Many people seek therapy for a variety of reasons. Comer (2014) states “that people who seek therapy compared to those who don’t experience greater improvement than seventy five percent of people who don’t get treatment” (pg. 91). This statistic shows there a clear correlation between therapy and problem resolution. What’s the difference between a professional helping relationship that is established in therapy and a having a friend who you have social relationship with hear your problem, aren’t they essentially the same thing? I’ll discuss how a professional helping relationship differs in structure and content from a social friendship and its value in problem resolution.
Friendship
First of all what is a friendship? A friendship
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a Social Friendship A professional helping relationship doesn’t stem from a social relationship. This type of relationship is “formed for a specific purpose and for a finite amount of time” (Mandell & Schram, pg. 107). There are “five qualities that are distinct about a professional helping relationship” (Mandell & Schram, pg. 107). The helping relationship between client and therapist is formed as a necessary component of the therapeutic process (Mandell & Schram, pg. 107). A friendship is formed only because two people are interested in spending time together, like each other and want to be in each other’s …show more content…
108). Saul Alinsky said “the human service worker who built a strong neighborhood action group will eventually be thrown out by the indigenous leadership” (Mandell & Schram, pg. 108). As terrible as that sounds on the surface how accomplished that worker must feel to see a group of people he helped become empowered and self-sufficient. The second quality of a Helping Relationship is that “there is a specific purpose and focus for the professional helping relationship” The therapist and client would “discuss clear goals and what they want therapy to accomplish” (Mandell & Schram, pg. 108).
A friendship isn’t a “task or goal to complete, it’s a need that people have for companionship and can last a life time” (Mandell & Schram, pg. 107). As seen in the table below the therapist and client would “negotiate a contract in which the tasks and goals are spelled out” (Mandell & Schram, pg. 108). Table 2 is an example of a dialog of a
Counselor should never have a dual relationship with a client it can bring a lot of ethics issue that affect the client and counselor. According to ACA "A.6.b. Extending Counseling Boundaries Counselors consider the risks and bene ts of extending current counsel- ing relationships beyond conventional parameters. Examples include attend- ing a client’s formal ceremony (e.g., a wedding/commitment ceremony or graduation), purchasing a service or product provided by a client (excepting unrestricted bartering), and visiting a cli- ent’s ill family member in the hospital. In extending these boundaries, counselors take appropriate professional precau- tions such as informed consent, consul- tation, supervision, and documentation to ensure that judgment
Stickley, T. & Freshwater, D. (2006). “The Art of Listening to the Therapeutic Relationship” Journal of Mental health Practice. 9 (5) pp12 - 18.
...ives from the implementation of an empathic, hopeful continuous treatment relationship, which provides integrated treatment and coordination of care through the course of multiple treatment episodes” (Watkins, 2015). Whether, confronted with a substance use disorder, gambling or sex addiction the way in which a counselor work with the client in an open helpful manner is the key to motivating the client to change their behaviors. “A man convinced against his will, Is of the same opinion still” (Carnegie, 1981). The most piece of the helping relationship is that the client is the lead in their care, as they are the ones that will be making the decisions for their care. A counselor is essentially a trained skillful teacher that guides an individual toward their best recovery options and it is up to the individual to make the needed changes in their life and behaviors.
Counseling skills has provided me with a valuable insight into the helping relationship and how it is both created and maintained in order to encourage growth and development in the client. The factors involved within the helping relationship include considering Roger’s core conditions, congruence, unconditional positive regard and empathy as the three main characteristics necessary in a helping relationship. In order to fully incorporate all three of Roger’s core conditions, I as the counselor must be self-aware, as a lack of self-awareness may inhibit truly listening and understanding the client; self-awareness can be enhanced through exercises such as Johari’s window. Counseling skills such as body language and active listening also plays a role within encouraging the client to open up and can help me as the counselor convey empathy.
4e. I feel that it is very important that the client and the counselor have a relationship built upon trust. I feel that there should never be any kind of friendship outside of the counseling, however, in counseling it should be a relationship that one would have with a mentor or guardian.
Research has shown that a strong therapeutic alliance is necessary for establishing a beneficial contact between the therapist and the client. If the therapist does not encourage the creation of a reliable therapeutic alliance from the beginning of the treatment, it will be hard to develop a constructive relationship with the client later. Establishing the therapeutic alliance will increase the chances of achieving the goal of the treatment because the clients will be willing to cooperate if they trust and respect the therapist. Clients are not likely to cooperate with therapists who impose their authority aggressively. Instead of imposing their authority on the patient, therapists should develop work with their patients by building a mutual relationship based on trust, understanding, and respect for the client.
Ruddy, N. B., Borresen, D. A., & Gunn Jr., W. B. (2008). Colocating with medical professionals: A new model of integrated care. In The collaborative psychotherapist: Creating reciprocal relationships with medical professionals (pp.115–133). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
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.
For this reason, the AAMFT Code of Ethics (standard 1.3) stipulates that situations and multiple relationships in which I would engage the client in any way other than the therapeutic relationship is risking compromised professional judgment (AAMFT, 2015). Furthermore, entering into a social relationship may be the beginning of a slippery slope, leading to a romantic and/or sexually intimate relationship (Martin, Godfrey, Meekums, & Madville, 2011). Such a relationship with a client is completely forbidden according to standard 1.4 of the Code of Ethics (AAMFT, 2015), even with former clients (AAMFT, 2015, standard 1.5), as it risks exploiting the client’s trust and dependence. An additional standard that precludes me from engaging in a relationship with this client is that of 3.4 in which a conflict of interest would potentially inhibit me from serving my client without prejudice or compromised performance and integrity (AAMFT,
Current research implies that an empathetic clinician-client relationship and interrelated ecosystems play the majority role in the success of therapy (Kilpatrick & Holland, 2009). The clinician’s ability to be present and actively perceive what the client is experiencing is of utmost importance in creating a therapeutic alliance. It is imperative that the clinician gains positive regard towards the client and their environment displaying honest acceptance towards the client no matter what issues are presented in session. This closely relates to a sincere presentation of genuineness that instills a feeling of honesty within the client and clinician (Kilpatrick & Holland, 2009). An experienced clinician builds upon the therapeutic
Stickley,T. & Freshwater, D. (2006). “The Art of Listening to the Therapeutic Relationship” Journal of Mental health Practice. 9 (5) pp12 - 18.
...lly beneficial (Dams, 1997). Jane would spend less time and resources on improving her mental health and gain the same or better results. Therapists who know how to form therapeutic alliances and set goals with their patients will spend fewer resources to produce effective outcomes, so both the patient and therapists will benefit from spending fewer resources, such as time and money, to achieve beneficial results. Outside of the health care system, support is a valuable resource in psychotherapy because people who are dealing with their issues often require it for motivation. While Jane was lacking a supportive environment while growing up, she is able to create one with Ricky after meeting him. Although she still has to monitor her addictive behavior, creating or finding a supportive community will decrease her depression and increase her self-esteem significantly.
This paper will explore the concept of dual relationships between counselors and clients and the ethical implications of such relationships. In addition to presenting several examples of dual relationships, this paper will also explore how ethical decisions must be made to avoid potentially harmful or exploitive relationships in therapy as well understanding how different interactions between counselor and clients can be understood from an ethical standpoint, as well as how reviewing these ethical dilemmas may shape my future career as a counselor.
There are many aspects that play into the relationship between a helper and a person seeking help. One of the most important aspects of this relationships is understanding and recognizing the special characteristic values, goals, expectations, and biases that we bring into the relationship as helpers. As an aspiring helper, it is part of my duty to know what I am bringing into these relationships and how these things could affect my treatment of the relationship I have with this person. Some of the things that make up who we are and how we go about interacting in our helping relationships will be unavoidable to keep from affecting how we act in those relationships. For myself, this includes my values, goals in life, expectations of what it
Helping relationship is a natural of helping others. Helping is refer to counseling and guidance or helping those who is in needs of help. In the human service profession helping clients manage their problems in living more effectively and developing a plan. Human services workers are making a difference in client’s needs. As a future human services worker/advocate I believe that I opportunities and obligations to reaching out to make a difference with elderly and special needs adults environment surrounding. Helping others has a benefit for the helper. It has a positive impact, sharing your own experiences, and you are focus more on the client’s problem. I feel good when I can help others whether I’m helping a client,