Reflective Essay Counselling Skills Journal

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Week One To introduce us to the basic skills in counselling we spoke about Roger’s theory of client-centered or person-centered therapy approaches. In my first week, I learnt that I really did not understand nor have a definition for counseling. I never put a lot of thought into counseling, even though I have been to a counselor; I never took the time to think about what counseling is all about. I always thought you go there and talk and that was it. Clients, have the capacity to find their own solutions to most problems they are faced with, clients often just need an environment where they are able to express themselves freely. This, to me was different to what I thought I knew and experienced about counseling. I suppose I felt this way due to how counseling is portrayed by the public, media and my friends and family. After reading all the materials for week one, I spoke to a close friend who was going through a very tough personal situation and would often call me distressed. I would usually just agree with her and tell her what I would do if I was in her situation. I thought I would try and help her reach her solution, now understanding Rogers approaches to counseling. We talked about her situations and her feelings at the time of the distress. I tried my best to be empathetic, congruent whilst showing non passive warmth and providing unconditional positive regard. Carl Rogers (1961) explain that these core conditions or qualities are necessary for effective counseling in client centered or person centered therapy. However she rang me expecting the same advice as always and I found it extremely difficult to get her to concentrate on her own feelings. What I found was applying this approach seemed to be very difficult to someone you are close with. Week Two For week two, the focus was on self-awareness. We were asked to explore why self-awareness is significant

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