Bethany Plasski
Mock Counseling Transcription Part IB & IIB
1) What were your goals in the initial session?
Develop Relationship:
After reading the brief scenario before class, I knew it would be essential to
develop a relationship with Jack. Considering the situation, I wanted to let Jack know
that I would be there for him to speak with and whatever he told me would remain
confidential. I knew it would be appropriate to inform Jack that I would have to the
responsibility to notify someone if he disclosed any information about harming
himself or someone else.
Get Jack’s Story:
While working on developing a relationship with Jack, I tried to gain as much
information about his situation as possible. I wanted to find out what Jack’s thoughts
were and how he felt about his relationship with his girlfriend. By gaining this
information I anticipated learning more about Jack as a person, his interests, and the
different characteristics that made up their relationship.
Set some goals/Plan for next session:
I knew it would be important to think of what Jack could do for our next
session. In doing so, I wanted to see if Jack had any goals for our sessions. What does
he want from this? Does he want to figure out if this relationship is for him? Does he
want to find a way out? What does Jack want and how can I help him achieve these
goals? After reading the scenario, I thought it would be a great way to incorporate
my lesson on healthy vs. unhealthy relationships. This would be a great way to take
some of the pressure off of him in speaking to me one-on-one and help him figure
out if the qualities he described in his relationship are healthy or unhealthy.
Bethany Plasski
Mock Counseling Transcription Part IB & IIB
2) What worked in the initial session?
Developing a Relationship:
I think it was important for me to tell Jack that I would not initially call home
to his mother and let her know he has personal issues going on. In doing so, I was
able to work on our student/counselor relationship and learn more about his story.
I also think it was a beneficial way to find out more about different characteristics of
his relationship with Emily.
Active Listening:
It seemed like Jack had a lot he wanted to talk about and was in touch with
his feelings regarding his relationship with Emily. With this being said, Jack did a
majority of the talking throughout the session and I asked clarifying questions when
needed. At one point Jack said, “I couldn’t have the conversation I am having with
you with her.” This reinforced that he felt comfortable in talking with me about
problems he is having with his girlfriend.
I tried to remain as empathetic and understanding as possible to ensure Jack
I was understanding and hearing the information he was communicating to me. I
used a variety of encouragers such as, “uh-huh’s,” and head nods to prompt Jack to
continue talking.
3) How would describe the approach you took in this session and your role as
the counselor?
I used a brief counseling approach while using concepts from the basic
listening sequence (BLS) discussed in chapter eight of our Intentional Interviewing
& Counseling book. According to this idea, using open and closed questions,
encouraging, paraphrasing, reflecting feelings, and summarizing are essential when
working with the client.
Bethany Plasski
Mock Counseling Transcription Part IB & IIB
Since Jack was open and willing to discuss the reason for his visit, I
immediately knew I would use these strategies to continue developing a
relationship with Jack. If I continued listening to his story and used encouragement
and reflection strategies when needed, I knew for sure that Jack would feel that his
story was heard.
4) In what ways were you culturally sensitive and aware as well as
developmentally appropriate?
In terms of being culturally appropriate, I used encouraging, paraphrasing,
and summarizing as much as possible. Additionally, I allowed Jack to be an
individual and did not shape his experience in any form. I was conscious of the fact
that Jack was comfortable with making direct eye contact, however, if he looked
away I did not question this. Since Jack seemed to be extremely comfortable in
talking with me I let him have the freedom to discuss whatever he felt comfortable
talking to me about.
I tried not to get into too many characteristics of a relationship because Jack
is in high school. Being developmentally aware made it easy to realize that Jack did
not want his mom digging for more information, which is why I tried to use a
listening approach and let Jack speak freely throughout the session. I realize that
high school students want their freedom, which is why he wants his mother off his
back. Jack is going through a phase of life in which he wants to solve problems on his
own and needs his space to do so.
5) What are the “loose ends” or areas to continue exploring based on how the
initial session ended?
Planning for the next session:
In our next session I would like to start off by asking how Jack’s week went
and if there were any other situations with his mother or Emily. I will tell him that I
Bethany Plasski
Mock Counseling Transcription Part IB & IIB
will call his mother and let her know that he has been coming to speak to me about
problems he is facing which he considers “personal”. I will ask Jack what
information he would like for me to tell his mom, if in fact, he still wants me to call
his mother in the first place. I would also tell his mother that I will call her if I think
the problems are getting worse, but for now I think him coming to see me might
have a positive affect on these problems.
Next, I would like to have Jack make a list of the pros/cons of his relationship
with Emily. I would also like to talk about different goals he has set for himself for
the remainder of the school year and see how the “affection and attention” Emily is
looking for will fit into those plans. Additionally, I would like to see how Jack felt
about the presentation regarding healthy vs. unhealthy relationships and see if it
triggered any feelings for him. I will bring a copy of the power point to class and we
can use it check off different aspects of his relationship and the categories they fit
under.
If time permits, I would also like to find out more about Jacks interests. He
said he is in school shows, so I am wondering if he is interested in pursuing a degree
in theater. Continuing to learn more about Jack as an individual as well as who he is
with his friends, and what he enjoys to do may help him figure out what he wants to
focus on.
6) What is your plan moving into the next session that is focused on
identifying an area and working through it using brief solution focused
approach?
While working together through out first session, Jack and I worked on
building our counseling relationship. He mentioned that he would not be able to talk
Bethany Plasski
Mock Counseling Transcription Part IB & IIB
to his girlfriend the way he was speaking to me, which reinforced a relationship had
been established.
Jack was also able to convey his story without me asking too many questions.
I learned that he was frustrated with his mother because she was nagging him about
his grades slipping and continuously asking him if he was getting everything he
needed to accomplish for school. I was also able to learn that he had some personal
issues going on which stemmed from his relationship with his girlfriend, Emily. I
learned about specific issues such as their inability to effectively communicate their
feelings to one another, which has led to a sense of frustration in Jack.
Jack also has a number of interests he shared with me (although I would like
to learn about more of his interests) such as theatre, spending time with his friends,
and watching a show called Walking Dead.
During our upcoming session I would like to set some goals with Jack. I
would like to give him the freedom to come up with goals for him self as well as
establishing some goals as a team so we can work on them in the sessions. I would
like for him to learn how to transfer his new learning to different situations in his
everyday life. Specifically, I would like to set goals around his relationship with his
girlfriend, communication with his mother and girlfriend, as well as some
approaches to better manage his time management skills.
7) What are possible challenges you anticipate and house might you address
them?
A personal challenge I had in the first session and I may face in the second
session is being comfortable with a client who is able to speak so freely about how
he feels and seems to know himself as a person. If Jack does not talk as much this
Bethany Plasski
Mock Counseling Transcription Part IB & IIB
session, it might throw me off as well. Furthermore, depending on how Jack’s week
went and if there were any fights with his girlfriend, or if his mother is still prying, I
could see challenges arising in those areas. I am hoping Jack is not mad that I did not
contact his mother especially if he feels she is still demanding answers from him.
Since he is a high school student I am keeping an open mind as to a variety of
challenges that may arise. Maybe his friends are discouraging him from seeing
Emily, or maybe his grades are slipping even more? Perhaps he did not get a role in
a play or got injured at rehearsal. High school brings up a number of challenges
since students are fighting for their freedom and individuality. I hope my open mind
going into next session is the preparation I need to help Jack face whatever
challenges come his way with an open mind!
7) Other thoughts in thinking about the next session:
I guess one difficulty I had throughout the session was that I did not know
how to respond to a client who was as open as Jack was. I am used to prying for
information from my clients with different questioning strategies, but I found myself
speechless at some points. I did not even need to ask, before Jack would inform me
regarding different aspects I was curious about. How do I handle situations like
these? Is this a good thing when clients are so open and honest?
How can I cut Jack off and get some of my thoughts/questions out on the
table. As I was watching our initial session on video I noticed several times when we
were both speaking over each other. Do I just let him speak and wait until he stops?
I realize that sometimes students come to the guidance office just to get things off of
their chest; I wonder if Jack verbalizing his problems and his willingness to talk to
me is actually helping him in the long run.
Bethany Plasski
Mock Counseling Transcription Part IB & IIB
I would like to see how he would feel bringing Emily into the session. Maybe
it would be easier to discuss how he felt about the relationship with her having me
around to provide support. I would present this idea if in fact Jack wanted to work
on his relationship with Emily. If he wanted to end it I would also let him know I am
available if he needs assistance.
I look forward to meeting with Jack for our second session and am interested
in seeing his response to the power point. I am also interested in seeing his
willingness to come up with a pro/cons list, setting some goals, and figuring out
what the rest of his senior year has in store for him.
1) In what ways did you meet your identified goals in this second session?
Since this was only the second time I was meeting with Jack, I wanted to
continue on developing our counselor/student relationship. I knew it would be good
to start up with an open question by asking him if anything new happened with his
mother or Emily in the past week. Through learning of the events that had taken
place over the past week I could then figure out how the other goals I had set prior
to the session would come into play.
I initially anticipated more fights between Jack and his mother as well as with his
girlfriend Emily, however, to my surprise, Emily had decided to “take a break” with
Jack. I knew I would want to find out how Jack felt about this since his overall
demeanor had changed since our last meeting. Through finding out more about his
current state of mind I knew it would be a good opportunity to turn to the
presentation.
I was glad I had the opportunity to use the presentation because I think it helped
Jack see his relationship on a different level. I think having Jack indicate what
Bethany Plasski
Mock Counseling Transcription Part IB & IIB
aspects of his relationship with unhealthy, then having him describe why he felt the
way he did was really helpful. This helped me connect with him on a different level
and I feel it made our counseling relationship stronger. I wish I had more time to
work through the presentation and really get insight to his thoughts and feelings
regarding his relationship with Emily.
Lastly, Jack and I talked about some goals for our next session. It was important
for us to focus on what steps he would take in his relationship and I think having
him take time to think about what he wanted to do was a big enough goal to set for
the future session, and I think it worked for Jack, which is the most important part to
our session.
2) Thinking of the overall second session, what worked? Of the responses, did
you also do this in the initial session, or did it come to you during the
session? Of the responses, what will you work to keep in future sessions
with students, and why?
I think a number of things worked in the second session with Jack. First, being
open to letting Jack do a majority of the talking was useful. Contrary to my prior
beliefs about the client doing a majority of the talking, and how it made me feel
uncomfortable, this session it just worked. Seeing stress lifted off Jacks shoulders
due to his “break” with Emily and his overall demeanor made me feel comfortable
throughout the entire session. Additionally, keeping the session light, by mimicking
his feelings, and telling him the light in which I viewed him is was very helpful.
I also think it was helpful to not projecting my feelings about the relationship
onto Jack. Whenever he asked what I thought he should do, I tried to turn it back on
him because it was his relationship and inside he knew what he should do. I realize
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Mock Counseling Transcription Part IB & IIB
that with more sessions and through the continuous growth of our relationship he
would come to the conclusion of what to do on his own.
Next, referencing the PowerPoint and having Jack use the slides to help think of
negative aspects of the relationship – then having him describe these in detail to me
was quite useful. It helped us both see the negative aspects right in front of us, on
the table, and not just a picture painted from his mind. By using an alternative way
of thinking, I truly feel Jack could see his relationship on a different level.
During this second session I feel as though I threw some of my initial plan away
and decided to think on my toes and go with what felt right for Jack. Each time we
meet a new student/client we meet new problems and new personalities. By staying
on my toes, being open-minded, and truly learning who my students are as students,
sons/daughters, friends, etc. will prove to be helpful as I progress through my
career in counseling.
3) How would you describe the approach you took in this session and your
role as the counselor?
Similar to the first session, I used a brief counseling approach while using
concepts from the basic listening sequence. As I discussed in the first part of this
project, this idea incorporates the use of, open and closed questions, encouraging,
paraphrasing, reflecting feelings, and summarizing are essential when working with
the client. I was able to use more of these techniques during session two because we
had developed a relationship through our first session. I knew I could continue
working on our relationship while progressing to accomplish goals together. I knew
Jack felt I was listening to his story and he feels comfortable working with me as a
counselor.
Bethany Plasski
Mock Counseling Transcription Part IB & IIB
4) In what ways were you culturally sensitive and aware as well as
developmentally appropriate?
Similar to the first session with Jack, I used paraphrasing, summarizing, and
encouraging techniques as much as possible. Again, Jack seemed to be comfortable
with making direct eye contact as well as discussing certain aspects of his
relationship with Emily.
I tried to encourage Jack to feel he could discuss whatever was on his mind, but
not project my ideas or feelings about his situation on him. When he asked what I
thought he should do, I counteracted this question by turning the question back on
him. Furthermore, I tried to stay developmentally appropriate by not allowing
myself to get into his relationship from an emotional level. When Jack identified the
unhealthy aspects of his relationship, I allowed him to give me examples of why he
believed these aspects of the relationship were unhealthy. By allowing him the
freedom to give examples of certain situation with Emily I could learned a lot about
the negative aspects of his relationship as well as how he viewed them.
5) What area of individual counseling are you going to continue to work on in
Advanced Applied and Practicum?
I really like using the Brief Counseling Model while working with students. It has
the structure needed to effectively work with students, while allowing flexibility
when working with different types of students we will encounter. Developing
relationships, learning our clients’ stories, and setting goals, are all vital when
working with students and this approach allows counselors the opportunity of
doing this successfully.
Bethany Plasski
Mock Counseling Transcription Part IB & IIB
A specific area of individual counseling I need to continue working on is my
active listening skills. I find my mind wandering frequently and I must train myself
to become a better listener. For example, during the second mock counseling
session, I found myself getting ahead of the client. I would try to anticipate what he
was going to say next so I could prepare myself with what I would say. Instead of
this working to my benefit, he did not say what I anticipated. I must be more
conscious of working in the here and now and instead of anticipating what my
student will say next, I need to spruce up my active listening skills which will help
me gain more confidence within my individual counseling skills.
6) What are possible challenges you anticipate and how might you address
them?
One challenge I have always been concerned about is being able to separate
myself from work. I am a passionate, emotional person, and anticipate this will work
both for and against me. It will be essential for to keep an open mind and be open to
talking to my colleagues when I need to clear my head. In addition to the separation
of self from work, being confident in my abilities is another challenge I anticipate.
Through experience and practice, I hope I will gain the confidence I need in myself
to perform my job to the best of my ability.
Furthermore, developing time management strategies to take care of daily duties
as well as throughout a session with a student will be critical. Since Guidance
Counselors have a wide range of responsibilities both academic and
social/emotional it will be important to incorporate some flexibility into my
schedule and utilize time as it presents itself.
Bethany Plasski
Mock Counseling Transcription Part IB & IIB
As we have discussed throughout the semester, active listening is another area I
anticipate being challenging for me. There are many times we as guidance
counselors will be in the middle of something and need to drop it to handle a crisis
situation. I must learn how to sharpen my active listening skills to help gain as much
information as possible when working with my students.
7) Thinking about your entire mock counseling transcription project, how
would you evaluate yourself and what project grade do you feel you have
earned?
While working on the transcription of the first mock counseling session, I
realized I needed to stop being so hard on myself. I felt as though I had a lot to
improve on immediately after the first session. After I watched, and re-watched the
video, I realized it was not as bad as I initially thought. I was able to develop a great
relationship with Jack and started to work on establishing a rapport with him as
well. I was able to get his story out on the table and learn about different interests
Jack had. The first session opened the door to the second session in which I could
learn about Jack’s relationship with Emily in more detail. I was able to use the
PowerPoint presentation as a resource and through using the characteristics of an
unhealthy relathipship slide I was able to learn examples of why he felt the way he
did about the relationship. Overall, I wish I had more time to work with Jack to see
where the counseling relationship led him and to see how he could figure out his
decision with my assistance.
I would give myself an A on this project because I think I progressed from
session one to session two. I felt much more comfortable with myself in the role of a
counselor and had confidence in myself when the second session started which was
what this process was all about. I also feel as though I provided my classmates with
Bethany Plasski
Mock Counseling Transcription Part IB & IIB
the support and confidence they needed to feel comfortable in front of the camera.
We are all in this process together and by standing behind them and by providing
reassurance when they needed it, I think I helped make the process as fun as
possible!