The main purpose of stage one is to build a non-threatening counselling relationship, help the client explore their situation and then be able to focus on chose issues. At this point the helper/listener helps the client to identify problems and then assess their own resources. At this stage most people are reluctant to change and may resist. Through positive exploration of new perspectives and constructive challenges to rooted negativity the client is able to move to the next stage. Some of the stage one exploring skills include; Open ended questioning, silences, focusing, empathy, paraphrasing, structuring and summarising.
This is the ability to be you without pretence or façade. This is also called genuineness; it is the most important attribute in counselling according to Rogers, in this the counsellor is keen to allow the client to experience them as they really are, the therapist being authentic. Unconditional Positive Regard: (UPR) this is a non-judgemental, Respecting and accepting the other person as they are, Rogers believed that for people to grow and fulfil their potential it is important that they are valued as themselves. The counsellor has a genuine regard for the client, they may not approve of some of the client’s actions, but the therapist does approve of the client. The therapist needs an attitude of “I’ll accept you as you are.” The therapist must always maintain a positive attitude to the client at all times.
I am going to explore the core conditions that Carl Rogers uses in his theory of person centred counselling. There are three core conditions: congruence, empathic understanding and unconditional positive regard. These conditions are what Carl Rogers believed are the skills a counsellor needs in order to be able to support the client in their process of healing themselves. I am then going to use my own experiences to discuss why I feel that only using the person technique, for certain clients, may not be sufficient to make the progress they require on an emotional level. On the other hand I am going to discuss how learning the person centred approach has affected my personal and work life in a positive way.
In the mini-lecture by Dr. Sue he states, “MCT can be defined as both a helping role and process that uses modalities and defines goals, consistent with the life experiences and cultural values of clients.” He also states that MCT involves broadening the role that counselors plays and therefore need to play multiple roles that involve not only the traditional role but systems intervention as well. It is important to avoid a blind application of techniques to all situations and all populations. Another important role is building a therapeutic alliance using empathy, positive regard, respect, warmth and genuineness, self-disclosure, management of counter transference and agreement on goals between the counselor and client (Sue & Sue, 2013) What is the significance of a client's social and cultural context within MCT? Multicultural therapy balances the individualism approach with the collective approach and acknowledges families, significant others, communities and cultures (Sue & Sue, 2013). In MCT the client’s social and cultural background is of importance.
Additionally, developing self-awareness helps the client to rediscover meaning in life. Some clients will, however, need a more structured therapy than is typical in a humanistic person-centered approach. One of the strengths of using a humanistic/person-centered approach when working with clients is the warmth and caring of the relationship that (hopefully) develops between counsellor and client. The counsellors active listening and full emotional availability will provide them with a healing environment within which they can explore their emotional experiences safely and without judgment. Central to the therapist's role in client-centred therapy is respecting the clients values as well as maintaining a therapeutic nonjudgmental attitude.
I believe that listening to others and being able to put yourself in their shoes in order to understand what they might be feeling is very critical. It then becomes easier to help them manage those feelings and their experiences. It is also important to understand what is happening in that person's life, so it is good to be perceptive in order to notice patterns, dynamics, and other things that serve as clues for helping that person. I believe that I am very perceptive in my relationships with other people. In my opinion, it is also essential to have a sense of humility and I truly strive to always remain humble.
With the help of a counselour we can find ways to accept and make peace with things we can’t change and make positive changes where we can. Counselours can quide us to explore what really matters to us, what and who we value, our beliefs, hopes and needs . ( I book understanding counseling) Mcleod 2010 suggets that by attending a counseling session you may be able to delineate on your own experience as a means of relating to the clients that are in need of help, gaining an understanding on what it is like to be a recipient of help and reflect on the implications of the experience for a better understanding of the helping process. My essay will focus on my feelings before, during, and after my one hour face-to-face session, I will also be focusing on the skills that my counselor used during our session that could often be overlooked, skills such as body language, listening, empathy, paraphrasing, knowing when and how to ask questions, just to name a few. These skills may seem insignificant when in-fact these skills determine the difference between a helpful or a non-helpful session.
McLeod also suggests that counselling skills can be used in a range of self help groups such as sliming groups or Alcohics Anonymous or in life coaching – although this focuses on the promotion of positive effectiveness or achievement. Users of counselling skills often have dual responsibilities both to the recipient of their skills and the organisation that they are operating within. (Stokes in Aldridge and Rigby). This can be a cause of conflict. Counsellors can avoid this conflict by starting the counselling relationship with a contract that ensures confidentiality and helps create a safe environment that supports a client by setting down guidelines for a working/ professional relationship that includes boundaries, conduct, timekeeping.
If used properly the goal of the therapist will communicate in such a way for client personality change to occur. Over time and treatment the clinician would have an unconditional positive regard for the client. Thus far, building a respect for the client and their concerns should be the center focus of the clinician. The therapist encourages the client to use self exploration and acceptance, and openness to self and others by giving clarification of what the client is saying and reflecting on the feelings of the client. The client will learn to show empathy and warmth toward him self and anyone involved.
‘Compare and contrast the different ways the person-centred and cognitive-behavioural approaches to counselling understand and make use of the counselling relationship’ This essay will compare and contrast two of the many approaches to counselling available today. Firstly, we will briefly consider what counselling is and the relationship between therapist and client. We will then go on to consider the similarities and differences between the person-centred and cognitive-behavioural approaches. We will see how these two methods are used within the counselling relationship and consider their aims and objectives. In conclusion we will see why it could be argued that the latter approach is the most useful for many clients.