When it was first published in 1995, Linda Metcalf’s book Counseling Toward Solutions became an instant bestseller. Written for counselors and teachers at all levels, this revised and updated second edition of Counseling Toward Solutions presents a positive program for changing individual behavior that empowers students of all ages to deal with their own problems, gaining self-esteem in the process.

The Field Guide toCounseling Toward Solutions When it was first published in 1995, Linda Metcalf's bookCounseling Toward Solutions became an instant bestseller. The bookoffered a new and positive program for changing individual behaviorthat helped K-12 students with their own problems and gave themself-esteem in the process. Now, The Field Guide to CounselingToward Solutions offers school counselors, teachers, andadministrators a complete program for changing the way that schoolsdeal with a variety of issues.?From an alternative school programthat enlists the power of teacher mentors to the elementary programthat involves the teacher, parent, and student in the counselingprocess, this book shows how to make change happen and how to makeit last. The solution-focused approach helps everyone involved to begintheir own change process by noticing when a problem does not occur,rather than focusing on the problem or what caused it. It includesinformation targeted to specific age groups—elementary schoolstudents, middle schoolers, and adolescents—because eachdevelopmental stage requires a certain perspective and focus inorder to collaborate and reach solutions. The Field Guide to Counseling Toward Solutions offers guidelinesfor developing a school-wide program that encompasses virtually allof the day-to-day programming that schools must provide forstudents. The book includes techniques and suggestions for: Training staff to become more solution-focused andstudent-centered Working together with teams, teachers, and parents so that the"system" creates and maintains change Creating support groups for parents and students Reducing special education referrals through solution-focusedconversations In this book, bestselling author and veteran school counselorLinda Metcalf offers more than a simple positive strategy ortechnique—she provides a way to think about school "clients"that can change interactions and guarantee success.

This text highlights the indispensable role of school counselors today, namely as change agents in an increasingly complex and fluctuating school system. Informed by emerging standards of practice and current research, the book adopts the salutary perspective of solution-focused brief therapy as its foundation. It outlines practical and time-sensitive strategies for school counselors to use with students, parents, teachers, and administrators. The Solution-FocusedSchool Counselor encourages readers to envision and proactively construct interactions with students, families, and staff that contribute not only to the formation of an exceptional school, but to the shaping of an effective professional practice. Blending current theory into practice, the authors have consulted research across a variety of disciplines and have related it in an understandable format. School counselors will find this book useful either as a professional resource to be read from cover-to-cover, or as a reference tool from which specific sections may be consulted. This book is an excellent resource for school counselors and students alike. It is also useful for school psychologists and administrators as well as anyone interested in making a difference in the school setting.

Based on Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, a counseling model that focuses on times when a specific problem does not occur instead of why it happens, this remarkable new resource helps parents learn how to change their relationships with their children, so children may be empowered to solve their own problems.

This groundbreaking book, now updated and expanded, furthers its original, effective, time-saving approach that benefits pastors overtaxed by counseling demands. Dr. Charles Kollar presents a departure in pastoral counseling, showing that counseling need not be long-term or depend on psychological manipulation to produce dramatic results. In most cases, the solution lies with the counselees themselves. Using the tested methods found in Solution-Focused Pastoral Counseling, pastors, apart from counselors, will be well equipped to help their counselees discover a solution and put it in motion speedily and productively.SFPC is short-term—typically one to five sessions, in which the counselor seeks to create solutions with—not for—the counselee. The focus is on the possibility of life without the problem through an understanding of what is different when the problem does not occur or is less intrusive. The goal is healthy change, sooner rather than later, by helping the counselee see and work on the solution with God’s activity already present in his or her life.The solution-focused approach does not require the counselor to be a highly trained psychological expert. It requires biblically based sensitivity and common sense. Yet this approach also recognizes its limitations and understands that there are situations in which other professional and/or medical help is required.

Step by step strategies for handling academic, behavior and family issues in the classroom.

In our managed care era, group therapy, long the domain of traditional psychodynamically oriented therapists, has emerged as the best option for millions of Americans. However, the process can be frustratingly slow, and studies show that patients actually feel worse after months of group treatment than when they began. Can and should "the group" speed a person's progress? Now, in this "must have" book, marriage and family therapist Linda Metcalf persuasively argues that the collaborative nature of group therapy actually lends itself to time-limited treatment. She combines the best elements of group work and the popular solution focused brief therapy approach to create new opportunities for practitioners and patients alike.Among the topics covered in this valuable guide are: how to learn the model how to design a group and recruit members how to identify exceptions to a group member's self-destructive behaviors and thoughts how to help members focus on their successes rather than their failures how to keep the group solution focused when therapists or members fall back into old patterns This unique resource also includes case examples and session transcripts to follow, together with reproducible forms that can be used as they are or tailored to a therapist's needs.Solution Focused Group Therapyis an up-to-the-minute, highly accessible resource for therapists of any orientation. Managed care companies in particular will welcome this model, which deals so effectively and economically with today's biggest problems, including eating disorders, chemical dependencies, grief, depression, anxiety, and sexual abuse.