Assignment 4 Initial Contact First contact with the client is very important because first impressions are usually lasting. It is very important to make the client as comfortable as possible. A client must see that you are on their side and they will not be alone in their journey through recovery. As a counselor your client must trust you and for a client to build trust the counselor must always be honest in the session and keep promises that are made to the client. When the client comes to treatment for substance abuse they are feeling very uncomfortable and ashamed because of what has happened to them some of them may not even have a choice in the matter if they were court ordered to do so except for jail. The client …show more content…
One of the tools used is open ended questions open ended questions are used by the counselor to get the client to tell you something in great detail resulting in a long answer. Counselors use closed in questions to get specific information from a client. Paraphrasing is when a counselor will listen to a client speaking about something and then repeat what the client said sometimes using different words. This method is used to clarify what the client has said and sometimes the counselor uses this method to bring attention to a particular comment the client has said. A counselor will observe the body language and facial expressions and often these observations will give the counselor the general mood the client is or sometimes even their attitude. Summarizing focuses on the main points of the information the counselor has gotten from the client this can serve two purposes one is to insure what you have written down during the session is accurate and it also lets the client know you have understood them clearly. A counselor takes notes during a session and uses these notes to refresh their memory about the session later and uses the notes to update the client’s records …show more content…
I f a counselor shows interest in what the clients strengths are this give hope to the client that they can change and with that hope the client will have a better chance of saying in recovery. The counselor knowing the clients strengths and what is going good for them can guide the client to those areas and focus on the functional part of their life. The more the counselor works and focuses on the good aspects of the clients life the more the client thinks about the way they think of themselves which leads the way to the change the client needs to better their
I have not worked with clients in a formal counseling setting. However, I know the importance of clients taking assessments to gain a better understanding. For example, if the client is having difficulty selecting a career, I would have the client take a career assessment to determine client strengths. Then, the client can use the evaluation to research jobs that would allow the client to use their strengths.
I met with Christine, an acquaintance I know through members of a twelve step program. We met for about 20 minutes over coffee. As we spoke, I asked the questions that I prepared, omitting some and adding others based on the responses given. The list of questions in reproduced in the last section of this work. Christine works at an inpatient drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in New Jersey, the specifics of which have been intentionally omitted. Her interest in the field is identical to mine; she has a personal history of substance abuse. After obtaining sobriety, she wished to help others with her experience. This similarity is the primary reason I wanted to discuss this topic with her.
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 client is leading the conversation by stating what their biggest concerns are currently in their life. They verbalize the concerns and issues that need changed in their lives. The counselor is there to be empathic to the client and establish a relationship with them. This part of the interview is where the client decides if the counselor is right for them, if not, then the client moves on to another
Therefore, when I work with substance abusers I will show empathy, encourage and validate their successes and their feelings about any failures. In addiction, I will help the person learn from their failures and normalize the situation. Furthermore, I would attempt to ensure that the person had several coping strategies in place, to help when he or she finds themselves in a difficult situation. Moreover, I intend to ensure the client has all the tools he or she needs to succeed while getting to the root of their problem through counseling.
An addiction counselor is a support system for someone that is having problems with drug and alcohol problems, eating disorders and other addictive problems they are having. They teach people how to modify their behaviors with the intention of a full recovery. One step at a time. One hour at a time. One day at a time. This talks about how the counselors are helping one step at a time, they are doing it one hour at a time, and they are doing it one day at a time, this is all helping the addicted person through it all. It is critical to have someone there for them at all times and addiction counselors provide this support that they need. After receiving the training one is able to enjoy this career with the great reward of helping others.
Counselors ' use resilient treatment and other remedies to ensure those who need professional help can get it, resulting in a society that has fewer mentally ill people who can harm others. Counselors are good for everyone who needs it. Their programs are designed to teach, assist, and treat various dysfunctions criminals, victims, and the general public may have. Psychologists, psychiatrists, and other mental health personnel such as social workers or family counselors generally conduct treatment (Center for Substance Abuse Treatment,
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...
...counselor want to make sure that the counselor provides the best services possible. The retrieval of new information is valuable when trying to make a diagnosis. For a clinical and therapeutic plan to be developing the biographical information that the client provided, direct therapist observations, and data from specific psychological tests is what help to determine the treatment plan.
...ing silence, paraphrasing and reflection of feelings, as well as non-verbal skills such as body-language and active listening are all used in order to allow the client to introspect and work with their problems in a safe environment, the role of the counselor within the relationship being to support the client and help them to reach their true potential by expressing emotions and thoughts that they can’t express outside of the helping relationship, whether it be for fear of rejection or some other reason.
person reach the inner side of themselves to help solve any problems that might be arising. Furthermore, when it comes to being a counselor,
The counseling session began with the introductions where I introduced myself as the counselor and later introduced my client. This stage is important in any counseling session since it is the time of exploration and focusing according to Gerard Egan as quoted by Wright (1998) in his essay on couselling skills. It is in this session that I was able to establish rapport and trust with my client in order to come up with a working and fruitful relationship with him. During this stage I made use of skills like questioning, where I would pose a question directly to my client, sometimes I would choose to just listen to what the client wanted to speak out while in some instances I would be forced to paraphrase the question if I felt the client did not understand the question I had asked previously. There were also other times when I would reflect through silence. During such a period, I got time to study the client and the information he had given. This being a difficult area, since some clients may not be able to volunteer information to you as the counselor, I decided to assure the client of confidentiality of any information he was willing to share with me with a few exceptions which I also told him about. Being open to him about the only times the information may not be confidential was part of my building rapport and establishing trust with him. I therefore, decided to ask the client what information he wanted to share with me and lucky enough he was ready to speak to me about different issues that he was going through.
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.
The thing that stood out the most, even though I could tell I was breathing heavy with nerves, is that I am really good and hearing the cues and narrowing end on those, with open ended questions. Inviting for further exploration and seeking self-efficacy- “what do you have control over?” I feel like client’s have the ability to make decisions when they are able to break down the issues. Another aspect of the counseling session is my ability to be present with the client and be aware of my facial expressions and body posture. We are taught to not cross our arms and to sit with our hands in our lap, and nod occasionally so your client feels heard.
Counselling is collaboration of steps that is aimed to help clients cope better and learn to deal with situations that they are facing. This includes teaching the client to focus on their thoughts and emotions, and to teach them to make positive choices and changes. It is a method for helping individuals to lessen primary anguish ensuing from a challenging situation and guaranteeing long-term constructive handling of stressful situations.