School Counseling:

An Integrative Approach

Jeremie Bateman
COUNS 713AE
November 26, 2013

The work of school counselors varies greatly from school to school, day to day, and minute
to minute. The work is done in 5 minute check-ins between classes and half-hour college advising
sessions, lunch time small groups, and unannounced crisis interventions, covering family life,
interpersonal relationships, individual distress, college and career planning, academic difficulty, and
more. For these reasons, it is important to me that my theory of counseling be flexible, widely
applicable, and responsive to the lived experience of my students. Reflecting on these desires, my
personal experience and the variety of theories that we have studied, I have opted to pursue a
theoretical integration that begins with person-centered therapy, seeks to become more robust by
adding some aspects of Adlerian therapy, reality therapy, and feminist therapy and also maintains an
openness to additional techniques and practices from other schools of thought, characteristic of a
more assimilative approach.1
In order to illustrate how this integrative theory is constructed, I have found it helpful to
consider it in three parts: first, my philosophical grounding, or my theory regarding the purpose of
counseling and the role of the counselor; second, my theoretical framework, or theory of human
behavior and motivation; and third, my technical tools, or the practices I will utilize in counseling.
Following this explication, I will conclude with an assessment of my theorys strengths and
weaknesses and a simulated session that illustrates my approach in action.
My philosophical grounding places the individual at the center of a collaborative enterprise.
I believe that the work that we do together is for their own empowerment, to reach their own goals,
with structure, support, and challenge provided when necessary. This has been my orientation for
working with young people for ten years as I have mentored youth leaders as a volunteer and a
professional. I have witnessed this approach help students discover their personal strengths, devise
solutions to their challenges, and put plans into action. Have observed both the power of allowing
them to be self-directed and the developmental need of adolescents to be challenged and supported

1
In chapter 15, Corey describes the four most common pathways of integration, as identified by
Norcross and Beutler (2011), and Stricker (2010) as technical integration, theoretical integration,
assimilative integration and common factors approach.

leads me to consider a hybrid of person-centered and Adlerian therapies as a starting place. In

person-centered therapy, I was particularly drawn toward the idea of unconditional positive regard
and that clients have the capacity for self-direction. I believe that in my counseling work, in the
many forms it will take, it is essential for me to maintain an outlook in which my students are
capable. My experience also tells me, however, that young people often need more direct assistance
discovering that capacity. As such, I believe that I am a collaborative partner, who also bears a
responsibility to challenge faulty assumptions that individuals have about themselves and their
abilities or make assessments. I find these elements in Adlerian therapy and consider them to be
elements that meet developmental needs not addressed by an exclusively person-centered approach.
In placing the individual at the center, however, I am also quite aware of the social and
environmental factors that impact that individual. I consider this awareness essential to counseling.
For me, this is twin commitment to the self-empowerment of clients. I cannot hope to assist my
students if I do not consider the drastic impacts that these factors have, especially as a large portion
of my work will focus on future planning for college and career. I must remain aware of the external
forces at play and maintain a commitment to examining structures that restrict, pressure, or deny
choice and students ability to achieve the goals that they have set for themselves. Being aware of
social factors, while refusing to see them as deterministic of a students potential, is central to how I
hope to approach counseling. I believe that in the course of helping students develop capacity, set
goals, and be empowered, that I am also equipping them to not merely adapt to limiting systems, but
to identify ways that they can challenge, transform and transcend these systems. Feminist therapy
gives me the language to incorporate this awareness into my practice of counseling, not just in terms
of gender and gender identity, but also with regards to race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and more.
I find that feminist therapy has some synergy with Adlerian therapy with regard to social equality
and social interest and with person-centered therapy with regard to genuine regard and the capacity
of the individual. While this can be a tricky area to navigate, the American School Counselor

Association demands that I be an advocate for my students2 and which includes directly assisting
students to be advocates for themselves and advocating on their behalf within the community.
In short, my theory of counseling with regard to the purpose and goals of counseling, and
the role of the therapist, combines person-centered, Adlerian and feminist therapies. This
integration produces a system in which school counselors are partners with their students in
genuine, caring relationships in order to identify the students goals and needs, develop the
awareness and skills necessary to meet those needs with an awareness of the students social context,
and put a plan into action. I turn now to a consideration of the theoretical framework for human
nature, behavior, and motivation, which helps me to better understand my students goals and needs
and provides a foundation for further action.
I alluded to my view of human nature in my discussion of my philosophical grounding and
why I felt drawn to consider person-centered therapy. My view begins with positive regard for
humanity and a belief in the ability of the individual to develop and grow. People are capable of
self-understanding and self-direction and are able to meet lifes challenges when given an
environment that fosters growth. This outlook is clearly a hallmark of person-centered therapy. I
expand the environment or conditions that foster growth beyond the therapeutic relationship,
however, and consider the interaction of the person with the environment. Again, as alluded to
before, I believe an individuals social context is vitally important. I have what I consider a
both/and approach to considering the impacts of the environment3. Unlike some theories that
place the effects of the environment solely in the realm of the individuals perceptions or subjective
experience, my framework is that it is both the individuals perception of the environment and the
environment itself that are of importance to human functioning. This is my attempt to strike a
balance between a rigid determinism and the primacy of individual free choice. I believe our

2
Advocacy is one of the four themes of the ASCA National Model for School Counseling Programs
and includes student empowerment (identification of external barriers and development of selfadvocacy skills) and action on a macro-level (alerting public to issues regarding human dignity;
social/political advocacy when problems are best addressed at a policy or legislative level).
3
I use environment here to broadly include those things that originate externally: physical locations,
social location, familial circumstances, socialization, and discrimination.

environments can be restrictive but I also believe that our environments can expand our possibilities
beyond our own individual capacities. I believe that individuals are responsible for their choices, but
I also believe that the choices with which we are presented are not always within our control. I find
that this overlaps with, but is not exactly, an Adlerian perspective.
This brings me to the motivators for human behavior. Despite depending greatly on
person-centered therapy, I did not find the concept of an actualizing tendency to be a compelling
framework to explain human behavior, at least on its own. I recognize behavior as purposeful and
goal-oriented, as an Adlerian perspective would proscribe, and recognize Adlers concepts of social
interest and community feeling as helpful structures. I view these theoretical constructions through
a feminist therapy lens, considering the effects of socialization on how an individual perceives the
environment and how that influences the individuals behavior. However, I stop short of fully
taking on an Adlerian perspective here, unconvinced by the emphasis on striving toward superiority.
I find the five needs proposed by choice theory/reality therapy to be helpful categories in
distinguishing our motivations.4 The categories of survival, love and belonging, power, freedom and
fun are, to my view, succinct distillations of our core needs, the fulfillment of which drives our
behavior. At the same time, I believe that these needs are also incredibly dependent on social
context for their fulfillment: our external influences shape our experiences of these needs, our ideas
about how best to meet them, and our options for doing so.
Additionally, I find Ericksons psychosocial stages a helpful framework for considering
human development and find it useful as a guide for considering how the core needs I describe
above show up in behavior at different developmental stages. For example, one could consider
Ericksons stage of initiative versus guilt for preschoolers to be an example of how the motivational
needs of power and freedom appear in early childhood and can be adequately met or stifled. How

4
I am, however, uneasy about the other theoretical assumptions of reality therapy and do not wish
to incorporate them into my theory. While I do believe that people do bear responsibility for their
actions and choices, I am extremely uneasy about utilizing a framework that tells adolescents that
they are depressing themselves and causing their suffering, especially give my the concerns that
Corey raises about limitations from a multicultural perspective.

these needs are or arent met throughout ones life is an important consideration for me as I think
about working with adolescents in the midst of important developmental milestones and the
behaviors they may exhibit, positively or negatively, in pursuit of getting these needs met. It is
these needs that I believe will be a primary, though not exclusive, cause of distress among the
students with whom I work. This distress may have its roots in the inability to meet a need, the
meeting of a need by maladaptive means, or the conflict between an individuals perception of need
and their social context.
This brings me to the third part of my integrative theory: the technical tools. The origins of
these techniques are greatly varied, as the variable nature of school counseling and my commitment
to considering social context mean that the techniques that are useful will depend on the specific
situation. I incorporate these technical tools into my theory without necessarily endorsing or
adopting the theoretical assumptions from which they spring. There are three techniques I imagine
employing quite regularly in my work, and then some additional techniques that I consider part of
my toolbox for when the situation calls for them. The three major techniques, broadly stated, are
being there, goal-setting/action-planning, and abbreviated subjective interviews.
Being there refers to the orientation of a person-centered therapist. While not a specific
technique, per se, I believe that this is central to my practice and includes the skills of active
listening, clarifying, a reflecting feelings. It is important to me that students perceive me as a safe,
trustworthy individual that is on their side. Unlike in more structured therapeutic relationships,
however, I will be doing this relationship building in a myriad of ways outside of one-on-one
sessions. As I have stated before, person-centered therapy provides me with a starting point, but
does not, in and of itself, provide me with the tools or analyses that I need to be an effective school
counselor.
Utilizing a goal-setting/action-planning framework is another technique I believe will be
prominent in my work, not just for career and college planning, but for addressing behaviors, setting
goals related to mental health, and more. I again turn to reality therapy for helpful language, while
remaining skeptical of its theoretical underpinnings. The WDEP system, which Wubbolding used to

describe the key procedures in reality therapy,5 provides structure for a process I would direct
students through. Because I do not wish to incorporate the theoretical commitments of reality
therapy, I feel some freedom to expand what is explored in each stage beyond their individual
perceptions. In working with students through this framework, we would discuss their wants and
needs (W), what they are doing (D) and their attitudes, as well as the actions and attitudes of those
around them, evaluate (E) their goals as well as how actions and attitudes theirs and others are
helping or hindering, and then making a plan (P) that they can carry out. This structure is easy to
understand, useable in a number of situations, and helpful, especially for future planning tasks.
The final technique I imagine regularly employing is an abbreviated subjective interview. A
technique directly from Adlerian therapy that allows social and cultural contexts to emerge, I
imagine subjective interviewing allowing me to understand where the individual is coming from,
how they approach life, their coping skills, and better understand concerns. I hope to use subjective
interviewing, in an abbreviated form, as a way to get to know my students, before they come to me
in distress. Ideally, there would be enough time to allow this interview to develop naturally over a
long session, but those opportunities are few and far between in schools.
Additionally, there are several techniques that I imagine having in my toolbox, for use
when the situation calls for it. I know I will need to maintain an awareness of transference, as I have
had experienced in my work where my youth approach me as if I am another adult in their lives. I
imagine utilizing role-plays to prepare students to self-advocate or approach others. I foresee
needing to do assertiveness training with some students. For others, relaxation techniques and
other cognitive-behavior techniques would be helpful in modifying behaviors. It is clear to me that I
will need to be open to a wide variety of techniques, regardless of their school of origin, in order to
best serve my students. I find this to be the greatest value of an integrative approach.
My approach best summarized as an integration of person-centered and Adlerian
therapies, with some framing from reality therapy and an overlay of feminist therapy principles

5
As described by Corey.

certainly has both strengths and limitations. As strengths, I see this approach flexible and
accommodating to a variety of individuals from many cultures and social contexts, as well as its
appropriateness for practice almost exclusively with adolescents. I also find it a strength that this
approach provides an opportunity for clients to work through their own understanding of their
context and the ways they can address these systems. With regards to limitations, I see two. The
first is that this approach works best with an engaged client, which is never a given in a school
context. Second is in evaluation. Beyond student self-reporting, there is little data to collect, which
presents a challenge in a school climate where evaluation and accountability are hotly desired.
Weighing these strengths and limitations, I believe this approach best fits my disposition, social
commitments, and my priority for adaptability and flexibility.

HYPOTHETICAL SESSION TRANSCRIPT

Colin is a junior in his spring-semester. He has an established relationship with his counselor who
recently visited the 11th grade English classes to discuss the college selection process. He has made
an appointment to talk with the counselor.
Counselor: Hi Colin. What brings you in today?
Student: I wanted to talk with you about the college stuff you talked about in class. Im feeling
really stressed out about it. Theres so much to do, I dont know how to figure out which schools
and Im not even sure I can go.
Counselor: Im hearing you say youre feeling stressed about the amount of work in the process, as
well as deciding what schools to apply to and whether you can attend. Is that right?
Student: Yeah. Its a lot.
Counselor: And we can absolutely talk about all of these things together. Can you tell me why you
think you might not be able to go?
Student: Well money, mostly. My parents say theyll pay, but theyre always talking about premed or business or politics and I dont know that theyll pay if I pick a school or a major that they
dont like.
Counselor: It sounds like your concerns about being able to go to school are related to your stress
about picking schools. Is that fair to say? <student nods> Id like us to chat a little about this.
What Id like to do is ask you a few questions to see if we can figure out the best way to help you
alleviate some of that stress and decide what you want to do.
Student: That sounds good.
Counselor: If you could decide to do whatever you wanted for college, do you have some ideas for
what that might be? You said you were afraid your parents wouldnt pay for particular schools or
majors, so Im wondering if youve thought about some that you think they wouldnt like.
Student: I think I might want to study art or graphic design. And I want to go to a smaller school.
I havent thought about specific ones, but I dont want to go to a big university.
Counselor: Good. Are there other things that you want to happen when you think about making
college decisions?
Student: I want my parents to support me. Or at least understand why Im choosing something
different.
Counselor: Have you talked to them?
Student: No. But like I said, they keep talking about me going into medicine or law or business.
Dad really wants me to go to Northeastern cause thats where he went. He bought me a sweatshirt a
few weeks ago.

Counselor: I can see how that might give you the impression that they have a particular opinion
about your choices. What about you? What are you doing or thinking that relates to you trying to
make college decisions.
Student: Well, Im getting worked up and just running through all the possible ways it wont
happen. And Im not talking to my parents about it. Ive been sketching a lot because its the only
time Im not stressed. I know my parents want me to be successful, and I dont want to let them
down.
Counselor: Do you think that youd be letting them down by studying art?
Student: I think that they dont think thats success.
Counselor: And what do you think?
Student: I.. Im not sure.
Counselor: Ok. Thats a perfectly ok response. From what youre saying, it sounds like you have
some idea what you want to do, but the message that youre getting from your parents is that what
you want to do isnt worthwhile. <student nods> What you told me is that youre not talking to
them about it and youre thinking about the ways it wont happen. But youve also told me that
youre doing a lot of sketching as a way to relax. Can you think a little about each of these things
and tell me what you think about whether they can get you to the goals you told me about: wanting
to go to a small school for art, to have your parents support?
Student: They arent. Well, maybe the sketching since I can build a better portfolio, but everything
else is just making me miserable. Their comments, how Im not talking, all of it. Like I can only
have one of the two. I can have my parents support if I dont do what I think it is I want.
Counselor: It sounds like youve realized that what youre doing isnt working. Can we brainstorm
together some things now that might be new things you can try to reduce your stress and meet your
goals?
Student: I should talk to my parents. But Im not really sure how. Not talking isnt helping,
though. I guess I could also start looking into programs to see what schools might be good so I can
tell my parents why I want to go particular places.
Counselors: Those all sound like good next steps. We have resources here to help you look at
schools. When it comes to talking with your parents, I think you have a few options. The first is
that you can come back here if you think you need help talking through what you want to say. We
can practice. Or, if you think you need more support than that, we can schedule a meeting with
your parents where you tell them with me in the room to support you. Its entirely up to you.
Student: You can help me do that? Ill think about it some and come back and let you know. I
have to run to math class, though. Thanks! Im feeling less stressed.