This paper summarizes and applies Michael E. Remshard's 2007 article on using the Adaptive Counseling and Therapy (ACT) model with at-risk college students. The paper outlines ACT's three core steps — early engagement, providing tailored support, and matching counselor tools to student goals — and illustrates how Remshard used them in a substitute teaching experience. The application section extends the model to high school counseling scenarios, contrasting approaches for motivated versus unmotivated students. The central argument is that effective counseling requires flexible, student-driven strategies, with the ACT model's emphasis on student-set agendas serving as a particularly valuable motivational technique.
Remshard, Michael. "Career Counseling 'At-Risk' College Students: Providing Direction and Support." Career Convergence, 1 Apr. 2007, www.ncda.org/.
A teacher and counselor, Michael E. Remshard is a strong proponent of the Adaptive Counseling and Therapy (ACT) model, which stresses the need for a counselor to adjust his or her behavior to fit a student's emotional as well as vocational needs. Remshard argues this is especially critical when dealing with at-risk students or students with backgrounds profoundly different from the counselor's own experiences and education. When teaching a class of at-risk youth as a substitute teacher, Remshard tried to motivate his indifferent students by allowing them to set the agenda for the class.
This student-directed approach conformed to Step One of ACT, which states that it is important to engage students early on and to foster confidence through any means necessary, so long as those steps are appropriate to the goals of the counseling session or class.
Only with a motivated classroom or student can a counselor move on to Step Two: giving students the support they need to realize their goals. Instructing, teaching, supporting, and delegating are all appropriate counselor actions during Step Two, but the balance of these functions will depend on the background of the students. Step Three, "match and move," refers to advancing students by matching the tools available to the counselor with the students' goals and desires. In Remshard's class, the students had become highly motivated but still needed extra help and advice because they had been poorly prepared to enter a college environment. The students benefited greatly from the ACT approach; for the first time, they were able to feel a sense of empowerment about their education and felt that they had successfully shaped the direction of the class in a meaningful way.
It is easy to see the usefulness of ACT — not simply with at-risk students, but with all students in matters relating to vocational goals. A high school counselor advising a highly motivated student about preparing to apply to college may need to provide advice about narrowing down an appropriate list of schools, help the student manage the stress and time pressures of the application process, and determine how best to present the student to an institution — in short, primarily fulfilling the supporting and delegating functions of Step Two. The same counselor dealing with an unmotivated student might first need to explore whether the student wants to go to college at all, and actively motivate the student to take constructive steps in planning life after high school — in ways similar to Remshard's approach with his class of at-risk youth.
"Contrasting approaches for motivated vs. unmotivated students"
In short, there is no single counseling prescription that works for all students. This may seem obvious, but it bears reiterating. Perhaps the most important and innovative aspect of the ACT model is the value it places on letting the student set the agenda as a motivational technique — even with a seemingly less capable student — so that the student becomes more engaged with the process. As research on student-centered learning continues to grow, frameworks like ACT remain a practical and adaptable tool for counselors working across a wide range of student needs and backgrounds.
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