Author Archives: Lori Walls

Shifting the Onus for Bullying Prevention from Students to School Personnel

Posted by: Lori Walls on December 22, 2011 2:19 pm

In the news this past month there have been a number of stories that highlight the often devastating consequences of bullying in our schools. Despite attempts by schools to introduce zero tolerance policies and anti-bullying programs, school violence appears to be on the rise. When doing research on this issue it became clear that the success of these anti-bullying programs is directly related to the reporting of threats or violent incidents. This places the onus on students to reduce bullying in the schools. Oliver and Candappa (2007) stated that only 11% of adolescents are willing to report the problem to school personnel and that reporting rates are lowest among boys and minority groups.  Given the low rates of reporting among adolescents and the increase in the severity and number of incidents of bullying in the schools, it appears necessary to revisit the role of students in anti-bullying programming. 

Eliot et al. (2010) conducted a study examining the relationship between school climate and student willingness to seek help for bullying and threats of violence. The study used an “8-item scale to measure the extent to which students perceived that adults at school care about students, respect them, and want them to do well.” (p. 539). An additional 8-item scale was used to measure student willingness to seek help from school staff members for bullying and threats of violence. Findings suggested that students who perceive their school climate as supportive were more likely to report bullying to school personnel. A supportive school climate was defined by students as having caring and respectful teachers that took an interest in the students on an individual and personal level.

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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Making Functional Behaviour Assessments Accessible for Teachers

Posted by: Lori Walls on December 5, 2011 4:37 pm

This past week I was observing high school students in their classes. These observations started me thinking about the value of Functional Behaviour Assessments and how underutilized they are in schools. Functional Behaviour Assessment (FBA) is founded on the principles of behaviourism which operates from the assumption that all behaviour serves a function. If the function of a certain behaviour can be identified, then that behaviour can be changed. To understand the function of behaviour an assessment of the controlling variables is undertaken.  An FBA includes the following five components: “(a) an operational definition of the problem behavior, (b) identification of predictable antecedent-behavior-consequence chains, (c) determination of stimulus control and operant function, (d) determination of an appropriate functional replacement behavior, and (e) manipulation of antecedent and consequence events to facilitate the replacement behavior” (Scott et. al., 2010, p. 88). There is ample research to support that FBAs can and do result in positive behaviour change in students (Scott et. al., 2010). If positive change results, then why are FBAs so underutilized in schools?

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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Tips for Implementing a Gay-Straight Student Alliance in Your School

Posted by: Lori Walls on November 21, 2011 4:53 pm

A survey conducted by the Surrey Teachers Association (2000) referred to Canadian schools as one of the last bastions of tolerated hatred toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans-identified, transsexual, two-spirited and queer (LGBTQ) individuals. This observation points to the need for Canadian schools to consider offering welcoming and safe places within the school for LGBTQ students to meet, socialize, and support one another. Wells (2006) describes gay-straight student alliances (GSA) as student-run and teacher supported school-based groups that come together in confidential spaces where no assumptions are made about participants’ gender or sexual identity. Meetings of the GSA are intended to be open to all students and teachers “who are interested in addressing homophobia, heterosexism and other forms of related discrimination and prejudice” (p.11). 

Lee (2002) noted that students who participate in GSAs demonstrate improvement in academic, social, and psychological domains reinforcing the importance of counsellors taking initiative in establishing GSAs within their schools. Wells (2006) stated that there are four main types of GSAs. These include GSAs for counselling and support which is typically counsellor led and offers psychological services, GSAs that provide safe spaces and focus on providing individual support and socialization opportunities, GSAs to raise visibility and awareness with the intent of increasing student safety and bringing to light human rights issues, and GSAs intended to effect educational and social change.

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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Identifying Barriers to School-Based Programming for Children with Emotional Disturbances

Posted by: Lori Walls on November 15, 2011 4:22 pm

Students identified in schools as emotionally disturbed often suffer from a number of complex social, emotional, and neurocognitive issues that lead to academic difficulties, problems establishing and maintaining peer relationships, and overall unsuccessful adaptive functioning. Students with emotional disturbances are often labelled by teachers and other students as disruptive or bad due to the high level of intervention required by school officials due to the interference these issues can cause with the teaching and learning process. Unfortunately, emotionally disturbed children remain an underserved population within most school settings (Reddy & Newman, 2009). However, even when programming is implemented for this group of students it is often fraught with many challenges.

Reddy and Newman (2009) offer a tri-part model to help conceptualize the common barriers to program design, implementation, and evaluation of interventions for students with emotional disturbances. The first dimension in the model addresses the complex externalizing behaviours that teachers and parents observe in relation to the student’s school and family functioning. This dimension encompasses child/family-focused barriers. For students with emotional disturbances, externalizing behaviours are the expressions of many internal issues such as neurocognitive deficits or emotional regulation deficits.  These outward behaviours are often so severe that parents and teachers are consumed with the management of the external behaviours that internal problems go undiagnosed. This confluence of internal and external issues presents many challenges to assessment and intervention planning. Additionally, school personnel attempting to implement interventions for emotionally disturbed students face the added challenge that many students from this population come from families with high rates of psychopathology, have ineffective parenting skills, and limited supports (Reddy & Newman, 2009).

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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Building Teacher Capacity Through Group Consultation

Posted by: Lori Walls on October 27, 2011 4:01 pm

The role of a teacher usually involves very public and social endeavours, but as a new teacher I often found myself feeling isolated from colleagues when it came down to dealing with students who were displaying emotional or behavioural difficulties. It can be a vulnerable and intimidating experience to seek help from fellow teachers when one is new to the profession due to a fear of being viewed as inexperienced or incompetent. Several years of teaching later I realized that all teachers face these types of challenges with students despite their years of experience, but often the feelings of isolation and the hesitation to seek help remain. Writing now from the perspective of a school counsellor, I believe that with the increased demands on teachers and counsellors it is more important than ever to find ways to collaborate and consult on difficult issues in order to build capacity, extend resources, and to break down barriers that have lead to isolation.

Farouk (2004) posited a model of group consultation that involves teachers providing emotional and professional support to one another with the school psychologist playing a facilitative role. As with any group work, there are issues that must be addressed prior to assembling the group. Farouk suggested establishing support for the group at a management level and then seeking membership in the group by giving a description to teachers that outlines the group’s purpose, function and practical implications. During the first meeting of the group roles need to be defined, the process explained, and issues of ethical considerations and confidentiality discussed. As the school psychologist/counsellor, your role in the initial meetings is to keep the group on task, balance the input, and to model the type of process and discussion questions needed to keep the group moving in a problem-solving direction (Farouk, 2004).
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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

A Brief Introduction to the Check, Connect and Expect Program

Posted by: Lori Walls on October 13, 2011 12:09 pm

The Check, Connect, Expect program (CCE) is a tier 2 intervention model within the school-wide positive behaviour support model (SWPBS) of intervention. The SWPBS was established to support students and staff in efforts to decrease problem behaviours by providing interventions intended to increase positive social behaviours within the school. The CCE program is in keeping with the goals of the response to intervention pyramid and aims to target problem behaviours in a proactive and responsive manner in order to reduce the need for further academic or external supports. Over the course of a two year study, 18 school sites with diverse student populations were studied. Results indicated that 84% of students in the program (n=338) did not go on to require tier 3 intervention services. The program was therefore shown to be a cost-effective and successful means of ameliorating student behavioural difficulties while increasing positive daily interactions in the classroom.

One of the goals of tier 2 interventions is to identify students at risk of school failure due to behavioural difficulties as early as possible. To accomplish this, teachers were asked to identify at risk students and to complete a behaviour rating scale. Student scores were then compared with a national normative sample and those meeting the specified criteria were eligible for the program. Paraprofessionals were hired as student coaches and underwent a two day training course on how to implement the program. Program coaches were then supplied access to consulting services with a behavioural specialist, typically a school psychologist, in order to discuss any difficulties that might arise.

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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Burnout: A Common Problem for School Counsellors

Posted by: Lori Walls on September 27, 2011 2:34 pm

I decided to write on the topic of school counsellor burnout since it is already the third week into the new school year. If you are like me it was exciting to start back, but reality has since set in and things seem a bit overwhelming with all that needs done. Burnout is a term that is often applied to those in helping professions and is typically identified as emotionally exhausted, withdrawal from and cynicism toward clients, and a sense that you are no longer accomplishing tasks. Friedman (2000) suggested that burnout occurs in several stages: the emergence of stress, the emergence of stress-induced experiences, and the emergence of reactions to stress-induced experiences. These stages can progress along a cognitive track that includes thoughts focused on a lack of personal and professional fulfillment or along an emotional track that involves feelings of exhaustion and general overload. Friedman indicated that many theories of stress and burnout have been posited, but one factor common to all theories of stress is that those under stress and on the road to burnout report a discrepancy between what they expected and what they have actually observed. This discrepancy can lead to a deterioration of professional and personal self-efficacy and ultimately burnout.

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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Easing Transitions

Posted by: Lori Walls on September 16, 2011 1:50 pm

This week marks the beginning of the 2011/2012 school year. For many students a new school year brings with it both excitement and apprehension.  If the return to school includes changing schools, such as for those students moving from elementary to middle school, middle school to high school, or high school to post secondary, apprehension can outweigh excitement. Transitioning to new schools becomes even more complex when it is combined with changes brought about by puberty, social development, and the demand for increasingly difficult cognitive tasks. Elias (2001) suggested that changing schools is a major source of stress during the developmental process and it is therefore important for school counsellors to have an awareness of the developmental needs of the age groups that they serve, as well as an understanding of the psychosocial tasks and skills necessary to make these transitions successful.

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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Delivering and Receiving Bad News: What School Counsellors Need to Know

Posted by: Lori Walls on August 18, 2011 2:48 pm

It can sometimes be challenging to come up with topics for the school counselling blog. For this week’s topic I began thinking back on the interactions that I had with school counsellors during my own early school years. One of the interactions that had a significant impact took place during my middle school years and involved the delivery of the news of my grandfather passing. In my own professional career as a counsellor I have often delivered difficult news to a client or a student and I would like to think that, much like the school counsellor who informed me that my grandfather had passed, I was able to effectively communicate the difficult news, convey empathy, and offer support.  However, when thinking about the conscious steps I had taken to prepare and plan for these occasions it became clear that I had never received any direct training or even attempted to seek out any information on how to be effective in these types of situations.

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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA

Dialectical Behavior Therapy

Posted by: Lori Walls on July 21, 2011 3:13 pm

This week I attended a workshop on how to use Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) with difficult clients. I thought it might be valuable to share some of the strategies presented. Most people in the mental health field know DBT as a therapy for individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder. Although DBT was originally created to work with Borderline Personality Disorder, and has undergone 11 empirical studies with clients who have the disorder, the therapy has also been empirically validated for populations including eating disorders, suicidal teens, and depression in the elderly. However, based on the information in the workshop it was clear that the skills taught in DBT are transferable to multiple client issues.

 DBT evolved out of traditional cognitive therapy and incorporates cognitive techniques with mindfulness and acceptance strategies and Zen practices. The therapy focuses not only on changing maladaptive behaviours, but balancing change with acceptance of things that cannot be changed. In order to achieve acceptance of things that are not under the client’s control, DBT teaches a number of skills. These skills include distress tolerance skills, mindfulness skills and emotional regulation skills. The therapist’s role is not only to teach, process, and model the skills with the client, but to thoroughly understand, validate and accept that the behaviours being exhibited by the client have served a function in the client’s life despite producing maladaptive consequences. The goal is to balance the position of the therapist (the thesis) with the position of the client (the antithesis) and to find a middle ground.

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*The views expressed by our authors are personal opinions and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CCPA