Counselor characteristics are also an important part of the therapeutic dynamic. As the case study demonstrates, the professional counselor began with a good rapport and empathy. I believe the session was effective because the client and the counselor worked together with re-evaluating how the client was going to improve his circumstances. In this case study, the counselor establishes a good relationship and empathy with the client, which allows him to be completely honest about his thoughts and feelings. The counselor assesses continually the relationship between what is going on in the client’s life, in the session. An effective counselor can help pinpoint the obstacles in client life. Counselors are expected to develop a professional relationship with their clients as clients will share deeply personal and meaningful material with the counselor. Regardless of the setting, the counselor and client develop a powerful relationship to facilitate change. Professional counselors put forth diligent effort to enter this profession, and we recognize that there are some unique dimensions of being a professional counselor that are directly related to effectiveness and the counseling environment. To become an effective professional counselor, we must examine the nature of being a professional counselor as well as some of the important factors of the therapeutic relationship. Effective relationship helps build collaboration and encourage enthusiasm (Erford, 2010).
Central to the counseling relationship is the attitude and skill of accurate empathy. Empathy involves the counselor’s ability to experience the feelings and experience of the client, to reflect upon this experience while suspending his/her own judgments and tolerating his/her...
... middle of paper ...
...ence it deals with several different things and is shown have some main impact on society. What I can say is science deals with the natural world. Counseling is a part of science because it works with the mental health of an individual’s mind and intellect. In the counseling field you have to have the necessary skills and effectiveness to develop a scientific awareness of the counseling skill. If you apply science to human affairs this is a part of our behaviors. Science indeed is about discovery in the counseling field.
Works Cited
Clark, A. J. (2010). Empathy and sympathy: Therapeutic distinctions in counseling. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 32, 95-101.
References:
Erford, B.T. (2010) Orientation to the Counseling Profession: Advocacy, Ethics & Essential Professional Foundations, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
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 counseling session should be centered on the client and their understanding of their world and/or problems not heavily weighted on the counselor interpretation of the client’s situation. The role of the counselor is to examine a problem needs changing and discover options in overcoming their problem. Bringing about change can help change the client’s narrative on their problem in the future and/or on life in the process.
Sometimes individuals consider becoming counselors after overcoming some major life challenge such as addiction or a history of bad relationships. Perhaps an individual has encountered a particularly effective counselor or therapist and has a desire to follow in those footsteps. Others may have had a bad experience with counseling and concluded that it can be done better. People do not think of this work so much as a job, or even as a career. More typically, a constellation of life experiences that demand explanation and a sense that others seek one out for assistance and emotional sustenance become driving forces leading one toward the counseling profession” (An invitation to). .
Elizabeth Vernet (as cited in Shallcross, 2011) stated “It is important for counsellors to understand that there are risk factors inherent in the work and that noticing signs of stress or distress is a sign of health, not impairment, none of us is immune to the work.” Empathy is an essential part of counselling and in order to be empathetic we need a connection to our own wellbeing.
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...
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 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.
The relationship between the counsellor and client is fundamental to the success of the counselling experience and the results that will follow. The counsellor and client need to build rapport and trust. The client needs to feel comfortable enough to open up and discuss their inner most thoughts and fears in the knowledge that the discussion is confidential and non-judgemental. The resulting relationship should be one of mutual respect.
Rapport and empathy are two essential skills for communication in health services. In this integrative essay, it is displayed how rapport and empathy play an important role for communication in health services, such as counselling and psychotherapy. Empathy helps building rapport with the client. Both skills are needed in counselling, because once the client has found trust in the counsellor there is a bigger chance of them opening up about their feelings. If a client has a good rapport with the counsellor, they are less likely to discontinue the sessions. A five minute non-scripted video is included with this essay and will be referred back to, while describing and discussing rapport building and empathic listening. The video’s content is a first interview with a client, where the client tells the counsellor about a troubling issue. At the end a self-reflection is included, which will reflect upon the video, the challenges faced and future improvements for personal improvement upon communication skills.
HS 43 Term Paper 4 Core functions of a Substance Abuse Counselor By Roslyn Smith Introduction This paper will discuss the following 4 Core Functions of a Counselor: Case Management, Client Education, Crisis Intervention, Referral and their primary purposes. Discussion Case Management According to IC & RC, Case Management is defined as, “activities intended to bring services, agencies, resources, or people together within a planned framework of action toward the achievement of established goals.
Another noteworthy feature of this approach is the chance to empathize. In most forms of therapy, empathy is not used: why would you want to add more conflict to an already difficult situation? Well, as counterintuitive as it may seem, it does have standing. By definition empathy is the ability to understand the feelings of another person. In this context empathy serves as an indirect way for readers to relive and recall their own experiences.
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
There are few circumstances counselors have to oblige when dealing issues from clients. Counselors have to be trustworthy; this is a fundamental to understanding and solving issues. Counselors have to keep information gathered confidential and restrict any disclosure of information to anybody. Clients voluntarily seek help to counselors for therapy or any kind of help they need. Hence as a counselor it is important to respect their clients’ self-government and ensure precision in information given. Commitment of a counselor plays a big role in a therapy. It is not ethical for a counselor to neglect a client such that the client’s well being is not taken care of. It is also important for counselors to have a fair treatment with all their clients. No matter how each client will be, there must not be any form of judgment, which will cause any form of unfair
Within the individual psychology relationship the counselor has several roles that they hold. The counselor establishes an egalitarian relationship, working as teachers in their relationships. They model, teach, and assess areas of the client’s life such as how Ana grew up the middle child and her ways of responding and functioning. The counselor’s role is also to direct and encourage Ana, being warm and human, and admitting their own mistakes when necessary (Gladding, 2005; Murdock, 2013).
In order to be an effective counselor, one must remember to keep the client(s) in mind. The goal is to assist the client(s) in living the best life possible for that particular person or persons. With that being said, one cannot forget that they have their own set of morals, values, ideas, and the like. Social workers have to keep in mind that there will be cases that are complex and a favorable outcome may not be possible. In the instance that I am confronted with an issue that conflicts with my religious beliefs, I plan on assisting the client as much as possible by adhering the National Association of Social Work Code of Ethics, NASW standards for the Practice of Clinical Social Work, and discussing my concerns with my supervisor while