52. Supervision8 - The Aspect Compass and Labeling

Becoming Centered

This episode is the second in a three-episode arc that presents the Hierarchy of Interventions. This grouping of 10 interventions forms a core curriculum of counseling skills used by residential staff to encourage the development of kids' self-regulation abilities. Last episode focused on using Distraction, Engaging, and Verbal Redirection to interrupt and prevent kids from going down an off-track path toward increased emotional, cognitive, and behavioral dysregulation. This episode introduces the Aspect Compass model of the human mind. Understanding this metaphor for how the mind works, makes it easier for direct-care counseling staff to move beyond the behavior-management level of intervention and instead help kids development their self-regulation abilities.

This episode revisits those three interventions from the perspective of the Aspect Compass Model and then goes on to present the labeling intervention. Different variations on the Labeling intervention are used to increase clients' self-monitoring of their own behaviors, their own bodies, their own feelings, and their own developing social skills. One variation on Labeling is also used in place of giving directions and setting limits. Those interventions are intended to encourage compliance, where labeling encourages kids to chose cooperation.