Introduction For the purposes of this assignment, I wanted to interview an advisor and observe a session in an environment that I was not already familiar with. When offered the chance to learn more about the Kortschak Center For Learning and Creativity at USC and observe a session there, I thought this would be a great opportunity to expand my knowledge.
Advisor Interview
Title and Experience The advisor that I was fortunate to be able to interview was Natalie Luna, a second-year Educational Counseling student at USC. Since August 2015, she has also been an Academic Coach for the Kortschak Center. Additionally, she has experience with guidance counseling in high schools, as well as at the career center at USC. Aside from work experience, …show more content…
In reflecting on the session, I noticed many characteristics of approaches to counseling and advising that we have learned so far in the Educational Counseling program. The first characteristic Natalie presented was the ability to relate to the client what her strengths were, therefore making use of strengths-based advising. As she mentioned in her interview, she believes that it is important to find her clients’ strengths in order to help them succeed. I saw Natalie specifically using the steps of strengths-based advising in that she had found what her student’s talents were, affirmed them, and envisioned the future with her client by planning specific goals for the week (Schreiner, 2013, p. 109-111). She related to the client that because she is such an independent learner, but is also not afraid to ask for help, that she would no doubt be able to accomplish the items on the list they made. Essentially, Natalie created goals that her client would be able to achieve because of her strengths in being an overall committed student. The client responded really well to this, and also seemed to feel empowered by the session and ready to get her work …show more content…
Possibly because of the positivity Natalie had with working with the student, along with taking a strengths-based approach and using empathy, the duo had a great working alliance. During their 35-minute session, they were able to go through all of her classes, write down what needed to be done, talk about how she is doing and also touch on her home life. What I saw happening was a direct representation of what Cormier, Nurius, and Osborn (2013) describe as “a sort of therapeutic collaboration and partnership in which counselor and client pull together in a joint venture…” (p.96). Essentially, the relationship between Natalie and her client allowed them to work efficiently through the student’s goals and also allowed them to build rapport by sharing personal
Advisor Interview
Title and Experience The advisor that I was fortunate to be able to interview was Natalie Luna, a second-year Educational Counseling student at USC. Since August 2015, she has also been an Academic Coach for the Kortschak Center. Additionally, she has experience with guidance counseling in high schools, as well as at the career center at USC. Aside from work experience, …show more content…
In reflecting on the session, I noticed many characteristics of approaches to counseling and advising that we have learned so far in the Educational Counseling program. The first characteristic Natalie presented was the ability to relate to the client what her strengths were, therefore making use of strengths-based advising. As she mentioned in her interview, she believes that it is important to find her clients’ strengths in order to help them succeed. I saw Natalie specifically using the steps of strengths-based advising in that she had found what her student’s talents were, affirmed them, and envisioned the future with her client by planning specific goals for the week (Schreiner, 2013, p. 109-111). She related to the client that because she is such an independent learner, but is also not afraid to ask for help, that she would no doubt be able to accomplish the items on the list they made. Essentially, Natalie created goals that her client would be able to achieve because of her strengths in being an overall committed student. The client responded really well to this, and also seemed to feel empowered by the session and ready to get her work …show more content…
Possibly because of the positivity Natalie had with working with the student, along with taking a strengths-based approach and using empathy, the duo had a great working alliance. During their 35-minute session, they were able to go through all of her classes, write down what needed to be done, talk about how she is doing and also touch on her home life. What I saw happening was a direct representation of what Cormier, Nurius, and Osborn (2013) describe as “a sort of therapeutic collaboration and partnership in which counselor and client pull together in a joint venture…” (p.96). Essentially, the relationship between Natalie and her client allowed them to work efficiently through the student’s goals and also allowed them to build rapport by sharing personal