Getting to Solutions: The Heart of Counseling

ONLINE
Dates:
2 November - 14 December 2024
Synchronous Sessions: 7 - 9am ET - 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 November; 14 December.
Facilitator: TBA


International schools are filled with kids and adults experiencing change of all types; and change comes with individual responses and needs. The ‘heart’ of school counseling involves the counselor working with students, families and teachers one-to-one to meet these individual needs. How can a counselor make the best use of that one-on-one time to maximize the possibility that it is a catalyst for getting to positive solutions for the individual?

Learning Goals

  • How and when to use different modes of therapeutic support to meet the needs of international school students

  • How to identify and utilize a student’s strengths in navigating troubling times

  • How to utilize the role of empathy and relationships in a counseling setting

  • How to reframe problems in a way that provides the client with more options

  • When to refer a student and family for outside counseling

  • The role of the counselor in student support meetings (response to intervention)

With limited time and resources available, international school counselors need special intervention skills and approaches that allow them to utilize trusting relationships to help students find solutions to their problems.

The course will bring together best practices from various school-based intervention approaches and use research from positive psychology and related counseling fields to help current and emerging counselors become more effective in their one-to-one work. We will also discuss how to apply and adapt these skills, as needed, in an online or hybrid learning environment.

Who is this experience for?

Current and aspiring counselors in international schools will benefit from the CTC courses. The mix of theory and practical, job-embedded practices will provide participants with a wealth of strategies to use in their role.

What’s my commitment?

This is an 8-week course with six synchronous sessions and job-embedded tasks and practices for participants to complete between sessions. Synchronous sessions include opportunities for both learning from an experienced international school counselor and small group discussions. You should be prepared to spend approximately 90 minutes to 2 hours per week, including individual and job-embedded tasks. This course can be used towards completion of your Certificate for International School Counseling.