An Overview of Individual Counseling Therapy Options In today's society, individual counseling is becoming more main-stream with increased usage within the school system, family unit and even the military. The role that a counselor can have on any individual varies according to the chosen theory to practice and the approach taken. However, it must be stated that the approach and success of therapy is dependent on the relationship established by the therapist (clinician) with the client. In 2010 Seligman proposed the BETA treatment system, which stands for background, emotions, thoughts, and actions. According to Seligman, all theories are either focused on a person’s background, emotions, thoughts or their actions. For this reason, we will discuss three prominent forms of individual counseling therapy used today. The three types of therapy are Adlerian Theory, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Solution Focused Brief Therapy. The following paper will seek to introduce the key concepts, therapeutic approach, and application of various techniques, or procedures for each of these practices. Adlerian Theory To begin, Adlerian theory is a therapeutic approach that is focused on the individual’s background. The founder of Adlerian Theory is Alfred Adler, a contemporary of Freud and a member of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society. After years of working with Freud, Adler split from Freud due to his theory of individual psychology; his theory was that a holistic approach must be used to treat individuals. He believed in the psychosocial rather than the psychosexual, which means a focus on the whole human and their connection to the world rather than pleasure-seeking energies (sexual impulses) of the individual. Key Concepts At its cor... ... middle of paper ... ...various forms of treatment methods used by therapist, it became more obvious to me that I prefer a combination of therapies. I can certainly see how each of the various approaches are pliable for different situations; from background to action based. It is my current understanding that as a school counselor I may be asked to move from one approach to another in a seamless fashion. References American School Counselor Association. (2012). The ASCA National Model: A Framework for School Counseling Programs, Third Edition. Alexandria, VA: Author. Erford, B. T. (2011). Transforming the School Counseling Profession, 3d Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. Seligman, L., & Reichenberg, L. W. (2014). Theories of Counseling and Psychotherapy, Systems, Strategies, and Skills (4th Edition). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
While CBT has many advantages, it alone does not encompass all of the concepts I believe are necessary to tackle a client’s needs. Therefore, I draw upon concepts from various theories to assist clients in achieving their goals. Pulling from Reality therapy, a key concept I utilize is focusing on what the client is doing and how to get them to evaluate whether they’re present actions are working for them. CBT does use some form of this in the sense that one must examine and establish their cognitive misconceptions; however, I prefer to extract this concept from Reality therapy because CBT tends to do so by focusing on the past. I am a firm believer that while the past can shape who you are, it does little good to remain focused on it. Focusing on overt behavior, precision in specifying the goals of treatment, development of specific treatment plans, and objective evaluation of therapy outcomes all come from Behavior therapy (Corey, 2013, p. 474). Behavior therapy is highly structured much like that of CBT. By utilizing this aspect of Behavior therapy, I am better able to closely observe where a client is currently and where they are headed. Lastly, I pull from Person-Centered therapy as the final key concept of my counseling approach. PCT focuses on the fact that client’s have the potential to become aware of their problems and resolve them (Corey, 2013). This Person-Centered therapy concept has overlap with CBT as
The responsibilities of a professional school counselor are to design and deliver comprehensive programs to promote student achievement. The guidelines
Smith, H. B., & Robinson, G. P. (1995). Mental Health Counseling: Past, Present, and Future. Journal of Counseling & Development, 74(2), 158-162
Our text book, Systems of Psychotherapy, describes psychotherapy as “…the informed and intentional application of clinical methods and interpersonal stances derived from established psychological principles for the purpose of assisting people to modify their behaviors, cognitions, emotions, and/or other personal characteristics in directions that the participants deem desirable.”
Nugent, F. A. An Introduction to the Profession of Counseling (2nd ed.). New Jersey: Prentice-Hall,
Counseling is a process that enables a person to sort out issues and reach decisions affecting their life. Often counseling is sought out at times of change or crisis, it need not be so, however, as counseling can also help us at any time of our life” (Woods, 2005). Counseling theories are used by counselors as part of their treatment plan for clients. There are many types of theories that counselors can choose from. These theories are usually hosen based on the client needs and what the counselor feel will be most effective. Counselors are not limited to just one theory when it comes to treating their clients. Theories can be used in conjunction with one another to effectively treat clients. Counseling does not just involve theories alone, it in involves some amount of talking with the person. The talking should be aimed at helping the person solve the problem(s), improve outlook, and/or aid in the client changing their behavior(s) (Woods, 2005).
I really like that this form of therapy does not focus on problem talk, but instead focuses on solution talk. However, the true focus is all about change and the resources needed to make that change. The emphasis is on the client’s, “unique, subjective perspective or self-constructed narrative, as contrasted with an objective or consensual reality” (Norcross, p. 406). Thi...
Corey, G. (2013). Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks Cole.
Corey, G. (2013). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy (9th Edition). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing.
...ustice Framework: Implications for School Counselors and Educators. Journal for Social Action in Counseling and Psychology, 1(2), 14-30.
...entation, or several, in which they choose to practice in their professional career. Psychoanalysis and Person-Centered Therapy are just two, out of over four hundred types, of counseling approaches in use today. The constructs and theories are extremely different, however, neither can be considered right nor wrong. They are simply based on different beliefs, assumptions and viewpoints of human development and their behavior. Although, however different and unique, there are still similarities between the two types of therapy approaches. Through case examples, such as the case of D and the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder, the techniques and outcomes of different treatment approaches can be see in real life examples. Past research and writing support brings about contradictions, criticism and treatment outcomes to the theories and those who developed them.
There are multiple structures of that can be applied to the counselling process, ranging from the basic idea of a beginning, middle and end to a more structured approach as that proposed by Egan (1994). Although his initial structure offered three main components; Stage 1, exploring the situation, stage 2, identifying a new or desired scenario to strive for and stage 3, the action stage, in which methods of coping are devised of and implemented. Egan later devised a ten stage structure that still takes into account initial stages from the speakers perspective of identifying a problem and seeking help, within this structure stage 4 is the initial meeting of the counsellor and client and can be considered the beginning stage of the helping re...
Postmodern counseling approaches have begun to challenge the paradigms of modernistic counseling theories. Modern theories emphasize the use of empirically validated treatment approaches to psychotherapy. The modernistic therapy perspective endorses the premise that psychological problems are the result of disturbances in cognitive processes. The focus of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is on helping clients to examine and restructure their core beliefs in order to reorganize one’s behavior. Postmodern approaches to therapy, however, stress the importance of context in people’s social and interpersonal world. The postmodern perspective is interested in the client’s world external to individual dynamics. This paper will compare and contrast the key points, therapeutic relationship, application, contributions, and strengths and limitations of CBT and postmodern versions of therapy.
Corey, G. (2011). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy. (ninth ed., pp. 291-301). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.