Similarities and Differences of Two Counseling Theories
Within the counselling setting there can be many different approaches to take in order to help the client to over come their personal challenges. While all provide a unique and abstract way of handling, interpreting and solving these challenges they all have their own positives and negatives when scrutinized. Two approaches that have little in common but the fact they are used within the same working environment are the feminist theory and the psychoanalytic approach. Psychoanalytic approach has a structured and theoretical basic which leave it with much less room for interpretation and adaption to the client. Focusing more on the past and development then the
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The goals of psychoanalytic therapy in basic terms are for the client to develop techniques to later be able to “solve” their own problems as they present themselves. This comes about through change (Carsky, 2013), change in behavior and the ability to adapt. As stated above the ego is the controller of the instinctual drives and the clients moral compass, providing the client with techniques to strengthen the ego will aid in suppressing the super ego and the ID (Gaztambide, 2012). This approach has the focus of helping the client develop a new understand of the self and achieve an insight their own unconscious thoughts and processes. It is still very centered on the individual and the individuals experiences. Feminist theory, being relatively recent, was developed to provide women with better assistance in the case they are experiencing psychological distress (Evans, Kincade, Marbley & Seem, 2005). While originally the therapy was developed exclusively for women, after adapting and evolving the feminist theory is more centered around therapy that is not constrained by societal and cultural norms and the idea of gender (Evans, Kincade, Marbley & Seem, 2005). This approach understands that problems my stem from gender discrimination, gender role conflicts, gender …show more content…
Some of these being that the personal was political, the environment the client and therapist are encompassed in is taken into consideration. (Negy & McKinney, 2006). The other key ideas include, respect for women and their experiences, attentiveness to language, sociocultural variables are the center of psychopathology, having commitment to social change and client collaboration and therapist disclosure (Negy & McKinney, 2006) these key structural ideas work together to help the client feel that what is their reality is validated, identify that the issues that may arise in their life may be a direct result of societal pressures of norms and oppression that are creating issues (Negy & McKinney, 2006). Feminist therapy is client centered (Negy & McKinney, 2006) in the way that it allows for the client to identify their own issues and are viewed as the key holders to opening up a new door in their life (Negy & McKinney, 2006). Though it does use tools within the counseling such as gender-role analysis, power analysis and bibliotherapy to help the client recall and
Gary, Faye, Linda M. Sigsby, and Doris Campbell. "FEMINISM: A PERSPECTIVE FOR THE 21St CENTURY." Issues In Mental Health Nursing 19.2 (1998): 139-152. Academic Search Complete. Web. 19 May 2016.
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.
The current practices of the clinical and counselling psychological streams are not entirely dissimilar as both are concerned with the application of psychotherapy, education, research, and instruction (Mayne, Norcross, & Sayette, 2000; Norcross, 2000). Clinical psychology is primarily concerned with the assessment, treatment, and study of populations who experience severe mental illness (Bechtoldt, Campbell, Norcross, Wyckoff, & Pokrywa, 2000; Norcross, 2000) clinical psychologists mostly employ behavioral and psychoanalytic theoretical orientations when treating clients (Norcross, 2000). In contrast, counselling psychologists generally aim to support people who, while not typically suffering from severe mental illness, need assistance in overcoming the emotions associated with traumas such as loss of employment, marital dissatisfaction, loss of friend or family member, addiction (Geldard & Geldard, 2012; Gladding, 2013). Primarily they employ client-centered and humanistic methods of theoretical orientation (Geldard & Geldard, 2012; Gladding, 2013; Norcross, 2000).
The counseling session should be centered on the client and their understanding of their world and/or problems not heavily weighted on the counselor interpretation of the client’s situation. The role of the counselor is to examine a problem needs changing and discover options in overcoming their problem. Bringing about change can help change the client’s narrative on their problem in the future and/or on life in the process.
Probst (2015) conducted a study on how personal clinician therapy may enhance the therapist’s ability to create and maintain a strong clinician-client relationship. Upon review of Barbara Probst’s article, the author agrees that the integration of personal clinician therapy into the repertoire of extensive practitioner training is essential and desirable (2015). This opinion is in correlation to Freud’s position that to
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.
¬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...
As a future counselor, I have enjoyed learning about the different techniques and theories of counseling. Understanding each approach is important but I believe that the counselors self knowledge of her or his own values, worldviews and life philosophy is just as important for the counselor to do the job effectively. Each theory that we learned about, I could see being helpful to different people, their circumstance and individual problem. I can see myself using different parts of each in my future career. Currently, I more drawn to the Adlerian theory. I understand and agree when Adler believed that people do have the ability to monitor and control the direction of their lives.The unconscious shapes personality,
Zakin, E. "Psychoanalytic Feminism", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2011 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (Ed.), Retrieved from: http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2011/entries/feminism-psychoanalysis/
In a qualitative study about GRC male therapists were interviewed about their working experiences with male and female clients. It was mainly found that when working with male clients there could be a different power relationship shift and changes in control levels during the therapeutic process. Plus, the presence of RABBM had significant restrictions in male clients’ behaviour regarding sharing deep feelings and thoughts, which altered and threatened male identity and the masculinity ideology (Gillen, 2012). In regards to female clients, the therapeutic relationship and process appeared to be less challenging as therapists reported female clients to be more in touch with their feelings and male therapists said that this made them to feel more comfortable, it facilitated more congruence and trust, a better sense of connection, and better therapeutic progress.
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.
This essay will attempt to highlight and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the three main theories of counselling within the module covered this term. The three approaches in discussion are psychodynamics, cognitive behavioural and humanistic.
The field of psychology and psychotherapy derives from times where gender inequality was a norm. Although individuals believe that this conception has been alleviated they fail to see how many are still, to this day, oppressed, limited, constrained, and shamed. Not only is this due to their gender but also sexual orientation, race, culture, and many other factors. Feminist therapy accentuates that change in society is necessary instead of the need to adjust to society. I believe therapy should always enmesh individual, human, and equal rights.
It is imperative to study counseling theories when beginning field based work. Counseling theories provide a foundation to be able to learn and develop my own techniques. Some ideas that exemplify the significance of counseling theories are; research, application of theories, and case studies.