The Effective School Counselor With a High Risk Teen: Motivational Interviewing Demonstration

Summary

In this insightful script, a counselor engages with Andrea, a high school junior, focusing on her aspirations and values. They explore Andrea's social life, particularly her relationship with alcohol, and its impact on her goals. Through reflective dialogue, the counselor helps Andrea recognize the importance of respecting herself and her body, leading to a discussion about reducing alcohol consumption to align with her future ambitions of attending an Ivy League school and becoming a psychiatrist.

Takeaways

• 😀 The counselor emphasizes the student's autonomy and the importance of self-reflection on personal goals and values.
• 🎶 Andrea is deeply involved in music, participating in various ensembles, which contributes to her sense of community and belonging.
• 👨‍👧 Andrea values her family and mentions having an older brother and a golden retriever dog, indicating her connection to her home environment.
• 🏫 Andrea has good academic performance with a GPA of around 3.7 and aspires to attend an Ivy League school to study psychology and become a psychiatrist.
• 🗝 The counselor introduces a list of values to Andrea, who identifies 'sense of community and belonging' and 'respect' as most important to her.
• 🍻 Alcohol is present in Andrea's social life, mainly during parties, and is seen as a way to loosen up and have fun, but also has negative aspects.
• 🚫 Andrea is aware of the dangers of alcohol, such as drunk driving and poor decision-making, and tries to limit its consumption to safe environments.
• 🤔 The counselor helps Andrea explore the balance between enjoying alcohol's social benefits and the need to respect her body and future goals.
• 🔄 Andrea considers setting limits on her drinking, such as making her own drink to control the amount and trying to make it last longer during social events.
• 🔄 The counselor uses decisional balance to help Andrea weigh the pros and cons of her drinking habits and to identify her motivations for change.
• 📝 The session concludes with Andrea expressing a goal to reduce her alcohol consumption, with the counselor suggesting a follow-up meeting to track progress.

Q & A

What is the primary role of the counselor in the conversation?

The counselor's primary role is to meet with students, discuss their behaviors, and help them think about potential changes for their lives, while respecting their autonomy and not trying to change them.

Why is Andrea involved in various music ensembles?

Andrea is involved in various music ensembles because she has a passion for music, having started playing instruments 10 years ago and enjoys the team setting of working towards a common goal.

What are Andrea's academic goals after high school?

Andrea's academic goals are to graduate high school, hopefully attend an Ivy League school, and then study to become a doctor, specifically a psychiatrist.

What values does Andrea identify as most important to her?

Andrea identifies a sense of community, belonging, and respect as the values most important to her.

How does Andrea's involvement in the marching band relate to her values?

Andrea's involvement in the marching band relates to her values of community and belonging because she enjoys being part of a team working towards a shared goal.

What is Andrea's perspective on the role of alcohol in her social life?

Andrea sees alcohol as a way to loosen up and have fun during parties, but she also acknowledges the need for safety and moderation to avoid negative consequences.

How often does Andrea engage in drinking?

Andrea estimates that during a not busy month, she drinks on about two to three weekends out of the month.

What are some of the negative consequences Andrea associates with excessive drinking?

Andrea associates excessive drinking with making poor decisions, getting sick from overconsumption, and engaging in inappropriate behaviors.

How does Andrea's aunt's situation influence her views on alcohol?

Andrea's aunt being an alcoholic makes her more aware of the potential dangers and consequences of alcohol abuse, influencing her to be cautious and respectful of her own limits.

What strategies does Andrea consider to reduce her alcohol consumption?

Andrea considers making her own drinks to control the amount, extending the time she spends on one drink, and planning more activities that do not involve alcohol.

How confident is Andrea in her ability to cut down on drinking if she decides to?

Andrea is very confident, rating her ability to cut down on drinking as a ten on a scale from one to ten.

What does the counselor suggest as a follow-up to their conversation?

The counselor suggests meeting again in a couple of weeks to check on Andrea's progress with her goal of reducing alcohol consumption.

Outlines

00:00

🎓 Introduction and Personal Goals

The counselor begins the session by introducing herself and her role, emphasizing that she is there to support the student's autonomy and self-reflection. She meets with Andrea, a junior involved in various musical ensembles, to discuss her life, behaviors, and potential changes. Andrea shares her background in music, her family, and her academic performance. The counselor then explores Andrea's future aspirations, which include attending an Ivy League school and becoming a psychiatrist, highlighting Andrea's ambitious goals.

05:00

🍻 Social Life and Alcohol Consumption

The conversation shifts to Andrea's social life, focusing on the role of alcohol in her social activities. Andrea admits to drinking at parties to 'loosen up' and have fun but notes that she tries to drink safely, often staying at a friend's house to avoid driving. The counselor explores the positive and negative aspects of alcohol in Andrea's life, including the enjoyment it brings to social gatherings and the potential for poor decisions and health consequences. Andrea acknowledges the need for balance and the desire to limit alcohol consumption.

10:03

🚫 Balancing Fun and Safety

Andrea discusses her strategies for managing alcohol consumption, such as making her own drinks to control the amount and trying to make one drink last. She admits that sometimes she exceeds her limit, especially when pressured by friends to take shots. The counselor helps Andrea identify her values, such as respect and community, and how they relate to her drinking behavior. Andrea expresses a desire to reduce drinking to align with her values and goals, recognizing the importance of respecting her body.

15:03

🔄 Planning for Change and Future Meetings

The counselor and Andrea discuss the importance of making adjustments to her drinking habits to better align with her values and future goals. Andrea is confident in her ability to cut down on alcohol if she decides to, rating her confidence at a ten. They brainstorm ideas for reducing alcohol intake, such as planning non-alcoholic activities and being okay with friends drinking while she abstains. The counselor suggests a follow-up meeting to check on Andrea's progress, and Andrea agrees, showing her commitment to working on this goal.

Keywords

💡Counselor

A counselor is a professional trained to provide guidance and support to individuals facing personal, social, or psychological challenges. In the video, the counselor's role is to help Andrea reflect on her behaviors and values, particularly concerning alcohol use. The counselor facilitates a conversation that encourages Andrea to consider her future goals and how her current actions align with those aspirations.

💡Autonomy

Autonomy refers to the ability of an individual to make their own decisions and act on their own behalf. In the context of the video, the counselor emphasizes Andrea's autonomy by stating that it's not her job to change Andrea but to help her think about her own life changes. This approach respects Andrea's self-determination and encourages her to take ownership of her decisions.

💡Values

Values are the principles or standards of a person or social group. In the video, the counselor introduces a list of values to Andrea, such as community, respect, and self-determination, to help her identify what is most important to her. This exercise is crucial as it helps Andrea to recognize potential discrepancies between her actions and her core beliefs.

💡Social Scene

The social scene refers to the context in which social interactions take place, often involving gatherings, parties, or other group activities. In the script, Andrea describes her social scene, which includes parties where alcohol is present, and how it fits into her social interactions and the dynamics of her friendships.

💡Alcohol

Alcohol is a psychoactive substance that can induce relaxation and lowered inhibitions. In the video, alcohol is a central topic of discussion as the counselor explores its role in Andrea's social life and its potential impact on her values and future goals. Andrea reflects on both the positive and negative aspects of alcohol consumption.

💡Decisional Balance

Decisional balance is a technique used in counseling to help individuals weigh the pros and cons of a particular behavior or decision. The counselor in the video uses this method to guide Andrea in considering the benefits and drawbacks of her alcohol consumption, which helps her to evaluate whether it aligns with her values and long-term objectives.

💡Self-Respect

Self-respect is the regard one has for oneself and the value one places on one's own well-being. In the script, Andrea identifies respect as one of her core values and relates it to her behavior regarding alcohol. She acknowledges the need to respect her body and make decisions that support her health and future aspirations.

💡Belonging

Belonging is the sense of being part of a group or community and feeling a connection with others. Andrea mentions that a sense of community and belonging are important to her, which is reflected in her participation in the marching band and her desire to be part of social gatherings, even though these sometimes involve alcohol use.

💡Behavior Change

Behavior change refers to the process of modifying one's actions or habits. The counselor in the video helps Andrea to consider behavior change in relation to her alcohol consumption. By discussing her values and the impact of alcohol on her life, Andrea is encouraged to think about making adjustments that align with her goals and values.

💡Goal Setting

Goal setting is the process of identifying and committing to specific objectives one wishes to achieve. In the video, Andrea discusses her educational and career goals, such as attending an Ivy League school and becoming a psychiatrist. The counselor helps her to see how her current behaviors, like alcohol consumption, might affect these goals and to consider setting new goals related to her drinking habits.

💡Confidence

Confidence is a belief in one's ability to achieve a goal or complete a task successfully. Andrea expresses a high level of confidence (rated as a ten) in her ability to cut down on alcohol if she decides to, indicating her self-assurance in making behavior changes that align with her values and goals.

Highlights

Counselor emphasizes student's autonomy and the importance of self-reflection on behaviors and life changes.

Introduction of the counselor's role and the purpose of the meeting to discuss student's well-being and potential changes.

Student Andrea shares her involvement in music and various ensembles, indicating her passion and commitment.

Discussion of Andrea's family background and the importance of pets in her life, providing insight into her support system.

Revealing Andrea's academic performance and aspirations, highlighting her drive for excellence.

Introduction of values clarification exercise to understand what is important to Andrea in her life.

Andrea identifies 'sense of community' and 'respect' as her core values, linking them to her experiences in the marching band.

Counselor explores the role of alcohol in Andrea's social life and its impact on her enjoyment and behavior.

Andrea acknowledges the negative aspects of excessive drinking, such as poor decision-making and health consequences.

The counselor uses decisional balance to help Andrea weigh the pros and cons of her drinking habits.

Andrea's recognition of the need for safety measures while drinking, such as not driving and staying with trusted friends.

Counselor connects Andrea's drinking behavior with her values, particularly respect for herself and her body.

Andrea expresses her desire to reduce drinking to align with her values and future goals, including becoming a doctor.

Confidence assessment of Andrea's ability to cut down on drinking, with her rating herself a 'ten' on commitment.

Andrea considers strategies for reducing alcohol intake, such as opting out of drinking during social events.

Counselor and Andrea agree on a follow-up meeting to track progress and discuss further strategies.

Counselor summarizes the session, appreciating Andrea's participation and expressing optimism for her future goals.

Transcripts

watch what happens this time when the

counselor keeps the conversation focused

on the students own goals and values

encouraging her to think about what

behaviors fit best with her own plans

for the future hi Andrea

thanks for coming in thank you so I

don't know how much you know already

about sort of my role here and why

you're even here so I thought I'd start

by telling you a little bit about myself

basically my job is to meet with all of

the students I meet with everybody about

once or twice a semester and just talk

with you a little bit about how things

are going different behaviors that you

might be engaging in and thinking about

any changes you might want to make for

your life if you decide that you do it's

not my job to change you I couldn't even

if I wanted to that's not my role at all

it's really to help you think about you

know how things are going for you and

how you might like making changes or

moving forward that sound okay all right

so why don't we start by you telling me

a little bit about yourself

sure um as you know I'm Andrea I uh I'm

a junior I'm in the marching band I

played at center sacks I mean yeah I'm

also in the little bit of a band geek I

play you know the Wind Ensemble and the

Jazz Band things like that wow you

really are involved in music yeah when

did you start

I started playing about 10 years ago

actually Wow yeah I start on the violin

first and then I went on explored a

little with the piano clarinet finally

found the tenor sax hmm yeah very cool

I've always wanted to be good at music

all right so it sounds like you're in

band and a few other musical ensembles

any other hobbies you have or things you

like to do for fun

um you know just hanging out with my

friends or go to the beach things like

that it's kind of everyday sort of thing

okay tell me a little bit about your

family uh well I have one older brother

he's about eight and a half old years

older than me my parents and I have dog

cute what kind of dogs the golden

retriever oh nice I'm a big boy

very fun all right and how are things

going in school for you pretty good

grades have been pretty all right

still like 3.7 ish okay great so you're

doing well what sorts of goals do you

have for after college or after high

school I'd like to you know I'd like to

of course graduate high school hopefully

go to a nice Ivy League school or I mean

that might not happen and then I'd like

to go on become a doctor study

psychology you need to come a

psychiatrist or something okay you have

some pretty big dreams

yeah it's great that's really exciting

to think about that and he's going to be

looking forward to the future and those

things all right well one thing I'm

going to ask you about is um you know

different people have sort of different

things that they really value in their

life whether it's you know their

cultural identity or their family or

their friends or job or hobbies things

like that so here's a little sheet that

goes through just some basic values that

might be more or less important to

certain people like belonging or sense

of community again cultural identity or

family friendship modesty religion

respect self-determination and

spirituality so when you think about

yourself which of these are kind of most

important to you in terms of your life

um I think a sense of community and

belonging okay I think those two and um

respect respect okay can you tell me a

little bit about why you picked those

three yeah well I think the community

belonging I kind of related them um you

know how I said I was in the marching

band I really you know I really enjoyed

being in like that team setting of you

know being with other people and all

working to work together towards that

one goal mm-hmm and then in terms of

respect I I kind of view that as one of

like my major like rules like I I really

do think respect is important to respect

myself or respect those around me so

okay I place great importance in that

okay great so sort of being a part of a

group and being a part of a team gives

you a sense of belonging like you said

a sense of purpose anyway and then the

respect is really sort of

all-encompassing it's not just Authority

but respecting yourself respecting your

teammates or your bandmates and other

people around you okay that's great

all right well one of the things I want

to talk to you about sort of relates to

belonging and your friends so what kinds

of things do you like to do when you get

together with your friends um sometimes

if you just you know go to the movies go

to the beach like I had said or

sometimes we just get together someone's

house play some board games and hang out

mm-hmm and when you're hanging out with

friends is there ever alcohol involved

yeah sometimes okay can you tell me a

little bit about how alcohol fits into

sort of your social scene uh well it's

mostly just for for parties or party

settings it's kind of to get things

going and got everything loosened up as

they say mm-hmm and so when you go to

parties most of the time there's alcohol

there okay and how often do you think

you would say you're drinking I'd say um

on a not busy month for instance I'd say

about like two weekends out of the month

two three mm-hmm so about half the time

you're drinking and half the time you're

not can you tell me what's different

about the days when you choose to drink

versus not to drink the days that we

drink are mostly like I said they're

parties so it's more of that whole

partying and dancing and you know having

everyone have fun and then when we don't

it's a lot more relaxed it's a lot more

hanging out playing board games watching

a movie it's not yeah so it really

depends on what the activity is whether

or not alcohols get definitely okay and

do you notice a big difference or can

you tell me about the difference in your

enjoyment level at say a party versus

and that you're playing board games I

think of them as as different I think

you know like in playing board games and

things it's meant to be relaxing so it's

nice to have like that kind of breather

versus with a party it's a lot more

energetic it's a after at all it's very

draining mm-hmm but in the moment it's

quite fun to dance and have

okay so there's sort of pros and cons oh

yeah okay what are the things that you

like about drinking or like about

alcohol um it's you know when we drink

we we tend to have more fun because I

guess we're not you know everyone's

drinking together we're a lot more

loosened up and relaxed and not really

thinking about stresses or things like

that but it can be when it's too much

drinking it can be can be obviously bad

okay

so sort of in the the too much drinking

or our times can you tell me some of the

less good things or not so good things

about alcohol um a lot of times it will

make make people stupid yeah you know

people make dumb decisions and things

like that we we usually try to be as

safe about it as possible so like

sleepover friends house and so you know

we're not driving and it's mostly within

our friend group so we're not worried

about strangers putting weird things in

our drinks but um definitely some of the

ideas people can have when they're

stupid when they're drunk can can be

really stupid

hmm so you're trying to like you said

not engage in really dangerous

activities you're trying to stay put

you're not driving you're trying to stay

with people that you trust but yet it

sounds like there's still some some

things happening sometimes yeah can you

tell me a little bit about that well I

especially don't like it whenever me or

one of my friends like we drink too much

and we hadn't up like throwing up and

things like that that I don't that's not

fun

yeah throwing up is never fun it's not

and how often do you think that happened

for me that's happened to me once it was

the first time I ever drank and it was

it was a lot and you know what I was

doing I was mixing all kinds of weird

things I'm just kind of taking anything

ever anyone gave me and that didn't end

well but after that I have it but I do

have friends that that still do

sometimes so I'll end up like having to

take care of them or something and okay

it kind of put it down around my my fun

huh okay so on the one side some of the

fun things associated with alcohol are

people are just more relaxed sort of

carefree and kind of let loose a little

bit more on the other hand there's a

little bit more I guess planning

involved because you have to make sure

that you're doing it safely or as safe

as you can and then there can be some

other consequences like throwing up or

even if it's not you that sometimes

you're stuck your your fun is sort of

ruined when you're stuck dealing with a

friend you drink too much

okay any other not-so-good things about

the alcohol yeah people can get a little

like sloppy I guess like they're all

loose like with people and corners doing

things that should be done in private

and that kind of stuff so you're kind of

stuck being exposed to things you don't

mean busy yeah got it okay all right

well you mentioned a couple times that

you've made a few decisions to try and

limit the a dangerous aspect of the

drinking why did you make those

decisions I just I you know have an aunt

who is an alcoholic so I I see like the

issues that are involved and I've seen

movies and things I know that drunk

driving is an issue so I you know I want

to be as safe as possible in those terms

and be in a setting where like we can

let loose but still be safe like I

someone's house or someone's parents

home or something but so I like I know

that there are dangers involved and I

guess I want to limit that and still be

able to have fun okay

yeah it sounds kind of similar to your

your value of respect too so on the one

hand you the drinking maybe helps with

the belonging community to start if

there's too much then it sort of defeats

the purpose right and then with the

respect one of the things you mentioned

is really wanting to respect yourself

and not sort of cross boundaries not

sort of cross lines how do you think

that the drinking fits in with that in

terms of what in terms of respect I

think well in a way I do think that

drinking is probably a form of

disrespect to my own body because I'm

not putting things I'm putting things in

it that shouldn't be there and then but

in terms of hot ways I am respecting

myself I am I'm respecting myself by

like trying to stay in someone's house

and like trying to limit my drinking so

I don't get to that blacked out like

throwing up and everything and try to

you know let loose but still be in

control of my behavior so I'm not going

to go with some random person I met in -

I don't know where to do I don't know

what and things like that okay

so you're sort of looking for that

balance yeah how much you can drink to

have some of the positive benefit but

about crossover okay and what have you

come up with it at this point do you

have sort of a limit that you stick to

or usually well I start off by make sure

that I make my own drink so I know

what's in it how much is in it so that

way I control how much I drink so I'll

usually just you know get one of those

cups and then make one drink and then

I'll try to make it last as long as

possible and I'll be like all right this

is my one drink and I'm good in that way

I still have something in my cup some

people aren't going to be like oh here

have some more like no I'm good I have

mine and I'll still be you know having

some to like let loose a little mm-hmm

and do you feel like that's working

pretty well for you or you sometimes

exceed that limit or or what do you

think for the most part it works pretty

well because like I said people you know

people come asking me trying to pressure

me I'll be like no I'm good I have you

know I still have so I'm like I'll get

some later and then never end up getting

anything but sometimes they'll be like

hey let's take a shot and everyone's got

it around like the kitchen or something

ready to take a shot and then at that

point I'll be like oh well maybe I can

take one more and that's when I start

you know falling into okay too much so a

portion of the time it's working well

for you and another portion of the time

maybe you like I'd like to make some

adjustments to

to make it a little smoother okay so

kind of thinking along those lines how

important is it to you to make some

changes or make some adjustments to your

drinking to sort of fit with your values

and your goals for yourself um I'd like

to make sure that I you know in terms of

respecting myself of my body I'd like to

you know try to drink less okay like I

you know it is nice to let loose and

have fun but I'd also like it to be so

you know I'm not damaging my body and I

like my liver doesn't work by the time

I'm like 22 mm-hmm and um you know have

my friends on board with a similar

mentality so we can kind of work at it

together as a group as a community

uh-huh so kind of combined he has goals

okay so you're you have a goal it sounds

like of actually cutting back on your

drinking how important is it to you to

work on that goal on on the scale of one

to ten where one is not at all important

antennas it's the most important thing

right now I'd say about like like a six

or a seven oh I like to work on it but

you know if I get around to it I get

around to if I don't I don't

uh-huh well why did you say six or seven

rather than like a four um because I

still think it's it's important

uh-huh I still you know like I said I

don't want my body tried specially going

to my school like I know how things

affect your body and also affect your

your social and your schoolwork and

things like that I know that once I get

to college it's not it's not gonna gonna

work out being you know drinking every

weekend and I'm like trying to wake up

early and go to school take an exam I

know that's not that's not feasible it's

not a good idea yeah looking ahead

you can't keep drinking this way and

reach the goals that you have for years

now okay well how confident are you that

you could cut down if you wanted to I

think on that same scale from one to ten

I think if I made the decision I was

going to for sure then I think

definitely like a ten I know I oh wow

okay why did you say ten it's just

because I know that once I make the

decision I know I can

making the decision in the first place

okay

weather okay and so you mentioned you

know quite a few reasons why you would

like to cut down have you thought at all

about how you might go about doing that

um I'm thinking of maybe like trying to

convince my friends without sounding you

know dorky or something be like hey you

know let's just stay in today like let's

not go out or something or just be like

hey I'm not like I'm not going to drink

today and even if my friends do like

being okay with them drinking around me

not doing it and then then being okay

with me drinking me not drinking and

them doing whatever they want so sort of

trying to plan more activities that

don't involve alcohol and then also

trying to participate in activities

without drinking yourself or maybe even

drinking less than you're drinking okay

does that sound like a goal you want to

work on now or I think so I think it's

it's very feasible I think it's possible

okay um so I guess we'll talk about less

alcohol activities and just making some

notes to myself and then maybe I'm

reducing the amount of drinking that

you're doing if alcohol is involved okay

so that's that goal sounds feasible you

said would it be okay if we met in a

couple weeks to sort of see how it's

going I think so

that's good does that sound like

something you'd like to do okay well I

really appreciate you spending the time

talking to me and you know it sounds

like you have a lot of really good goals

for yourself really ambitious goals and

going to medical school and you know

becoming a psychiatrist or some some

other form of physician you're really

looking forward to doing well in school

so you can get there and it sounds like

you have a pretty active social life and

a lot of friends who you feel probably

would be supportive even if you cut down

on alcohol and that you know there's a

lot of benefits you see both to your

body and your health you

school performance and even some of the

social stuff in terms of feeling a sense

of belonging without having to deal with

some of the gross consequences of

drinking too much so yeah you know it

really sounds to me like you have a good

plan in place and as long as you're

willing and interested in meeting again

and be very excited to be able to talk

with you about how it's going

I'd like to alright great so I'll plan

to see you then in a few more weeks

Thanks this time the council began by

setting the agenda and emphasizing the

students autonomy right away she used

open questions and reflections to build

rapport then turned to a focus on

Andrea's values in order to deepen the

connection

this led easily into a discussion of

Andrea's social life and an open

question about the role that alcohol

plays in it skillful use of reflections

guided the conversation while

encouraging the student to open up to

the counselor by using a decisional

balance the counselor was able to assess

barriers to change as well as to elicit

reasons for change and opportunities to

affirm

Andrea's good decisions she was then

able to ask Andrea to expand on her

reasons for setting limits with her

drinking which highlighted some of the

consequences of alcohol use without

using lectures were scolding the student

the counselor also tied the drinking

behavior to Andrea's values helping to

develop a discrepancy between her

personal goals and actions this set the

stage for clarification of goals and

beginning discussion of a change plan

however the counselor encouraged the

student to choose her own behavior

change goal in order to ensure it was

something Andrea felt confident she

could achieve she ended the session with

a summary of their discussion expressed

appreciation for Andrea's participation

and communicated optimism about the plan

and her desire to continue working with

her in the future

you