? What “stages” characterize group process? What legal issues need to be considered?

home to school, such issues are impacting daily life. Of particular relevance to schools and school psychology, children receive more services through schools than through any other system (Hoagwood & Erwin, 1997). As such, school-based mental health providers can provide immeasurable assistance. Still, what issues might appropriately be used in school groups? More than a decade has passed since Crespi (1997) noted that marital dissolution, parental alcoholism, depression, suicide, and physical, sexual, and emotional abuse represented a sampling of contemporary problems faced in the home which children bring to school and which can be appropriately addressed in school-based counseling. In fact, Fergusson, Horwood, and Lynskey (1994) noted that children who display problems seem to come from families with problems. Farrell, Guerra, and Tolan (1996) observed that children bring aggressive behavior learned at home to school. As such, family issues are one important topic for group counseling. In a basic way, school psychologists facilitating group counseling have an array of issues that can nicely serve as topics for group counseling. From divorce groups to group counseling for social skills, school-based groups can be formed around a large number of topics. Looking at family issues, as example, Crespi and Howe (2002) noted that only 7% of youth live in traditional families, with varying family configurations including stepfamilies, single-parent families, and families with grandparents raising children.With approximately one third of children interacting with fathers less than a few times annually (Seltzer, 1991), divorce groups alone can represent one important topical area impacting home–school relationships. Still, this only glimpses the issues. Approximately 80% of children witness spousal abuse, and issues including sexual abuse and aggression highlight a picture of families in turmoil (Crespi & Howe, 2002). As such, these issues are fertile ground for group counseling.

Result-centered help was advanced by Steve de Shazer and his coconspirators at the Brief Family Help Center (BFTC) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Result-centered help was impacted by the Mental Research Institute's (MRI) situation-centered help in Palo Alto, California. In situation-centered help, situations are conceptualized as rehashed provisions of incapable result endeavors. It accompanies that in situation-centered help," the result is the situation interestingly, result-centered help improved a reverse of the problem/solution credit by suggesting that the situation has inside it the seeds of a result. developed a technique called mapping the influences of the problem, which can be adapted within solution-focused counseling. In narrative therapy, this technique refers to a line of questioning aimed at helping the client understand how the problem has influenced his or her life. This process serves to increase opportunities for identifying unique outcomes (a phenomenon that is similar to exceptions). When mapping the influences of the problem, counselors ask how the problem has affected various aspects of the client’s life, including relationships, work, and daily functioning.

1. The real pry. 2. Speaking in client language. 3. Embossing abilities and potentials. 4. Commending client. 5. Considering changes. 6. Focused on here and now. 7. Instructing optimize. 8. Looking for exceptions to the problem. 9. Miraculous question. 10. Qualifying the accurate, accessible, and measurable goals. 11. Codifying and adjusting the purpose more accurately. 12. Assigning homework tasks; 13. Looking for strengths or solutions; 14. Goal-setting;

To evaluate the success of the group as a whole and as a means of achieving individual treatment goals we used the Gordon Personal Inventory and Profile and also the "swivel chair" approach, discussing the subjective content of meetings as it applied to individual progress or lack of it. The Gordon tests are rather brief, forced-choice procedures which rate adjustment in eight areas: Ascendancy, Responsibility, Emotional Stability,

The regression or lack of progress of Stanley and Terry may be attributable to several factors relating to group selection or composition. For the group as a whole there were gains in all traits except original thinking. However, since this category measures nonconformity, this finding may not be an undesirable one in the light of our goals.

The results indicate that the solution-focused counseling had a positive influence on the academic achievement. The average scores of control and experimental group showed a significant difference in the post – test. The results support Some’s research results on efficacy of solution focused counseling on school attention and academic achievement. This research is also supporting Franklin et al results showing the positive effect of solutionfocused counseling on students’ behavioral problems and learning disabilities. The research results show that the effect of solution- focused counseling on self regulation of the students was significant and positive. The intervention emphasized the ability and skills of the students in formulating their goals in positive, measureable and accurate terms. Behavior, adjustment, and psychological problems have increased in children. Sadly, issues including family discord, parental neglect and abuse, sexual abuse, attention disorders, and violence in the home all impact children’s adjustment (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Unfortunately, large numbers of children exhibit multiple disorders. Riddle and Bergin (1997) noted, for instance, that 28.6 million children live within an alcoholic family, Pope and Hudson (1992) estimated that as many as 67% of children may experience sexual abuse, and more globally, the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development (1996) reported that there are more than 8 million children in need of psychological services.

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• Riddle, J., & Bergin, J. J. (1997). Effects of group counseling on the self-concept of children of alcoholics. Elementary School Guidance & Counseling, 31, 192 – 204.

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practice. NASP Communique, 26, 18, 20.

• Schaefer, C. E. (1999). Short-term psychotherapy groups for children: Adapting group processes for specific problems. Northvale, NJ: Aronson.

• Shechtman, Z. (2002). Child group psychotherapy in the school at the threshold of a new millennium. Journal of Counseling and Development, 80, 293 – 299.

• Some, S. N., Solution-Focused Brief Therapy Group work with At-Risk Junior High School Students: Enhancing the Bottom Line (2004). University of Illinois at Chicago.

• Campbell, C. A., and, C. A. Dahir. Sharing the Vision: The national standards for school counseling programs. Alexandria, VA: American School Counselor Association, (1997).

• California Department of Education, “Research on School Counseling Effectiveness”.

• Whiston, S.C. & T.L. Sexton, “A review of school counseling outcome research: implications for practice”. Journal of Counseling and Development. Fall 1998. Volume 76. p. 412-426.

• American Counseling Association, “The Truth about School Counseling”.

• McGannon, W. & others, “The current status of school counseling outcome research”. Center for School Counseling Outcome Research. Research Monograph, Number 2. May 2005.