- extracting and interpreting the relevant social information (e.g. the other
is offending me) and formulating goals for social interaction (I must defend
myself); - identifying alternative behavioural response to attain goals (e.g. I offend
him/her in turn, I push him/her, I threaten him/her, I avoid him/her); - evaluating advantages and disadvantages of implementing each
behavioural response alternative, optimal decision making.
These cognitive abilities are turned on automatically, without conscious control, and play
an essential part in the adaptive psycho-social functioning. This is why the mere learning
of behavioural skills does not ensure their use. Lack of cognitive abilities prevents the
implementation of behavioural skills. Consequently, the development of behavioural
abilities to solve daily problems, emotional or behavioural problems of pupils must be
accompanied by the development of the corresponding cognitive abilities. The necessary
cognitive abilities for the adaptive psychosocial functioning of pupils are reunited under
problem solving skills.
Problem solving as a counselling method stresses the development of generalization
cognitive abilities for using the learned adaptive behaviours in novel situations (Liberman
and al., 1989, apud Mueser, 1998). Thus, pupils will be able to systematically apply
problem solving to overcoming the difficulties they face in personal or school life.
Theoretical background
Problem solving has become over the past decades a counselling method applied both to
adults and children. Applying the method in counselling initially aimed to develop
abilities necessary in prevention or intervention in social (e.g. aggressive behaviour) or
emotional problems of pupils (Davis; Bucher, 1985, apud idem). Currently, problem
solving is no longer limited to clinical aspects (e.g. emotional or behavioural disorders in
children), but applied to larger contexts such as educational problems of all pupils or
career counselling.
Form the perspective of problem solving, counselling is a process of learning problem
solving skills. Counselling is addressed both to pupils or a group of pupils, and to
teachers and parents. The counsellor’s role is to take part in the problem solving process
the school faces: drop-outs or low academic performance, lack of motivation, skipping
classes, lack of discipline in the classroom, etc. (see Table 1). Problem solving is a
counselling method that applies to the following contexts:
- career counselling: decision making and problem solving are essential
abilities in career planning;