A Single-Session Counseling
Paradigm
Paul Jones, Ed.D.
Renee Kadlubek, Ed.S.
Bill Marks, Ed.S.
School Psychology
Department of Educational Psychology
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Las Vegas, NV
(Not, by the way, this Single-Session
Counseling Paradigm)
True or False:
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

Most school psychologists report that
they would like to spend more time on
delivery of counseling services.
An effective counseling intervention
requires at least five sessions.
There is sex after death.
The Plan for This Morning
1.Single-Session Counseling: Why ?
2.Single-Session Counseling: Why Not
?
3.Single Session Counseling: How ?
4.Single-Session Counseling: Research
A Single-Session Counseling Paradigm
A Scientific Paradigm (Kuhn) involves:



what is observed;
the questions that are asked, and
how the answers are interpreted.
Single-Session Counseling: Why ?
1. Because we don't have time to do any
other form of counseling, or
1. Because it may now be time for a
change in how we think about the delivery
of counseling services.
Single-Session Counseling: Why Not ?
1. There are political risks if we offer an
easy way out for local school districts.
1. I wasn't trained that way.
(We'll be back in a moment after a
brief word from our sponsor.)
Did you know?
The name “Nevada” is from a Spanish word meaning snowclad.
Nevada is the seventh largest state with 110,540 square miles,
85% of them federally owned including the secret Area 51.
Nevada is the largest gold-producing state in the nation. It is
second in the world behind South Africa.
Hoover Dam, the largest single public works project in the
history of the United States, contains 3.25 million cubic yards
of concrete, which is enough to pave a two-lane highway
from San Francisco to New York.
Did you know?
Camels were used as pack animals in Nevada as late as 1870.
Las Vegas has more hotel rooms than any other place on
earth.
The ichthyosaur is Nevada's official state fossil.
There were 16,067 slots in Nevada in 1960. In 1999 Nevada
had 205,726 slot machines, one for every 10 residents.
In Tonopah the young Jack Dempsey was once the bartender
and the bouncer at the still popular Mispah Hotel and Casino.
Famous lawman and folk hero Wyatt Earp once kept the
peace in the town.
Single-Session Counseling: How ?
A single-session modality is feasible with a
variety of counseling theories.
The theory guides the goal development and the
role of the provider, not the number of sessions
required for the goal to be attained.
Single-Session Counseling: How ?
A large scale comparative study almost 25 years
ago concluded that successful outcome of
counseling (therapy) appeared to rest on just
three key factors, the “active ingredients.”
1. relationship,
2. re-framing, and
3. ritual.
Single-Session Counseling: How ?
The question then becomes whether (and
when) these three key factors can be
accomplished in a single-session.
Single-Session Counseling: Relationship
Common to essentially all counseling
approaches is the importance of a special
relationship, communicating warm,
empathy, positive regard, etc.
This is sometimes called the “therapeutic
alliance”, and a recent study found
intriguing neuropsychological linkage when
the relationship is evident.
Single-Session Counseling: Re-Framing
In some brief therapy approaches this is
the problem identification/problem solving
phase.
With assistance from the provider, the
student/client re-frames the concern as a
problem to be solved and constructs one or
more potential strategies for a resolution.
Single-Session Counseling: Ritual
This key factor comes through actions that
make the counseling session different from
simple advice from a friend.
Examples of how this can be accomplished
include:
1. Identifying targets and charting progress
in a brief follow-up sesson.
2. At the end of the session, briefly moving
away from the student/client to prepare a
“prescription.”
Single-Session Counseling: Research
These examples are drawn from:
Jones, W.P., Kadlubek, R.M., & Marks, W.J.
(2006). Single-session treatment: a
counseling paradigm for school psychology.
The School Psychologist, 60, 112-115.
Single-Session Counseling: Research
Curtis, Whittaker,Stevens, and Lennon (2002)
found the single session model viable in the context
of a family systems model.
A single-session intervention was effective in
treatment of earthquake-related posttraumatic
stress disorder (Basoglu, Salcioglu, Livanou,
Kalendar, &Acar, 2005).
McCambridge and Strang (2004) found that a
single-session treatment using motivational
interviewing was effective in reducing substance
abuse.
Single-Session Counseling: Research
Patterson, Shaw, and Semple (2003) found that
a single-session behavioral intervention
increased the frequency of safe sex practices in
persons who were HIV positive.
Paniak,Toller-Lobe, Reynolds, Melnyk, and
Nagy (2000) found that a single-session
reassurance and educational intervention was as
effective as a more extensive counseling
approach in treating patients with mild traumatic
brain injury.
Single-Session Counseling: Research
Littrell, Malia, and Vanderword (1995)
studied the effectiveness of single-session
counseling in a high school setting and
reported success in perceived goal
attainment and in reducing self-reported
distress levels.
Single-Session Counseling: Closing Thought
An assumption is a proposition taken for
granted, treated as if it were known to be
true.
In our discipline it is important, perhaps
even essential, that we periodically
challenge the assumptions that govern our
work.
Selected References
Basoglu, M., Salcioglu, E., Livanou, M., Kalender, D., & Acar,
G. (2005). Single-Session behavioral treatment of earthquakerelated posttraumatic stress disorder: A randomized waiting
list controlled trial. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 18, 1-11.
Curtis, A., Whittaker, A., Stevens, S., & Lennon, A. (2002).
Single session family intervention in a local authority family
centre setting. Journal of Social Work Practice, 16, 37-41.
Frank, J. D., & Frank, J. B. (1991). Persuasion & healing: A
comparative study of psychotherapy. Baltimore, MD: Johns
Hopkins University Press.
Fagan, T, K. (2004). School Psychology’s Significant Discrepancy:
Historical Perspectives on Personnel Shortages. Psychology
in the Schools, 41(4), 419-430.
Selected References
Jones, W. P., Crank, J. N., & Loe, S. A. (2006).
Extending specialist training in counseling: The
efficacy of self-instruction. College Student Journal,
40, 885-900.
Jones, W.P., Kadlubek, R.M., & Marks, W.J. (2006).
Single-ession treatment: a counseling paradigm for
school psychology. The School Psychologist, 60, 112115.
McCambridge, J., & Strang, J. (2004). The efficacy of
single-session motivational interviewing in reducing
drug consumption and perceptions of drug-related
risk and harm among young people: results from a
multi-site cluster randomized trial. Addiction, 99, 3952.
Paniak, C., Toller-Lobe, G., Reynolds, S., Melnyk, A., &
Nagy, J. (2000). A randomized trial of two treatments
for mild traumatic brain injury: 1 year follow-up. Brain
Selected References
Patterson, T.L., Shaw, W.S., & Semple, S.J. (2003).
Reducing the sexual risk behavior of HIV+ individuals:
Outcome of a randomized controlled trial. Annals of
Behavioral Medicine, 25, 137-145
Sklare, G. B. (1997). Brief counseling that works: A
solution-focused approach for school counselors.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Talmon, M. (1993). Single-session solutions: A guide
to practical, effective, and affordable therapy.
Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.
A Single-Session Counseling
Paradigm