When an individual or family takes the initiative to reach out to a counselor, they do so expecting that the counselor will have the necessary skills and ability to help them find a resolution to the issue at hand. In order to be a competent clinician, the clinician needs to have a thorough understanding of all theories in order to know the best approach to take with the unique individual or family which is sitting in front of them. Each client exhibits diverse characteristics which when put together leaves the clinician with a unique case each session. When discussing diversity, most people often think about gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic class, religion, and age. However, diversity goes much deeper than what can be observed. As Gehard …show more content…
Rather each theory shares common factors which are considered to be more effective in the outcomes. Common factor theories see the therapist as the most effective part of treatment regardless of which theory is …show more content…
Lambert’s common factor model claims that outcomes are attributed to four factors: 1) client factors at 40 percent, 2) the therapeutic relationship from the client’s perspective at 30 percent, 3) the therapeutic model at 15 percent, and 4) client’s level of hope and the placebo effect at 15 percent (Gehard, 2016 p. 18). In contrast to Lambert’s model, Wampold conducted a meta-analysis and compared theory to theory for effectiveness. He found that the therapeutic model only contributed 8 percent to the outcome. While general factors such as the therapeutic alliance, expectancy, and hope contributed 70 percent to the overall outcome. The remaining 22 percent was attributed to unknown factors. Even with the variance in percentages, both studies highlight the importance that client factors and the therapeutic relationship provide to the overall outcome of therapy. Regardless, theoretical knowledge is important, as it provides the therapist with the tools to intervene at the right time in the right way to each client’s issues. Evidence-based treatments provide therapists with a guide to meet their client’s individual needs, assess their progress, and adjust interventions as needed. Evidence-based treatments assist in expediting the process while increasing the effectiveness at the same time. 3. Review the phases of the treatment plan and discuss what
Miller and Wilson. (1983) cited in Drummond,A. (1998). Research Methods For Therapists, 1ST edition, Stanley Thornes Ltd, United Kingdom
It was an effective film to show that clarifying goals of therapy are another way to provide effective counseling rather than giving advice and solving the clients’ problems. Specially working with a minority group client, I always try to be prepared, learn about my client culture, background, values, beliefs, create a plan, make sure my client doesn’t not feel overwhelmed or discouraged by any of my statements, frame the issue in a personal context, and allow a moment of silence for the emotions to come out. In general, the counseling profession must develop multicultural competencies in order to successfully work with clients from diverse
Counselors today face the task of how to appropriately counsel multicultural clients. Being sensitive to cultural variables can be conceptualized as holding a cultural lens to human behavior and making allowances for the possibility of cultural influence. However, to avoid stereotyping, it is important that the clinician recognize the existence of within-group differences as well as the influence of the client’s own personal culture and values (Furman, Negi, Iwamoto, Shukraft, & Gragg, 2009). One’s background is not always black or white and a counselor needs to be able to discern and adjust one’s treatment plan according to their client.
A therapist will face problems, issues and client troubles everyday. The professional must understand how their client relates to the world around them. These feelings and ideas affect how the client sees the problem and how they respond to their situation. Their actions, in turn, have bearing on individual thoughts, needs, and emotions. The therapist must be aware of the client's history, values, and culture in order to provide effective therapy. This paper will outline and provide information as to the importance of cultural competence and diversity in family therapy.
Goal 2- Garner experience and practice in treatment planning and assessments through performing psychosocial and diagnostic assessments; consider methods of interventions appropriate to client presentation; develop treatment plans with supervisor for assigned clients.
When advocating for the success of a client when utilizing this theory, a counselor must be prepared to identify and eliminate barriers, prejudices, oppression, and discrimination that may create a psychological obstruction in the client. Learning culturally-competent counseling practices and current theoretical approaches while practicing self-reflection will help the counselor acquire the skills necessary to engage with a diverse clientele. Strategies such as; identifying cultural differences, understanding and addressing issues in the counseling process, the counselor’s ability to understand self, and ongoing education are all important strategies in combating oppression and eliminating barriers.
The first framework that would be beneficial when working with this population is the Dual Perspective Framework. The Dual Perspective Framework is a model that charges the social worker with assessing and understanding the client’s world. While doing so, one must take into account the client’s relationship to not only their immediate family and community, but also to the larger societal system while considering and comparing values, attitudes, and behaviors (Prigoff, 2003, p. 80). Another way to explain the Dual Perspective was presented by Dr. Nimmagadda as part of the diversity section of this course (2015). The contrasting views are also known as the “Nurturing Environment” versus the “Sustaining Environment.” The “Nurturing Environment” can be identified as the individual’s family or immediate extended family, while the “Sustaining Environment” can be identified as how an individual feels other’s view them in the social environment (Nimmagadda, 2015). An individual can evolve and change according to their experiences and interactions in both environments.
broad range of clients. Awareness and respect for diversity and multicultural values facilitates good communication and therapeutic relationship.
In order to determine whether treatment has been effective, some change in the person needs to have occurred. Therefore, some way to measure to effectiveness is needed, as well as a source of the necessary information. It should be mentioned that there are cases where people just sometimes get better with the passage of time. This must be taken into account when considering the effectiveness of treatment. One must ask themselves did the treatment work, or would the person have improved without any care? Establishing whether improvements have occurred can be assessed with information obtained from the therapist, the client, family or friends of the client, test scores, and/or the measurement of overt behavior. Clearly, a number of these information sources are likely to be biased, either for treatment success or against it. Ideally, an independent source would assess treatment success and the measures employed would be objective. This may or may not be possible it depends on the situation.
The diversity among clients and the counselor is an issue that has recently come to the forefront. The counselor must be very cautious and sensitive to the cultural values of their clients, gender and gender preference, age, language preference, ethnicity, and spirituality and religious beliefs.
It is inevitable that in psychotherapy there are numerous theories. Theories arise out of scholarly investigations of ideas on human behavior. Human behavior is an extraordinarily interesting subject and therefore produces a plethora of ideas from a variety of theorists. These theorists are influenced by their education, culture, and time period. One influential theorist is Carl Rogers.
In a closer view of some these distinguished therapy techniques described by Shelder (2010), we can infer that the established patterns in behaviors,
In order to effect social justice changes within counseling, counselors will have to re conceptualize the traditional perception of counseling. Conversely, acquiring multicultural competence is necessary to addressing social justice and ethical issues encountered within the counseling process as according to the ACA code of ethics, “counselors have an ethical obligation to be multiculturally competent” (Lee, 2007, p. 182). Multicultural competence requires counselors to be aware of their own values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviors and how they might impact the way they relate to their clients. Also, counselors will need to acquire knowledge and understanding of the worldviews of the diverse clients they serve. “Culturally competent counselors acting from a virtue ethics perspective recognize that the counseling relationship is situated in a shared community that includes clients, their social support systems, and a variety of resources that might be enlisted in removing systematic barriers to client growth” (Lee, 2007, p.
(Hays & Erford, 2014 p 59). In the counseling world in order to effectively work with clients from diverse background and cultures, it is important to provide a culturally safe environment and promote equality to all persons. Our main focus should be those that have already experienced discrimination due to their race/ethnicity, gender, age or economic status. Our efforts and “Beliefs that all people should have the right to equitable treatment and fair allocation of societal resources, the goal of social justice counseling is to establish an equal distribution of power and resources through advocacy to ensure that all people have the tools and resources for a “good life.” (Hays & Erford, 2014 p 59). The Multicultural and social justice counseling competencies (MSJCC) has implemented and created several competencies useful for the counseling profession. These competencies work as the foundation for something positive if properly implemented. It allows the counselor to address issues of power, privilege, and oppression and how each day the client is faced with a variety of worries that require the counselor to intervene and recommend the proper interventions needed in order for the client to move
During the 1960’s clinical practices became standard place with regards to counseling. Moving forward counselors now have to give more consideration to recognition of gender, race, and culture in their theories or intervention strategies with a diverse