You're The Counselor...What Would You Do?

For each of the following scenarios, what might your goals be for the client and what possible action strategies might you use for achieving these goals?

1. A white graduate student comes to you because she is distressed at her family's rage about her romantic involvement with an African-American student. She also feels that other students in the dorm are talking about her behind her back and that she is being shunned by both white and African-American students.

2. A high-school teacher comes to you for advice about how to manage one of her classes. A male is being scapegoated by all the other kids, who taunt him about being a "queer." The teacher does not know the boy's sexual orientation, but she is anxious about his classroom antics (acting like a "class clown"), which elicit these responses and which she finds disruptive. She asks you what she should do.

CONFLICTING VALUES

In the following scenarios, what might some of the conflicting values be between societal expectations and the individual...

...a man who is married to an active alcoholic; they have two young children, and both parents are employed full time

...a supervisor who is sexually attracted to an employee who has let it be known that the feeling is mutual; both recently ended long term relationships; the "break-ups" were talked about quite openly around the office

Here Is The Whiteboard From This Mornings Class...

"Teach Us Something"

I'd like to do something interesting and a bit different for your assignment that will be due for the 6th class. Its called "Teach Us Something" and your task is to do just that. Teach the class something.

You'll need to think of a topic and prepare a five to ten minute presentation on, well...something. Now, if I were participating, I'd do mine on perennial gardening, specifically, how to construct plantings so that there are flowers in bloom from late March to Halloween. Or, I might do a presentation on some aspect of digital photography. Get the picture? I want your topic to have as little to do with human services as possible.

You might be wondering why. Why do an assignment that has little or nothing to do with human services?

My reasoning goes something like this. We are unique individuals whose paths have crossed at a place called Hope...I mean Post...and our varied interests speak volumes about the diversity of those who seek to help others, to make a commitment to the helping professions. It is in our uniqueness that our commonality of purpose and conviction is realized. This assignment is to recognize, even celebrate, this inspiring reality.

Back On The Blog: Your First Discussion...

Faulty Assumptions Are Barriers To Interviewing/Counseling, Effective Helping

We all carry faulty assumptions with us; they are about groups - races, ethnic groups, people in various occupations, of different ages, of different social classes. And there are many more.

Identify some of your faculty assumptions AND identify faulty assumptions that you have heard other people articulate.

Back On The Blog: Your First Discussion Topic

What are the expected behaviors (from the societal level) for the following scenarios:

(1) You are the star quarterback of the Post University football team;

(2) You are a 7th grader who has been diagnosed by Clinical Psychology with

ADD/ADHD and Oppositional-Defiant Disorder