a single-session counseling paradigm paul jones, ed.d. renee kadlubek, ed.s. bill marks, ed.s....

A Single-Session Counseling Paradigm

Paul Jones, Ed.D.Renee Kadlubek, Ed.S.

Bill Marks, Ed.S.

School PsychologyDepartment of Educational Psychology

University of Nevada, Las VegasLas Vegas, NV

(Not, by the way, this Single-Session Counseling Paradigm)

True or False:

Most school psychologists report that they would like to spend more time on delivery of counseling services.

An effective counseling intervention requires at least five sessions.

There is sex after death.

The Plan for This Morning

1.Single-Session Counseling: Why ?

2.Single-Session Counseling: Why Not ?

3.Single Session Counseling: How ?

4.Single-Session Counseling: Research


A Scientific Paradigm (Kuhn) involves:

what is observed; the questions that are asked, and how the answers are interpreted.

Single-Session Counseling: Why ?

1. Because we don't have time to do any other form of counseling, or

1. Because it may now be time for a change in how we think about the delivery of counseling services.

Single-Session Counseling: Why Not ?

1. There are political risks if we offer an easy way out for local school districts.

1. I wasn't trained that way.

(We'll be back in a moment after a brief word from our sponsor.)

Did you know?

The name “Nevada” is from a Spanish word meaning snow-clad.

Nevada is the seventh largest state with 110,540 square miles, 85% of them federally owned including the secret Area 51.

Nevada is the largest gold-producing state in the nation. It is second in the world behind South Africa.

Hoover Dam, the largest single public works project in the history of the United States, contains 3.25 million cubic yards of concrete, which is enough to pave a two-lane highway from San Francisco to New York.

Did you know?

Camels were used as pack animals in Nevada as late as 1870.

Las Vegas has more hotel rooms than any other place on earth.

The ichthyosaur is Nevada's official state fossil.

There were 16,067 slots in Nevada in 1960. In 1999 Nevada had 205,726 slot machines, one for every 10 residents.

In Tonopah the young Jack Dempsey was once the bartender and the bouncer at the still popular Mispah Hotel and Casino. Famous lawman and folk hero Wyatt Earp once kept the peace in the town.

Single-Session Counseling: How ?

A single-session modality is feasible with a variety of counseling theories.

The theory guides the goal development and the role of the provider, not the number of sessions required for the goal to be attained.


A large scale comparative study almost 25 years ago concluded that successful outcome of counseling (therapy) appeared to rest on just three key factors, the “active ingredients.”

1. relationship,

2. re-framing, and

3. ritual.


The question then becomes whether (and when) these three key factors can be accomplished in a single-session.

Single-Session Counseling: Relationship

Common to essentially all counseling approaches is the importance of a special relationship, communicating warm, empathy, positive regard, etc.

This is sometimes called the “therapeutic alliance”, and a recent study found intriguing neuropsychological linkage when the relationship is evident.

Single-Session Counseling: Re-Framing

In some brief therapy approaches this is the problem identification/problem solving phase.

With assistance from the provider, the student/client re-frames the concern as a problem to be solved and constructs one or more potential strategies for a resolution.

Single-Session Counseling: Ritual

This key factor comes through actions that make the counseling session different from simple advice from a friend.

Examples of how this can be accomplished include:

1. Identifying targets and charting progress in a brief follow-up sesson.

2. At the end of the session, briefly moving away from the student/client to prepare a “prescription.”

Single-Session Counseling: Research

These examples are drawn from:

Jones, W.P., Kadlubek, R.M., & Marks, W.J. (2006). Single-session treatment: a counseling paradigm for school psychology. The School Psychologist, 60, 112-115.


Curtis, Whittaker,Stevens, and Lennon (2002) found the single session model viable in the context of a family systems model.

A single-session intervention was effective in treatment of earthquake-related posttraumatic stress disorder (Basoglu, Salcioglu, Livanou, Kalendar, &Acar, 2005).

McCambridge and Strang (2004) found that a single-session treatment using motivational interviewing was effective in reducing substance abuse.


Patterson, Shaw, and Semple (2003) found that a single-session behavioral intervention increased the frequency of safe sex practices in persons who were HIV positive.

Paniak,Toller-Lobe, Reynolds, Melnyk, and Nagy (2000) found that a single-session reassurance and educational intervention was as effective as a more extensive counseling approach in treating patients with mild traumatic brain injury.


Littrell, Malia, and Vanderword (1995) studied the effectiveness of single-session counseling in a high school setting and reported success in perceived goal attainment and in reducing self-reported distress levels.

Single-Session Counseling: Closing Thought

An assumption is a proposition taken for granted, treated as if it were known to be true.

In our discipline it is important, perhaps even essential, that we periodically challenge the assumptions that govern our work.

Selected References

Basoglu, M., Salcioglu, E., Livanou, M., Kalender, D., & Acar, G. (2005). Single-Session behavioral treatment of earthquake-related posttraumatic stress disorder: A randomized waiting list controlled trial. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 18, 1-11.

Curtis, A., Whittaker, A., Stevens, S., & Lennon, A. (2002). Single session family intervention in a local authority family centre setting. Journal of Social Work Practice, 16, 37-41.

Frank, J. D., & Frank, J. B. (1991). Persuasion & healing: A comparative study of psychotherapy. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Fagan, T, K. (2004). School Psychology’s Significant Discrepancy: Historical Perspectives on Personnel Shortages. Psychology in the Schools, 41(4), 419-430.

Selected References

Jones, W. P., Crank, J. N., & Loe, S. A. (2006). Extending specialist training in counseling: The efficacy of self-instruction. College Student Journal, 40, 885-900.

Jones, W.P., Kadlubek, R.M., & Marks, W.J. (2006). Single-ession treatment: a counseling paradigm for school psychology. The School Psychologist, 60, 112-115.

McCambridge, J., & Strang, J. (2004). The efficacy of single-session motivational interviewing in reducing drug consumption and perceptions of drug-related risk and harm among young people: results from a multi-site cluster randomized trial. Addiction, 99, 39-52.

Paniak, C., Toller-Lobe, G., Reynolds, S., Melnyk, A., & Nagy, J. (2000). A randomized trial of two treatments for mild traumatic brain injury: 1 year follow-up. Brain Injury, 14, 219-226.

Selected References

Patterson, T.L., Shaw, W.S., & Semple, S.J. (2003). Reducing the sexual risk behavior of HIV+ individuals: Outcome of a randomized controlled trial. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 25, 137-145

Sklare, G. B. (1997). Brief counseling that works: A solution-focused approach for school counselors. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Talmon, M. (1993). Single-session solutions: A guide to practical, effective, and affordable therapy. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.

a single-session counseling paradigm paul jones, ed.d. renee kadlubek, ed.s. bill marks, ed.s....

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