In addition I am going to explore how the client might feel in a session and the blocks, fears and uncertainties they may encounter. By way of background I will highlight person centred counselling which was pioneered by the eminent psychologist, Carl Rogers. Sincerity is key to being a good counsellor and the client needs to know that the counsellor has their best interests at heart, and are without a doubt sincere in what is said and what is professed. Courage in a counselling relationship is defined as acting in spite of known fears. Essentially, courage is strengthened with confidence in self and nothing can be achieved without courage.
I do however, feel that the person centered approach is very effective in more than just the therapy setting. It can be useful in an educational setting and also in health and social care settings. I work in an elderly care environment and find this approach very effective in offering the highest standard of personalized care to my residents. As a result of this I feel almost bias towards this approach. The person centered approach is a humanistitic approach to psychotherapy.
Ellis and Sheperis (2014, pg 164-165), list out some characteristics that I will be using for this assignment which include vibrant, inspirational, charismatic, sincere, loving, nurturing, wise, confident and self-disciplined. In my opinion, it is hard to determine which characteristics are effective just by reading a transcript. I do not know the tone or the setting in which this session is taking place, so I have to use my own judgment. I feel like the most effective characteristics in this case would have to be inspirational and nurturing. The counselor is letting the client know that together he can overcome his anger issues with time and patience.
A big draw to self-help groups is the assumption that there is someone out there that understands “how I feel.” For most they seek understanding and identification with someone that has already been through it. For those participating in the group the “interactions between members are seen as potentially therapeutic and members are encouraged to speak freely of their feelings toward each other and the group (Haeseler, 1992, p. 2). However it is important to look at the ethical implications for all involved in the process and when considering that information we are made aware of concerns within
Congruency is not merely a technique employed by counsellors; it is an attitude and philosophy – a state of realness. Congruent people are comfortable with themselves therefore allowing them to be comfortable in their interactions with other people; congruency requires high levels of self-awareness, self-acceptance and self-trust – basically a complete understanding and knowledge of one’s own self. Congruency in the therapeutic setting will allow the client to view the helper as trustworthy which will be helpful in the process of facilitation. Congruency requires whatever the helper says to be real and genuine, no matter what reaction is elicited. Example A helper working with a man who openly admits to abusing his wife does not agree with his actions but is still employed to help with the feeling the client has surrounding the abuse.
The second principle is that the therapist provides the client with unconditional positive regard. The final principle is the therapist shows empathetic understanding to the client. The second principle is most important to me. If I were choosing therapy as a possible solution, I would want to be in an extremely positive environment. That is not to say that the other forms of therapy do not use these principles, but they are not necessarily at the core of the therapy.
It is my desire to support clients' efforts to gain insight and identify solutions for their areas of concern and believe that most of the answers lie within. From my perspective, the counselor's role is to create a climate in which clients can examine their thoughts, feelings, and actions and eventually arrive at solutions that are best for them. As a counselor, it is important to be non-judgmental, when counseling or helping another person, regardless of how open-minded I may consider myself to be. Personality attributes of professional counselors has a great impact in the counseling process. Being nonjudgmental and accepting are important attributes in any of the helping professions.
According to Saxton, encouraging outcomes rely on “evidence-based counseling intervention protocols effective with the client problems they were developed to help” (Saxton, 1999). The personal success of the client as well as all stakeholders relies heavily on the outcomes from the counseling process. Needs assessment and program evaluation are essential to the counseling field because needs assessment helps the counselors understand what is needed in the population based on proven evidence from research. Also, program evaluation provides confirmed success which helps construct the tools needed to help the
For the purpose of this essay I will be focusing on Carl Rogers views on Person Centred Therapy (PCT). Carl Rogers (1980) believed that “Individuals have within themselves vast resources for self-understanding and for altering their self-concepts, basic attitudes, and self-directed behavior; these resources can be tapped if a definable climate of facilitative psychological attitudes can be provided” (p. 115). Rogers (as cited by Joseph, 2003) believed that people need positive regard from our social environment and given this we can develop our self-actualising abilities effectively. This leads us to interpret life accurately, be realistic in our perceptions and trust our own inner being. (Joseph, 2003 p.304) PCT is client directed and doesn’t focus on problems or solutions.
The therapist is more of a friend who listens, standby their clients and encourages their clients. In person-centred therapy, self-actualisation refers to the desire for self-fulfilment. It is a belief that everyone will pursue what is best for themselves. Self-actualization is stationed at the top of Abraham Maslow's hierarchy. Abraham Maslow, a pioneer in development humanistic psychology studied what he know as “self-actualising people”, self-actualisation was the central theme of Abraham Maslow’s research (Davies, 2013).