Counselling Case Study

Establishing a Therapeutic Relationship

Moodoo exhibits anti-social behaviour, an indicator for his depression, through his decision not to engage with the white Australians through speech. This will be the first barrier to overcome when counselling Moodoo, especially because Indigenous people can find it difficult to trust a non-Indigenous person in disclosing their personal stories (Young, 2009). Working with individuals of Indigenous descent is more than just understanding their problems, as a counsellor must have an understanding of their culture (Young, 2009). Due to the many differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultures, this can be quite difficult, and even confronting for a person of non-Indigenous descent (Young, 2009). The formation of a therapeutic alliance is essential when working with a client of any culture, however the techniques used to create a warm and empathetic environment are of particular importance when working with Indigenous peoples (Young, 2009). There are three core conditions that should be used when establishing a new counselling relationship

I will then invite Moodoo to tell his story. Once he has reached the end of his story, I will begin asking clarifying and extending questions to encourage Moodoo to explore his depression in greater detail, and how it has impacted his life (Payne, 2006). However, it is important for me to consider the importance of language. Language is evocative and brings forth realities (Madigan, 2004) and is therefore open to misinterpretation (Payne, 2006). Although there is a possibility of misinterpretation on my part, this is not so important, as it is Moodoo’s interpretation of his own story that forms the basis of therapy (Payne, 2006). Despite this, having a cultural consultant present will minimise any misunderstanding (Madigan,