In session 4, guidelines for effective intervention programs for students with emotional and behavioral concerns were addressed. Social skills programs, in particular, were discussed as interventions that have demonstrated effectiveness for these special needs students. In session 5, the focus on effective intervention programs continues. First, cognitive-behavioral counseling models will be discussed. These are helpful models for understanding students' thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. These models, along with social skills programs, have demonstrated effectiveness in working with at-risk and high-risk adolescents and can be adapted for use by teachers in alternative education settings. In addition, in this session, other counseling models that can be adapted and used in the classroom will be discussed. Some of these models and interventions have not been as widely studied as social skills programs and cognitive-behavioral interventions but they may be useful models and/or interventions for educational settings.

The following interventions are organized according to the target population. The majority of the interventions are individual interventions. Group interventions and family interventions also will be discussed briefly.

Individual Approaches

Individual counseling approaches are effective because one-one attention is critical to change (Dryfoos, 1998). Furthermore, close relationships with prosocial adults have been shown to increase resilience in high-risk adolescents and reduce problem behaviors (see Dryfoos). Individual counseling approaches do not work well if they are used in isolation. Programs are needed that address individual, family, peer, and school networks. The theories that are included in this session are complex theories of human behavior. In this session, they are summarized in sufficient detail to illustrate their application to working with students in an alternative education placement. Finally, many of the counseling approaches that will be presented in this session have specific techniques that require special training. These models are summarized here because they will help you to conceptualize the issues facing your students and will give you some tools to use to help students. However, to be able to conduct these counseling approaches effectively does require that you have additional training that is beyond the scope of this session.

Top of Page

Cognitive-Behavioral Counseling

Cognitive-behavioral techniques were briefly discussed in session 4. Because of their importance as an effective intervention for students with emotional and behavioral concerns, they are discussed in more detail in this session. Cognitive-behavioral counseling techniques have valuable applications to understanding and working with students' thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in an alternative classroom setting.

McWhirter et al. asserts,

"…at-risk children and adolescents develop many irrational ways of thinking. These irrational thoughts lead to inappropriate or maladaptive behavior. Cognitive restructuring efforts are designed to help young people recognize and change these irrational beliefs into more rational ones. Attainment of this goal requires a confrontive and supportive counselor or teacher who is able to engage the client or student actively (also see Ellis, 1996).

Cognitive-behavioral methods accomplish cognitive restructuring by the following general steps (Most cognitive-behavioral methods are based on these general principles.):

Recognize connection between thoughts, feelings, and behavior. Students are directed to pay attention to the "automatic" and/or "irrational" thoughts that they have. These harmful and faulty beliefs take many forms. However, it is common to hear students report thoughts such as, "I am no good at this, No one cares about me, I can't, I won't, I don't care, I am worthless, and Nothing I do works out right."

[Note: At this point in discussion, it is important to have teachers to generate additional "thoughts" that are common to at-risk students.]

When students are able to record their thoughts, the next task is to determine what feelings and behaviors result from their thinking. For example, for the student who says, "No one cares about me," the accompanying feelings might be sadness and anger, and resultant behaviors could be to isolate themselves or to be confrontive and angry with those they would like to be closer to.

Assisting students in this complex task takes time, patience, and skill. But the outcome is often worth it for students and for their teachers. Many students will have difficulty recognizing their thoughts. Many students also will have difficulty understanding and articulating their related feelings and behaviors. Developmental level and cognitive abilities of the student must be taken into consideration when using this method of understanding behavior in the classroom. However, please also be aware that while many students will initially have difficulty recognizing the complexities of their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, with practice and focused help, many students can learn to do so.

Monitor thoughts related to specific behaviors. When students are comfortable understanding connections between their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, careful monitoring of these thoughts takes place. This is usually in the form of recording automatic and faulty thinking. When in the classroom, it may be helpful to have a particular place to record these thoughts when they occur to the student. Using a notepad, wristband, or journal are ways to begin to monitor thoughts so that they can be further examined.

Top of Page

According to Ellis, most irrational thinking stems from unconditional "shoulds, oughts, and musts." Ellis asserts that "musturbatory" thinking leads to three irrational beliefs, "awfulizing, self-damnation, and I-can't-stand-it-it is."
awfulizing-"I will fail. I won't finish school. I'll never get a job."
self-damnation-"I can't do anything right. I hate myself."

I-can't-stand-it-itis-"I will not ever get over it. She did me wrong and I'll get her back."

Examine thoughts. When a student is able to monitor his or her thoughts, the next task is to carefully examine them. This often takes the form of "hypothesis testing." For example, if a student recognizes the pattern discussed above…

thought-"No one cares about me."
feeling- angry and lonely
behavior- argumentative/confrontive and "pushing" others away

He or she is guided through a cognitive and emotional examination of the reality of their statements. The student will likely discover through this process that there are many persons in their life that care quite a lot about them.

[Note: At this point in the discussion, have students look at other kinds of students' faulty thinking that they generated earlier and to discuss how they might assist students in monitoring and testing those thoughts.]

Substitute more realistic thoughts for distorted thoughts. When students have learned to monitor and examine their thoughts, they are instructed in substituting more realistic thoughts for distorted thoughts. For example, for a student who believes that "no one cares about me," this belief may be exchanged for the more realistic belief, "some one cares about me-perhaps I can be disappointed in how I am treated by many of my family and friends and still know that many of them genuinely care about me."

Learn to identify and modify thoughts. Finally, when all of the above steps have been taught and practiced with students, students are ready to approach the process of monitoring, examining, and substituting thoughts in their everyday activities.

[Note: This is a time in the session in which students can continue their discussion of thoughts that may be prevalent in the students with whom they will work, but they may also benefit from completing the steps for themselves. Challenge students to think of "automatic" or "distorted" thought patterns that they experience. Then, to examine those thoughts and substitute thoughts that are more realistic." Teachers in training, for example, may have the thought that they need to be able to "help everyone."

Activity 1. Review the case of "Maggie" on worksheet #1. What are problematic thoughts that may affect Maggie? How do they affect her feelings and behaviors? How might you use Cognitive-Behavioral approaches to help Maggie with her thoughts, feelings, and behaviors? Discuss your interventions in a small group.

Solution-Focused Counseling

Solution-focused counseling has not been supported empirically as an effective intervention with at-risk students as has cognitive-behavioral counseling. However, it has been successfully applied to students with behavioral problems in school settings (Amatea & Sherrard, 1991). Solution-focused intervention is particularly relevant to school settings because it is (1) brief and (2) practical in helping a large number of students with a variety of problems.

Solution focused interventions focus on students' strengths. The student becomes the "expert." Interventions help to look for solutions rather than examining problems. And cooperative and collaborative approaches are emphasized. Identifying and setting specific goals is the organizing framework for change. There is no time to dwell on problems. Emphasis is on the future. Past events are important only in terms of examining "exceptions" to problems so that these exceptions can be reframed as "solutions" for the present and the future. As a result, these interventions foster the positive and enthusiastic outlook that is so important in giving students hope and empowering them to change. [See James & Gilliland, 2003]
Techniques related to solution-focused counseling are many. Furthermore, these interventions are straightforward and rather simple to follow. At-risk and high-risk students are often subjected to negative evaluations and feedback. The positive and solution-seeking approach might well be a welcome change to these students. The following are examples of solution-focused techniques that can be used in school settings. [See James & Gilliland, 2003]

Miracle question. Miracle questions foster a problem-solving approach. These questions focus on eliminating the problem and generating alternatives for the future. It is a way for pretending the problem is solved and to determine the events that have taken place to bring about the solution.

"Suppose one night a miracle happened and your problem was solved. How would you know? What would be different?" (de Shazer, 1994; Sklare, 1997).

Top of Page

When students express "miracles" that are unrealistic or focus on the behavior of others, the teacher will need to prompt the student to examine what HE or SHE is doing differently. For example, you might say, "What might you be doing to make that happen?" or "What would you be doing differently to make that happen?"

Focusing. Focusing is a way of reducing the problem to its simplest form so that solutions can be generated. Too often students will identify related issues as central to their problems. Focusing helps to identify the target goal of the solution focused intervention. Complaining, blaming others, and generally "complicating" the problem are behaviors that avoid solutions. These behaviors can be common in the alternative education environment.
For example, a student has multiple problems in school. He states, "my grades are low, teachers are 'out to get me', and my parents are too busy to help." To focus the student, you might say, "there are certainly a number of problems you're dealing with right now, but the way I see it, working out a plan to get your grades up will help with all of those problems. So let's talk about a time that you were doing well in your classes. What was different about that time?"

Don't know. "Don't know" is a common phrase of adolescents. Sklare (1997) suggests following up an "I don't know" response with a solution-focused response, "But what if you did know?"

Combating resistance. In solution-focused interventions, the helper does not perceive "resistance" but "cooperation (Metcalf, 1995)." Interpersonal communication skills and empathy are important to bringing about a spirit of cooperation. For example, for a student who has multiple problems in school, you might suggest," It is frustrating to feel as though you're working so hard and still your grades don't go up. Let's see what we can work out together so that you can start feeling like you're succeeding in your classes again."

Scaling questions. Scaling questions are an important part of solution-focused interventions (See Metcalf; Sklare). Scaling questions are designed to give students a "measure" of how they are progressing toward their goals and to identify what steps need to be taken to increase their progress. These questions are concrete ways for students to measure steps taken and to generate next steps. This also allows the student to see "small steps" toward meeting their goal and to not become disillusioned when progress is slow (as it often is). You might say, "If you were to rate yourself on a scale of 0-10, with 10 being the "miracle" and 0 being the "worst possible," how are you doing on studying right now?" You might then follow-up with solution-focused statements such as, "And where do you think (realistically) you could be by the end of the week?" And "What will you need to do to make your studying a "7" next week?"

Exceptions. The exception question avoids emphasis on times when the problem is at its strongest and instead attempts to identify times when the problem is managed. This also helps problems to seem less pervasive as there are times when every problem is at a manageable level. For example, "What are times when you feel successful in your studies?" "Think of a time when things were going well for you in class. What was different then?" "When you are doing well in class, what is happening?" "When you feel competent in class, what is usually happening?" "What is different for you when the problem is not present? What are you doing?" There are many other ways to "find exceptions." The idea is to help the student examine "what works" instead of "what doesn't work."

In summary, solution-focused counseling interventions are varied and extensive. This is a brief summary of some techniques that can be used in the classroom. The solution-focused approach is helpful in its simplicity and focus on the positive. However, it should be noted that often students' problems ARE complex and overwhelming. It should not be used to overlook or to minimize the complicated problems that often need to be addressed with at-risk and high-risk students. To become an effective solution-focused counselor takes training and practice. However, these solution-focused "tips" can assist teachers to focus on the positive with students and to help students to focus on solutions rather than on problems.

Top of Page

Adlerian Counseling

Adlerian counseling has a model for understanding a students' behavior that is helpful in the classroom (Dreikurs, 1964; 1967). McWhirter et al. (1998) suggest that Adlerian approaches are particularly helpful in working with at-risk and high-risk adolescents because they offer a way of helping the students to understand their own behaviors and to provide tools to the teacher to prevent and intervene in problem behaviors.

According to Adlerian theory, all human behavior is goal-directed. There is something that the individual wants and needs that is the outcome of their behavior. Central to goals is the sense of belonging to a group. The sense of belonging fosters a sense of adequacy and self-worth. When these feelings are not achieved, the outcome is inferiority. Then the goals for behavior become "mistaken" goals and behaviors become problematic. [See McWhirter et al.; James & Gilliland, 2003]
Goals of misbehavior are attention, power, revenge, and inadequacy (Dreikurs). These goals for misbehavior are mistaken ways to function in a group and to belong. Youngsters are not aware of their dysfunctional behavior. These are patterns that have served in the past to meet their needs. As such, they need to be redirected. Also, students can have one or more goals present at one time.

attention- When children and adolescents do not receive attention by socially acceptable means, they may seek attention in inappropriate ways. Attention seeking that is negative is most common, but other children may use excessively cooperative behaviors to seek attention.

power- When the goal is power, children and adolescents assert their worth through domination and control over adults in their life. These children feel a need to show power through having control over others. They lack power so they attempt to construct power in inappropriate ways.

revenge- When children and adolescents have been hurt emotionally or physically, they often have revenge as a goal of misbehavior. These children can be a threat to themselves and others. They attempt to get attention and power by hurting others, as they have been hurt.

inadequacy- When children and adolescents feel a strong sense of inferiority, they "hide" behind behaviors that demonstrate that they are inadequate. They do not participate with others for fear that they will not properly belong. These children often display a lack of motivation and ability.

Interventions that can be used in the classroom are based on Adler and Dreikur's concepts. These interventions involve identifying and redirecting students' goals for misbehavior. They also involve changing the helper's responses to the students' behavior.

Top of Page

Altering your response to a students' behavior is a first step toward being able to help the student. Think of the goals of misbehavior and what they are generally designed to do…to YOU. In each case, you can often determine a student's goal for misbehavior by the way you react to their behavior. For example, if a child has a goal of "attention" you will usually find yourself annoyed and tired by the student's attention seeking (this can take the form of "acting out" or "overly pleasing"). If a student seeks "power," you will find yourself in "power struggles" with the student. "Revenge" provokes defensiveness, hurtfulness, and anger. And "inadequacy" will usually result in your feeling hopeless and frustrated. So, a key to managing misbehavior is adapting your own response to the behavior. This can be difficult. Managing to stay out of "power struggles" with a student who exercises a need for power can be quite hard for some people. Likewise, it sometimes feels impossible to "ignore" excessive needs for attention. They are, after all, distracting in the classroom. However, these responses are important in helping students to modify their own behavior.

Encouragement. Encouragement also is intended to replace traditional behavioral methods of reinforcement and punishment. Emphasis is placed on students' actual strengths-accepting a student "as-is". Recognizing students' attributes and abilities is of importance in helping students to renew a sense of worth and competence. For example, you might say to a student, "You have a keen sense of others and are willing to give them a chance" or "I see a person who is trying very hard to pull things together" or "You are working hard and getting the results you want."

Natural consequences. As an alternative to reward and punishment, natural consequences encourage responsibility (instead of externalizing the reinforcement of their behavior). Natural consequences are those that happen in the due course of an event. For example, if a student stands on a chair in the classroom and falls, that is a natural consequence. Logical consequences are those that are put in place by helpers to help students to make a choice of continuing inappropriate behavior and facing consequences or ending it and facing none. For example, if a student fails a test, a logical consequence is having them to take extra study time during their lunch period. Logical consequences are intended to give students choices for behavior and to encourage their responsibility for their own behavior. On the other hand, behavioral awards and punishments are designed to "condition" students' responses.

"Could it be?" questions. These are questions that are meant to "explore" motives for misbehavior. "Could it be" questions are helpful in asking students about the goal of their behavior in a non-threatening way. It is common to see a knowing "smile" pass across the face of a student who realizes you recognize their goal for misbehavior. These questions might be viewed as "active wondering," and "making guesses or having hunches." For example, you might say, "could it be that…you are really feeling down on yourself but you're blaming me?" or "could it be that you want me to spend time working with you on this problem because you're unsure of your ability?" or "could it be that it's important to you that I do what you want?" or "could it be that you want to get even?" [Note: Practice "could it be" questions for each goal of misbehavior.]

Catching oneself. When a student recognizes his or her "goals" for misbehavior, they can be taught to "catch" themselves. Mental "stop" signs allow a student to learn to avoid an inappropriate behavior by looking for warning signs of the behavior. For example, students may avoid an angry outburst if they learn that their heartbeat races just before an outburst. Using a "stop" sign to divert the behavior can allow the student to manage his or her own behavior.

Avoiding the tar baby. Students bring to the classroom all of the perceptions and behaviors that they have developed outside of the classroom. Avoiding the tar baby means that the teacher or helper avoids the "traps" set by the students' behaviors. The teacher responds in a way that is contrary to what the student expects. For example, the teacher might say, "You want me to become angry because that is what you expect from people when you talk to them that way. But, I'm not going to get angry. I'm going to give you a chance to do the work over,"

Spitting in soup. The task of "spitting" in the students' soup is a way to make the behaviors of the student unappealing so that they will change their behavior. For example, a teacher might tell a student, "You know, you're welcome to give up, it's your choice, but if you do, you'll always know that you had a chance to do it over, and you decided to quit."

Acting "as if." When students use the excuse, "if only I could…," you might instruct them to act out the role they are suggesting. Students often will learn new behaviors by "acting" out. For example, if a student says, "if only I were able to take up for myself with those guys…" You might respond by saying, "Okay, for the next few weeks, every time you interact with those guys, act "as if" you can tell them whatever you want and find out what happens."

Top of Page

Group Approaches

Group counseling used successfully in schools and agencies to address the psychosocial issues of childhood and adolescence. Group counseling is used for both prevention and intervention efforts. Groups are an effective and practical way to provide social and psychological help to students in school. Students often need someone to talk to-groups that target specific psychosocial problems faced by teens can provide the help they need. In groups, students can learn of the universality of their problems-that is "I am not the only one dealing with this problem"-and also learn a collaborative approach to finding solutions for their problems. It is helpful for teens to learn that others are dealing with the same problems and have found solutions (see Dryfoos, 1998).

For some students, caution is needed in providing group counseling interventions. With students who have antisocial tendencies, group approaches can be problematic. When students with antisocial tendencies work in groups together, problems can be perpetuated. Close groups, friendship groups in particular can contribute to inappropriate behaviors. Peer group interventions should have positive effects on peer relationships and behavior-not the reverse (see McWhirter et al., 1998).

Group Interventions

Group interventions that are used in schools often emphasize social skills (which were discussed in depth in session 4). Strategies for peer group interventions for students who are at-risk and high-risk include (1) teaching skills to interact with prosocial groups, (2) enhancing desire to associate with prosocial peers, and (3) diminishing desire to associate with antisocial peers (McWhirter et al., 1998). Cognitive-behavioral techniques often are used in the group situation to help students with change (McWhirter).

Group interventions also can be planned for various psychosocial problems such as substance abuse, grief, physical problems, disabilities, sexuality, gay and lesbian issues, parents, violence, and other issues that affect adolescent lives (Dryfoos, 1998).

Family Approaches

As discussed in session 4, the role that parents play in their child's life is of paramount importance and cannot be overlooked in school interventions. Involving parents is a key factor in the effectiveness of interventions. In the school, parents often are excluded and school interventions are considered self-contained. This is largely ineffective. Steps should be taken to involve parents in schools in useful and non-threatening ways. Providing multicultural events and places for parents to "hang-out" increase parents' sense of belonging to schools and involvement in their child's education (Dryfoos).
Family counseling interventions are adaptable to school settings. Family counseling models can help teachers and other school personnel to understand family dynamics (structure) and communication patterns. These models provide ways for school personnel to work more effectively with parents and families. Family counseling models are beyond the scope of this session. However, in general, models of family functioning involve examining the "roles" and "rules" of families and their communication patterns. Then interventions can be planned that increase the effectiveness of family rules and communication.
Those interventions that have been shown to be effective for individuals also are effective when used with families. For example, cognitive-behavioral methods (such as behavioral contracting), social skills training, and communication training are the most effective methods for use with families (Ellis & Sowers, 2001).

Top of Page

Family Interventions

Some examples of family interventions that can be used in the school setting are parent involvement, parent support, and parent education/training. Parent involvement means finding ways to involve parents in the school and in their child's education. Parent support means providing group interventions for parents that help them to deal with their daily stressors. Parent support can help parents to be hopeful when dealing with children who are experiencing emotional and behavioral problems. Parent education/training can take many forms. However, using principles such as "logical consequences" can help parents to modify their parenting and use more effective methods of teaching their children. Parent effectiveness training programs have been used to help parents with more effective discipline, communication, and overall relationship quality with their children (McWhirter et al., 1998).

Some of the techniques that are commonly taught to parents in these programs include active listening, using "I" messages, and mutual problem solving (see McWhirter et al.). Active listening communicates a deep sense of acceptance and understanding to the child (McWhirter et al.). "I messages" help a parent to effectively confront a child. Instead of focusing the message what the child is doing wrong, "You did not do what you were asked to do" the message becomes a genuine response by the parent, "I feel frustrated when I have to do the chores that you were going to do." Finally, many parents benefit from learning mutual problem solving techniques. When needs of the parent and child are blocked, either child or parent usually loses the conflict. Mutual problem solving promotes a "no-lose" method wherein parent and child reach a mutual decision. The steps include defining the conflict, searching for alternative solutions, choosing and planning for implementing solution, and evaluating the solution.

Selecting Interventions

Not all interventions are effective for all students. "One size does not fit all." Many factors affect whether or not an intervention can be effective. Many factors affect how an intervention will work with an individual, group, or family. Gender has been shown to affect the way interventions are used. Research has shown that most of the interventions shown to be effective for conduct problems have been based on boys. Girls may benefit from more psychological approaches rather than social skills training alone. Issues of race and ethnicity also may affect how an intervention works. Careful examination of culture should accompany choice of intervention to determine if the intervention is appropriate and/or how race or culture will affect its use. The number of students whose first language is not English is growing in our schools. Language affects how students process their world and how they understand helping interventions (see McWhirter). Students in alternative education environments will often have developmental delays that make some interventions inappropriate. Cognitive interventions are difficult for students who will have difficulty examining their thoughts and analyzing behavioral outcomes of their thinking. Students with learning disabilities also will have difficulty with these types of interventions.

Activity 2. Review the case of "Maggie" on worksheet #1. Discuss issues related to group and family interventions for Maggie and Lee. Design a "multisystemic" intervention program for Maggie (i.e., individual, group, and family). What types of programs and/or interventions might be used?

[Note: This culminating activity should be used to discuss the intervention strategies presented in both sessions 4 & 5.
Variations on this activity might include having students generate case examples from their own work and discuss which interventions would be appropriate and how they would use them.

Students might also take time to role-play some of the interventions presented in this session such as the solution-focused and Adlerian counseling techniques using the role-play instructions given in Unit 1.]

Summary

In Unit 2, counseling interventions that are effective with students in alternative education environments have been presented. Effective interventions are multisystemic-involving multiple areas in the students' life-school, family, and peers. Social skills training and cognitive-behavioral interventions are empirically validated treatments for students who are at-risk or high-risk for emotional and behavioral problems. An overview of effective treatments for at-risk and high-risk students was presented in session 4 with an emphasis on social skills training. Reviews of additional counseling interventions, such as solution-focused and Adlerian, that can be used in the alternative education environment were presented in session 5. Suggestions for individual, group, and family interventions were presented.

Copyright©2004, San José State University