There is a natural progression that takes place within the context of the helping relationship. This process allows you and the person you are working with to build a relationship, assess the situation, set goals, and come up with a plan to achieve the desired results. This progression is known as the counseling process. There are four stages of the counseling process. They are: developing a relationship, making an informed assessment, setting mutually agreed goals and objectives, and developing an implementation plan.

Phase 1. Develop a relationship

To develop positive helping relationships with youth, you must be able to connect with them. This can only happen when young people feel that you really care about their well-being and that you understand where they are coming from. It is about behaving in a way that demonstrates the fundamental conditions of authenticity, respect and empathy.

To develop strong relationships with young people, you need to create a safe environment where young people feel comfortable enough to open up to you and talk to you about whatever is on their minds. It should also help young people to see that, despite their circumstances, they have strengths. In short, you need to start things from a strengths-based perspective.

Questions to consider when trying

Develop a relationship

How can you build better relationships with the youth in your program?

If there are young people who are not actively involved, what can you do differently to get them involved?

If a youth resists, what steps can you take to reduce the resistance?

What worked with resistant youth in the past?

How do you know if you have built a solid relationship with a young man? Could you use these pointers to strengthen your relationships with other young people?

Phase 2. Conducting an informed assessment

An informed assessment occurs when both you and the youth gather information to find out what is “really” going on, so that you can assess what needs to happen next to change the situation for the better or develop the youth’s coping skills to better cope with a troublesome situation. The first step in conducting an assessment is to find out if the change is necessary and if it is what needs to happen for the change to occur. If you have determined that the change is necessary, the next step is to find out what needs to change. Is it a behavior? An attitude? A situation?

A good evaluation can provide an opportunity for a young person to see how their behavior or attitude could be contributing to an undesirable or unhealthy situation. Evaluation is an ongoing process. You need to check in regularly with your youth to see how things are going. Reevaluations help you make sure you and the youth are on the right track.

How is information collected to conduct an informed assessment? You can collect information in a number of ways: by talking with the youth, observing the youth’s behavior and interactions, talking to other people who are involved in the youth’s life, and reading any documented information about the youth. Be aware that when you use someone else’s verbal or written report as a source of background information, you risk submitting to their biases and assumptions.

Points to consider when conducting an assessment

Be aware of your biases and how they impact the evaluations you take.

Involve young people in the evaluation process.

Don’t rely on a single source to conduct an assessment, gather as much information as you can from a variety of sources.

· Do not automatically label a behavior dysfunctional because you do not understand it or because it is not relevant to your culture.

· Be sure to point out a young person’s strengths even when it comes to challenging behavior.

Phase 3. Establishment of mutually agreed goals and objectives

Why is it important to set “mutually agreed upon” goals and objectives? Because if a young person agrees with the objectives, they are more likely to meet them. When a young person is actively involved in the goal setting process and agrees with the goals, then he is more inclined to take ownership of the goals. What are the goals? Goals are general statements that identify what you want to achieve. Think of goals as the end result you are trying to achieve. While goals are broad statements that identify what you want to achieve overall, goals are the measurable steps you take to achieve your goals. For example, if you have a goal that says, “Youth will be better able to handle their anger.” One of your goals might be, “Young people will recognize the emotional triggers that lead to outbursts of anger and use positive self-talk to calm down.” Your goals should always be concrete and measurable. They must also be derived from the overall objective.

Questions to consider when developing

Goals and objectives

What do you and the young person want to achieve?

How are you going to do it?

When do you want to achieve your stated goal?

· What obstacles do you anticipate?

· How will you address these obstacles?

· How will you use it to measure and monitor progress?

· Are your goals realistic?

Phase 4. Implementation plan

The implementation plan is a plan that you and the youth work on together. It is designed to prevent, intervene, or address unhealthy behaviors and practices. The implementation plan identifies who will carry out the activities, where the activities will occur, how often they will occur, how they will be carried out, and when they will be carried out. Implementation activities are designed to help people rethink risky behavior, solve problem problems, address unhealthy lifestyle practices, learn new skills, and develop strengths. Implementation activities may include: counseling, crisis intervention, training and education, support services, concrete services, and constructive use of free time.

As you can see, each stage of the counseling process builds on the first. As you go through each stage, you will find that it takes patience and practice to coach youth effectively, but if you are committed to the goal, you will do well. You may not feel completely confident in your ability as a counselor, but as you expand your knowledge base, gain more experience, and strengthen your helping skills, you will become a more effective counselor.

Copyright © 2006 by Cassandra Mack

Excerpted from Cassandra Mack’s book, “Smart Moves Successful Young Workers Make”