Link to my narrated presentation

1. NARRATED
PRESENTATION
YORKVILLE UNIVERSITY
MATIN MOTAMED

2. Statement of Relevance
The reason this case is relevant for this
narrated presentation is due to demonstration
of a sudden change of behaviour of a student
in elementary school (disengagement with
peers, lack of focus, social withdrawal, and
recent poor academic records, overall extreme
change of behaviour, and poor appetite).
These are all concerning for school staff and
her family members. Therefore further
counselling steps will be taken towards helping
this student.

3. Background Information
•Hypothetical name: Sally
•Elementary Student (Grade Three)
•Female
•Nine years old
•Middle class family

4. Presenting Problem Identified by the Student
• During counselling sessions Lily mentions that she does not
feel like coming to school, she feels like she is losing her
family
• She feels unmotivated to do daily chores.
• She feels Unmotivated to attend school
• She struggles to focus
• She feels sad, empty, and is experiencing rapid heart rate
• Feels like her parents’ divorce is her fault
• Demonstrates low energy during sessions
• She claims that she feels exhausted all the times, and wants
to sleep all day
• She struggles to fall asleep at night
• Sally is demonstrating signs of depression (Sportelli, 2017)

5. Resources Used
• Request for meeting with Sally’s parents
• School educators, and school counsellor
involvement
• Intervention process, and in school counselling
sessions for Sally Encouragement of attending Yoga
sessions, and meditation sessions at school, and out
side school since Sally has mentioned having rapid
heart rate
• The DSM-5 was used for possible diagnosis of any
signs that match with any mental health disorders
• The School counsellor recognized signs of
depression, therefore began the in school
intervention, as well as began looking for outside
resources, while using assessment tools for
indicating depression.

6. Other Information- Anecdotes
•Sally’s teacher has mentioned that “Sally
has changed drastically from the beginning
of the year to now.”
•The school counselor has stated “Sally
needs closer attention, and ongoing
counselling”
•Students has mentioned “Sally does not like
us anymore, she keeps ignoring all her
friends.”
Research reveals that students who are experiencing a
depressive disorder are at increased risk for many negative
consequences, including social withdrawal and a lack of ability
to experience pleasure (Stark, 1990).

7. Selected Measures for Youth Depression
•Children’s Depression Inventory (Kovacs,
1992)
•Beck Depression Inventory (Beck, Brown, &
Steer)
(Franklin, Harris, & Allen-Meares, 2008)

8. Strategies, Interventions, and Recommendations
• In school based interventions-some guidelines and strategies are:
-Guideline One: Collaborate with Parents, School Staff, Physicians, and Mental Health Practitioners
(Lewinsohn, Rohde, Klein, & Seeley, 1999) , and (Geroski, Rodgers, & Breen, 1997)
-Guideline Two: Build a Relationship
-Guideline Three: Expand awareness of feelings, some examples are: Index card, and Visual emotion
pie (Field, Diego, & Sanders, 2001a; Vitaro, Pelletier, Gagnon, & Baron, 1995), (Stark, Rouse, & Kurowski,
1994).
-Guideline Four: Challenge negative and pessimistic thinking (positive self talk, and Cognitive behavior
therapy) (Weiner, 1985), and (Abramson, Mctalsky, & Alloy, 1989)
-Guideline Five: Challenge Pessimistic and Constricted Thinking (Beck, Rush, Shaw, & Emery, 1979) ,
(Auger, 2015), and (Burns & Seligman, 1991)
-Guideline Six: Create a network of support (Schraedley, Gotlib, & Hayward, 1999; Vitaro et al., 1995),
and (Auger, 2015)
-Guideline Seven: Maximize Opportunities for Success (Lewinsohn, 1974)
• Group Therapy can take place in school settings but confidentiality amongst students continues
to be an issue (Auger, 2015)
• Outside school – Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (Sudak, 2012).
• Consistency is key for positive and long lasting outcomes therefore Ongoing counselling (once a week
both in group and individually) is recommended for Sally
• Measuring improvement in a period of six months is recommended for her as well
• Encouraging on-going low intensity intervention such as involvement in exercise, mindfulness
practices, and Yoga to maintain a positive outlook and avoid relapse is also recommended for Sally

9. FURTHERMORE….
When it comes to school interventions
building social skills, providing concrete proof
of work performance and Improving skills,
increasing engagement in pleasant events
(such as doing 10 activities they enjoy),
increasing level of physical activities (such as
engaging in sports), offering education about
depression, and overall being flexible about
expectations of the student are all strategies
that can be incorporated in school counselling
plans (Auger, 2015).

10. Standardized Tests
• The outcomes of using two selected scales has revealed that Sally is
suffering from depression, and is showcasing many depressive
symptoms according to the DSM-5
Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI), and Beck Depression
Inventory (BDI) was selected for Sally
• Al-Balhan (2006) indicates that the CDI is a self-report assessment
written at a first-grade reading level, which means that your child
will be given the paper and pencil assessment to complete by
herself.
• Children’s depression inventory which is a self scale done by Sally,
has revealed her symptoms of depression
• (BDI) was created in 1961 by Aaron T. Beck, a pioneer in cognitive
therapy, with the sole purpose of determining the severity and
intensity level of the symptoms of depression (Farinde, 2013).

11. Counselor’s Competency
• Schools and school counselors can play a critical role in providing
interventions for students with depressive disorders (Auger,
2005).
• A counsellor should not problem solve for the client instead
should teach problem solving skills for the client to use later on in
life as well (Young, 2017).
• Building trust and a therapeutic alliance is key in school
counselling, and any form of counselling
• Students need to feel understood, and empowered
• Counsellors need to demonstrate compassion towards students
• Helper Competency Scale (HCS) is Scale Evaluation Guidelines that
allows clients to evaluate the counsellor (Young, 2017).
• This can be used by Sally for the counsellor, and the process of
counselling.

12. Strengthening Sally Through Intervention
• The intervention methods discussed within Sally’s school can teach
her about her mental health condition, depression.
• It can strengthen Sally by teaching her coping skills, as well as
helping her to form social support
• When Sally learns alternatives, she will come to perceive that she is
not helpless, and this will help her gain hope, and strength to go on
• Increased physical activities, yoga, and meditation can shift Sally’s
mindset towards being more positive and grateful (For example she
can perceive her parents’ divorce as now she will have two homes
to go to)
• Cognitive behavioural therapy can enhance the quality of her
thoughts about her situation
• Overall, going through the earlier discussed intervention plan will
empower Sally, calm her down, and lead to better sleep, and
improved academic outcomes.

13. Individualized goals and Objectives
• Within the next six months Sally will:
-Demonstrate more engagement with peers
-Demonstrate more engagement in extra-curricular activities as well as
physical activities
-Demonstrate improved academic records
-Come to an acceptance with her current situation (her parent’s divorce)
-Shift and reshape her perception about the process of divorce
-Will experience better sleep, and normal appetite
-Re-bond with her friends, and talks to them, and forms a social support
system that can guide her throughout this emotional turbulence
-All goals will be relevant in improve Sally’s depressive symptoms, and
most importantly teach her problem solving skills that can be used later
on in life.
SMART goal setting:. Goals should be specific,
measurable, achievable, relevant, and Timely

14. Summary and Synthesis
• The process of school counselling entails the
collaboration of parents, educators, school
counsellor, intervention team, and involvement of
outside support groups
• Proper intervention for Sally will be implemented
throughout the steps discussed earlier
• Following up is the final but important and critical
step to ensure that in the period of six months Sally
continues function normally, and diminish signs of
depression
• If non of the intervention plans shows efficacy or
results for Sally then medication and psychotherapy
combined is recommended.

15. References
Abramson, L. Y., Metalsky, G. I., & Alloy, L. Y. (1989). Hopelessness depression: A theory-based subtype of depression.
Psychological Review, 96, 358-372.
Al-Balhan, E. (2006). The children’s depression inventory as a reliable measure for post Iraqi invasion Kuwaiti youth. Social
Behavior and Personality, 34(4), 351-365.
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA:
American Psychiatric Publishing. Mar 25, 2017
Auger, R. W. (2005). School-based interventions for students with depressive disorders. Professional School Counseling,
8(4), 344-352.
Beck, A.T., Rush, J., Shaw, B., & Emery, G. (1979). Cognitive therapy of depression. New York: Guilford Press
Farinde, A. (2013). The beck depression inventory. The Pharma Innovation, 2(1), 56-62.
Franklin, C, Harris, M. V., & Allen-Meares, P. (Eds.). (2008). The School Practitioner’s Concise Companion. New York:
Oxford University Press, Inc.
Geroski, A. M., Rodgers, K. A., & Breen, D. T. (1997). Using the DSM-IV to enhance collaboration among school
counselors, clinical counselors, and primary care physicians. Journal of Counseling & Development, 75, 231-239.
Lewinsohn, P. M., Rohde, P., Klein, D. N., & Seeley, J. R. (1999). Natural course of adolescent major depressive
disorder: I. Continuity into young adulthood. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent
Psychiatry, 38, 56-63.
Sportelli, A. (2017). How to spot signs of depression in teens. Courier Post.
Stark, K. D. (1990). Childhood depression: School-based intervention. New York: Guilford.
Sudak, D. M. (2012). Cognitive behavioral therapy for depression. Psychiatric Clinics, 35(1), 99-110.
Weiner, B. (1985). An attributional theory of achievement motivation and emotion. Psychological Review, 92,
548-573.
Young, M. (2017). Learning the art of helping: Building blocks and techniques (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.