The Veteran Supported Education Service Treatment Manual: VetSEd

He decided to get to the room ten minutes early in case Pearl stopped before the bell.
He also practiced with Sam exactly what he would say. ―Dr. Pearl. I need to talk to
you about my registration for next semester. Do you have a few minutes now to go to
your office, review the forms, and get you to sign off?‖
5. Did the solution work? The proof of this process is whether Frank had gotten Dr.
Pearl to sign his registration. So he will need to review how it turned out at some later
time. Frank and Sam decided they would meet next week to evaluate his success.
When they did, Frank reported he just ―could not get up my nerve‖ to meet Dr. Pearl
after class. Instead of giving up, however, problem solving and Worksheet #22:
Solving Interpersonal Problems: Problems with Others directs the person to return
back to the list of brainstormed solutions and try another. Frank did this and still did
not like the costs versus benefits of Sam contacting Dr. Pearl. He took notice again of
writing a note and sliding it under his advisor‘s door. When he weighed the pros and
cons, he recognized this to be less stressful than interpersonally confronting Dr. Pearl.
But he was also concerned Dr. Pearl will ignore the note like he has prior e-mails and
calls. Still, Frank and Sam planned out this as an option. Frank wrote a note which
Sam reviewed.
97 | P a g e
Dear Dr. Pearl:
I would like to schedule an appointment with you for about 30 minutes so we can
review my registration for next semester. I need to do it soon because forms are
due in the registrar‘s office for next semester by December 1. Do you have any
time to meet next Wednesday or Thursday afternoon? Please contact me at my e-
mail address – Example123@gmail.com – or call my cell phone, 555 555-1202.‖
Sincerely, Frank
Frank decided he would slip the note under Dr. Pearl‘s office before the next day‘s
algebra class. Good news! When Sam checked in with Frank, he found out not only
had Dr. Pearl received the note, but the advisor had apologized for his tardiness, met
with Frank the next day, and signed off on all forms.
6. Adopt a problem solving attitude. There is one last step that is implied in all the
others. Many people come to the problem solving task believing this kind of effort is
fruitless; ―I have tried to work things out with a professor in the past but always
failed.‖ This kind of pessimism will undermine the effort and sabotage its parts. One
way a peer VetSEd provider can help is by having the Veteran endorse a problem