Do not worry if you have built your castles in the air. They are where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.
-Henry David Thoreau

The use of theory in school counseling is of high importance.  Counseling students in a school setting is unique.  Unlike the structured setting of a private practice, a school counseling situation is very unpredictable.  Students come and go without a particular schedule or a set number of sessions.  Because of the restricted time in schools, I must adapt many theories to effectively meet the needs of my students.  When working with students during my internship I found that students who need more long term work Brief Solution Focused Counseling is often more effective because of the time given for goal setting and goal achievement.  Many students do not have a need for goal setting but instead, their need is for crisis counseling.  When counseling students in crisis, I often use combinations of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, and Rogerian Theory.  I chose CBT because it includes a focus on the thought processes that students go through and the irrational beliefs students struggle with.  REBT also focuses on thoughts and emotions as well as behaviors which will be really beneficial when working with middle school students.  The Rogerian focus on unconditional positive regard is an important part of my job as a school counselor.

When counseling students in career development I use a trait and factor approach, especially in the middle level.  I have found that many students do not yet have a good feeling for what their strengths will be until we have investigated some personality traits or the jobs that will require certain skills.  Helping students find their career path is very rewarding!

Counseling in a school setting requires lots of flexibility on the counselors part and because each student is different and requires a unique set of tools to solve whatever problem he or she is facing, I must be just as flexible with my use of theory.  A diverse background in theory will also help me to adjust to various multicultural issues with students.