To acquire some counselling techniques so as to communicate with my students in a more effective way and provide them with appropriate academic advising, I recently studied several articles with regard to the Satir Model. The Satir Model promotes some goals of therapy which include increasing self-esteem, fostering better choice making, and increasing responsibility. I believe these goals can be transformed to be useful, practical techniques for me to deal with students and help them discover their potentials.
Self-esteem is the foundation to creating a connection within one’s own deepest self and this is important in order to have a sense of self-confidence. Students are encouraged to increase their self-esteem by being gentle and kind to themselves, accepting who they are, and acknowledging their instinct and abilities. As students increase their self-esteem, they should believe in their own capabilities.
In any given situation, there are at least three choices. In other words, it is important to make students turn away from an “either or” choice, and move toward open exploration of at least three choices to resolve their problems. It is also crucial to lead them in a more positive direction, make them trust their intuition and capabilities, and facilitate choices for them when necessary.
Teachers (or academic advisors) have a responsibility to respond to their students compassionately, non-judgmentally, and transparently. Students can be very sensitive to their teachers’ reaction and may sense if there are any biases, resistance, discomfort, unresponsiveness, or disrespect. Thus, it is necessary for teachers (or academic advisors) to become aware of their attitude and not to allow judgement or reaction to affect their ability to understand their students’ needs.