Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Strategies to improve therapeutic communication
Strategies to improve therapeutic communication
Strategies to improve therapeutic communication
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Strategies to improve therapeutic communication
In order to achieve a positive relationship during the counseling session, there has to be a partnership between the therapist and the client. In the beginning of training there may be some instances where the therapist can experience some self-doubt, but the counselor should always try to be aware of their own beliefs, biases, feelings, perceptions and reactions and how their perspective may affect the counseling session. The counselor who is emotionally in tune with their personal attitudes, biases, and emotions has the capability to gauge responses during therapy. One key factor, that will play a very important role for the therapist, is the capability to have self-awareness. When the therapist is self-aware, it will help provide unbiased …show more content…
It is ideal to identify the root of the situation first and delineate how these words come into play during therapy. For example, transference was a word originally created by Sigmund Freud, which was his way of labeling how patients “transfer” feelings from significant individuals in their early lives, onto the therapist. In addition, Psychoanalysis was specifically created to encourage transference. During therapy the client naturally tends to make assumptions about the therapists likes, dislikes and attitude towards the client. These assumptions are usually a reflection or attitude on experiences and other past relationship the patient had. This also helps the patient realize that some of their assumptions about others, and themselves are speculative or unfounded and serve no purpose. If the patient truly wants to see change, this is a vital piece of advice that can lead to lasting psychological changes. When it comes to the therapist, in order to avoid issues with the treatment plan and avoid secondary traumatization, it is best to establish and maintain certain boundaries and initiate a treatment frame. This method will allow, the therapist to successfully help, encourage the client and avoid any over involvement and lose track of what is really important during the
In classical psychoanalysis, transference was seen as a distortion in the therapeutic relationship which occurred when the client unconsciously misperceived the therapist as having personality characteristics similar to someone in his/her past, while countertransference referred to the analyst's unconscious, neurotic reaction to the patient's transference (Freud, 1910/1959). Freud believed that countertransference impedes therapy, and that the analyst must recognize his/her countertransference in order to overcome it. In recent years, some schools of psychotherapy have expanded the definition of countertransference to include all conscious and unconscious feelings or attitudes a therapists has toward a client, holding that countertransference feelings are potentially beneficial to treatment (Singer & Luborsky, 1977). Using more specific language, Corey (1991) defines countertransference as the process of seeing oneself in the client, of overidentifying with the client or of meeting needs through the client.
A counselor should always keep their thoughts to themselves and remain open-minded about the situation. The only time a counselor should share their thoughts is if it helps the client with their situation that they are dealing with. “Counselors must practice only within the boundaries of their competence (Standard C.2.a.), and, if they “determine an inability to be of professional assistance to clients” (Standard A.11.b.), they should facilitate a referral to another provider. (Kocet, M. M., & Herlihy, B. J. (2014). Addressing Value-Based Conflicts Within the Counseling Relationship: A Decision-Making Model. Journal Of Counseling & Development, 92(2), 180-186 7p. doi: 10.1002/j.1556-6676.2014.00146.x).” Keeping your thoughts to yourself is
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.
The counselling process is one that may last for as little as one session or for years, it is within the middles stages of the helping relationship that particular counselling skills such as a focusing, challenging and immediacy can be implemented, as well as use of advanced empathy that can be applied due to increased familiarity with a speaker. Many actions may occur within middles stage of the helping relationship such as transitions that occur for a multitude of reasons and the outcome of which can vary based on the attitude of the speaker. Self-awareness remains vital throughout the entire counselling relationship due to the continual influence of empathy in the helping relationship and remaining aware my own motives and values when using advanced empathy and specific counselling skills. Ethics and boundaries are also involved within the counselling process as within a counselling relationship, I as the counsellor, must be careful with the balance or expenditure of power when challenging.
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.
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...
Furthermore, my goal is to let client fix their problems on their own through insight and guidance from the therapist. I envision a successful therapeutic process being when a client follows their goals and achieves positive outcomes in their lives. I seek to gain a therapeutic process with my clients by building rapport, trust, and helping them gain insight. When my clients are stuck and need motivation, I plan to remind them about their goals and the positive things that will come with change. If family is important to a client, informing the client about their family and their happiness may help motivate them to continue to
To explain, the client should not be inferior to the counselor; the environment should be two people discussing an issue and ways to make a difference. A therapist should occasionally share similar experiences; therefore, sessions should make clients feel comfortable. To add, the client should feel safe due to the positive atmosphere the therapist brings to the session. The goal is to finally give the client a chance to be heard, regularly people are muted and feel like they are insignificant to society. Similarly, to Person-centered therapy where communication with the client is unconditionally positive. The therapist needs to genuinely care about the client needs for them to fully express themselves successfully. Furthermore, clients should be encouraging to make their own choices which model how to identify and use power responsibly. Hence, this will help the client feel more confident in everyday life when making a meaningful
...t's problems. Instead, it should permit the client to feel that she has support to dive into emotions she might have been afraid to do so before entering client centered therapy.
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 second stage in the psychodynamic therapy process is, the transference stage. In this stage the development of treatment is set and now it is the patient’s time to let their feelings out. The patient expresses those feelings, emotions, fears, and desires to the therapist without having to worry about censorship. The feelings and behavior of the patient become more pronounced and become a vital part of the treatment itself. During this stage the therapist could experience and better understand of the patient’s past and how it impacted their behavior in the
Values, Morals, and Beliefs are components that play a role in an individual’s self-identity. The establishment of these components shape human nature, behavior, and the development of an individual’s purpose. The basis of these fundamentals has contributed to my desire to become a counselor. This paper will discuss my views of human nature, factors of behavior changes, goals of therapy, the roles of a therapist, and the counseling approaches that I chose to incorporate in a practice.
I don’t think I could just focus on a client’s problem and problematic behavior, and not try to help better them as a person. This is the type of therapy that is the warm and fuzzy type. I like to think as myself as very empathic person, and always try to put myself in other people’s shoes. I try
During my initial self-evaluation and assessment of me as a perspective counselor, self- awareness was an essential aspect of becoming an effective counselor. I am aware of certain things that can prevent me from becoming a competent counselor such as being unaware of my strengths and weaknesses. As a current community support worker, I have already had the opportunity to work with individuals who require different levels of support. Providing assistance to the specific population has given me the chance to utilize my communication skills. My work experience has also allowed me to be more self-aware, and open minded. After taking the techniques of counseling class I am more than confident that I have grown professionally since the beginning
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