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Micro-Counseling Skills: Final Project

Linda E. Condon

Department of Counseling, Adult and Higher Education, Northern Illinois University

HESA 562: Helping Skills for Student Affairs Professionals

Dr. Katy Jaekel

April 28, 2021

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Micro-Counseling Skills: Final Project

Introduction

During this scenario I had the opportunity to role play as an academic advisor meeting

with a student, Alex. The student set up the meeting in response to a recent letter that informed

Alex he did not get into the Nursing program. We are going to discuss reasons why Alex did not

get into the Nursing program, talk through next steps and suggestions for how to move forward

from here. In the following sections I will going through the helping skills that I demonstrated

during our scenario, as well as some observations about what I might have done differently to

help the student. Finally, I will also incorporate student development theory into the meeting

analysis and reflection.

Helping Skills Demonstrated

I started out the session with Alex by focusing on exploring the dilemma with him. I have

been working with Alex for a few semesters so I did not spend time at the beginning building

rapport or engaging in small talk. I knew the reason for the appointment and I thought it was best

to dive right in with the student. The first micro-counseling skill I used with Alex was listening. I

really wanted to give him a chance to articulate how he felt after getting the disappointing news

about Nursing. Alex started off at (0:18) explaining what happened and he started to give a little

indication of how he felt. However, I prompted him further when I asked if he had given any

thought into options for the future. This really gave me the chance to listen to him and gain some

insight from his vocal tone and facial expressions. According to Nelson-Jones (2003), effective

helpers need to pay close attention to students when listening, with special regard for the verbal

and non-verbal messages they receive.

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The second helping skill I was really trying to incorporate with Alex was offering

challenges and feedback. While I do think it is important for a helper to be positive and

encouraging for students there is also an appropriate time and place for offering challenges. Alex

was at a pivotal point in decision making after getting this letter. In order to get accepted into the

program and also remain in the program, Alex will need to improve his GPA. During the course

of our meeting I was gently challenging Alex regarding improving his GPA. We talked through

issues he had in the past and how he has successfully navigated those (3:48). I also offered one

more challenge to Alex regarding maintaining his GPA if he was accepted. Alex appears to be

really passionate about being a nurse so I wanted him to articulate his plans for maintaining the

GPA for the Nursing program. He had clearly given it some thought and was willing to make

school a priority over social gatherings. Alex also said his family and friends are very supportive

of his goals, which is great.

Helping Skills Missing

One helping skill that was absent from my meeting with Alex was coaching,

demonstrating, and rehearsing. As we neared the end of our meeting and were going through his

plan for staying on track with his grades, I think I could have incorporated this skill. We could

have role played a situation where Alex got asked to hang out with friends but couldn’t because

he had to study. We also might have discussed a scenario where Alex might face another setback

with GPA, like getting a bad grade on a test and how to rebound from that.
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Student Development Theory

The student development theory that I was trying to apply to this advising session was

Self-Authorship. Self-Authorship is the internal capacity to define one’s beliefs, identity, and

social relations (Magolda, 2008). In my meeting with Alex I was very careful to not suggest

ideas or give my recommendations, as I wanted the student to come to their own conclusion. I

thought it was very important for Alex to work through this process as it part of developing Self-

Authorship. Self-Authorship can help students meet the challenges of adult life. As a student

navigates through this process they go from a place of just accepting others definitions of them,

to creating their own identity (Magolda, 2008). I felt very confident after my meeting with Alex

that he is the one who is invested in his future career and he is not doing it for anyone but

himself.

Conclusion

Overall, I found this project very applicable to real life scenarios that we may encounter

as student affairs professionals. I specifically tailored both the midterm and final scenarios for

the advising profession as that is what I currently do. Since I am interested into potentially going

into academic advising I tried to get that into my final recording. I also was specifically looking

to conduct a session where I challenged the student and helped guide them to their own

resolution. I often find in my current job that I like to problem solve really quickly for students.

In looking at the Self-Authorship student development theory, if I want to support students’

growth I need to modify my helping skills to enable that growth.

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References

Baxter Magolda, M. B. (2008). Three elements of self-authorship. Journal of College Student

Development, 49(4), 269-284.

Nelson-Jones, R. (2003). Basic counselling skills: a helper’s manual. Sage Publications Inc.