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One aspect I found striking was the role of advice giving in counseling. Prior to this class, I knew that counselors did not typically give opinions or advice to lead a client in a certain direction. What I did not know was the entire reasoning behind this. A counselor might avoid giving advice so that a client learns to make his/her own decisions, does not become dependent on the counselor, and to ensure that a client will not later blame the counselor if the counselor’s advice did not turn out well. In this context, I have a better appreciation and understanding of why therapists refrain from telling the client what to do. This stood out to me for a variety of reasons. Empathizing with the idea that a client may seek feedback and advice from the counselor, I was confused and disagreed that a counselor should refrain from such actions. This initially did not sit with me well because I am a naturally indecisive person and when faced with a difficult decision, I will seek the counsel of others. I appreciate the wisdom, perspective, and insight they have on a situation. It often frustrates me when people will not outrightly tell me what they think I should do or what they would do in my situation. …show more content…
In this experience, I saw a client ask the counselor what they thought they should do in a situation where both choices were not desirable. The counselor did not give their opinion and it seemed like the client left more frustrated and confused than when he had come in. I empathized with him and frankly was a bit annoyed with the counselor for not giving him advice or her opinion. After the session, the counselor had mentioned that it was necessary for the client to make the decision by himself. Although I could appreciate this, I was not completely satisfied with this
One theme of the book that stands out is the counselor as a person and a professional. It is impossible to completely separate one’s personal and professional lives. Each person brings to the table certain characteristics of themselves and this could include such things as values, personality traits and experiences. A great point that Corey, Corey, and Callahan (2010) make is to seek personal therapy. Talking with colleagues or a therapist will keep counselors on their toes and allow them to work out any issues that may arise. This could also prevent counselors from getting into a bad situation. Another good point made in this book was counter transference. Therapists are going to have an opinion and some reactions are going to show through. It is not easy to hide one’s emotions, but a good therapist will keep the objective in sight and keep moving forward. After all, the help counselors are providing is for the client.
Establishing a theoretical counseling orientation is an important step in developing professional identity. Theories provide counselors with explanations of human nature, help with conceptualizing clients’ problems and deliver procedural guidance in predicting clients’ change. Contemporary counselor is expected to be integrative and eclectic, drawing inspiration from many approaches. It is also my hope to synthesize a variety of concepts and a diversity of strategies from different theories and integrate them into a coherent, comprehensive perspective.
This assignment was conducted with myself as the counsellor and Olivia, a fellow classmate, as the client. A fifteen minute counselling session occurred and was recorded, in order for students to be able to critically analyze their counselling skills. Olivia felt the need to talk with a counsellor due to the pressure she is experiencing trying to fit all of her commitments into her weekly schedule. Olivia is currently struggling with splitting her time between her family, friends, school, and new fitness goals. Throughout this counselling session various techniques were used in the beginning stage, action stage and ending stage of the counselling session. These techniques were used throughout these stages of counselling to gain information
I was really nervous about doing this first practice recording. While I knew how I wanted to start the conversation, I was stressed out about the unknown that comes along with these sessions. I am constantly listening to my friends talk, but how I had to respond for the counseling session was very different than what I am typically used to. I usually give my friends my opinions and advice on how I would handle the situation. It was hard for me to just sit back and let my classmate talk. I wanted to respond to many of her statements, but I had to take a step back and really just listen. In these types of counseling sessions my thoughts and opinions are not important. Rather, the focus should only be on the person you are counseling.
Another aspect of my personal theory comes from Carl Rogers and his Person Centered theory. My greatest take away from Rogers is his theory of unconditional positive regard. I am in agreement that an individual in counseling must feel as if they are being accepted and not judged by their therapist. Often individuals who seek counseling are fearful to begin with so as a therapist it is important to make this client feel at ease and understand that they are in a safe environment where they will not be judged. Once you can establish this with a client I believe that the relationship with that client will be more successful and the ...
¬When considering what my own personal philosophy of counseling would be, it was eye opening to consider who I was a person and how much I have grown. The self analysis was new to me because I never thought about how I do that on a day to day basis. Reviewing the questions I found that a lot of my focus surrounded family, my significant other, and close friends. Constantly living in a diverse population and having that as my surrounding also made its mark in my answers. I also noted that both past and present influences, but primarily the present, play a large role in my own perspective. By following the prompt, I was made to understand that my thought process makes me think of what is occurring in the present and how I can alter these happenings to help shape the future that I want.
The counselor accomplishes the above by expressing empathy, developing discrepancies, going along with resistance and supporting self-efficacy. Moreover, the counselor guides the client toward a solution that will lead to permanent posi...
Theoretical Perspective: This semester in procedures of counseling class we discussed a lot of different types of counseling theories. We also did a lot of practicing with each theory with our partners. I found that person-centered therapy best fits my personal attitudes and style of counseling. I think this would be a good style of counseling for me because I can see myself better helping people as a whole than trying to fix an actual problem.
Understanding the counseling session from the client’s perspective is a very important aspect in the development of a therapeutic relationship. A clinician must be an excellent listener, while being to pay attention to the client’s body language, affect and tone. The dynamics in the counseling session that is beneficial to the client include the recognition of the pain that the client is feeling. The detrimental part of this includes a misunderstanding of the real issues, a lack of consideration of the cultural aspects of the client, and a lack of clinical experience or listening skills. In this presentation, we will discuss the positive and negative aspects of the counseling session from the client’s perspective which includes the client’s attitudes, feelings, and emotions of the counseling session. We will next examine the propensity of the client to reveal or not reveal information to the counselor, and how transference, and counter-transference can have an effect on the counselor-client relationship.
Dual relationships can be a major ethical issue in group counseling, as well. According to Moleski (2005), “A dual or a multiple relationship exists whenever a counselor has other connections with a client in addition or in succession to the counselor–client relationship. “This may involve assuming more than one professional role (such as instructor and therapist) or blending professional and nonprofessional relationships (such as a counselor and friend or counselor and business partner)” (Corey, Corey, & Callanan, 1998, p. 225)” (p.3).
The counseling session began with the introductions where I introduced myself as the counselor and later introduced my client. This stage is important in any counseling session since it is the time of exploration and focusing according to Gerard Egan as quoted by Wright (1998) in his essay on couselling skills. It is in this session that I was able to establish rapport and trust with my client in order to come up with a working and fruitful relationship with him. During this stage I made use of skills like questioning, where I would pose a question directly to my client, sometimes I would choose to just listen to what the client wanted to speak out while in some instances I would be forced to paraphrase the question if I felt the client did not understand the question I had asked previously. There were also other times when I would reflect through silence. During such a period, I got time to study the client and the information he had given. This being a difficult area, since some clients may not be able to volunteer information to you as the counselor, I decided to assure the client of confidentiality of any information he was willing to share with me with a few exceptions which I also told him about. Being open to him about the only times the information may not be confidential was part of my building rapport and establishing trust with him. I therefore, decided to ask the client what information he wanted to share with me and lucky enough he was ready to speak to me about different issues that he was going through.
The counselor’s objective is to identify the problem of the client and plan out the method of helping the client overcome the problem. The most rewarding part of being a counselor is the ability to make a difference in people’s lives. In private practice, there is a constant push to become more skilled at helping so that clients will refer others to you for help. It is also important to follow up with the client about their well-being even after treatment has ended to ensure that they are still living a healthy and stress-free life. The client must make time for all scheduled sessions with the counselor for best results of treatment. If we don’t express our feelings during counseling sessions, the hurt and frustration behind the situation will build up, and once the client releases, it may trigger other situations and bring on severe mental health
Chapters two, five and six focused mainly on the helping relationship and the core values, empathy, and probing and summarizing as helpful skills. These three chapters seemed to flow into each other nicely.
In order to be an effective counselor, one must remember to keep the client(s) in mind. The goal is to assist the client(s) in living the best life possible for that particular person or persons. With that being said, one cannot forget that they have their own set of morals, values, ideas, and the like. Social workers have to keep in mind that there will be cases that are complex and a favorable outcome may not be possible. In the instance that I am confronted with an issue that conflicts with my religious beliefs, I plan on assisting the client as much as possible by adhering the National Association of Social Work Code of Ethics, NASW standards for the Practice of Clinical Social Work, and discussing my concerns with my supervisor while
Clients are not coming in for judgment they are there for understanding. Personal feelings and opinions should never interfere with how a counselor does their job. As a counselor, it is important to follow the guidelines set by American Counseling Association and the National Board for Certified Counselors. These guidelines protect the client as well as the counselor and their respective organization. Being a professional and being ethical go hand in hand. Being ethical in your work and life is a high quality and desirable trait for one to have. Ethics not only are ones moral values so to speak, but they also are what guide someone in their professional and person conduct and help them through their decision making processes. This paper will talk about ethical influences that I have had in my life and my own personal take on