In-Class Counseling Practice Exercises

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The in-class counseling practice exercises gave a great insight into the various counseling theories and techniques. By role playing, I was able to better understand the challenges and benefits of the theories and how it applies to the current field of counseling. In the following, I will attempt to communicate my experience both at an academic level and spiritual level. The psychoanalytic theory was founded by Sigmund Freud. This theory is used in psychotherapy as a process of investigating and treating personality disorders. The idea behind this theory is that our childhood experiences are directly related to the way we function in our later years as adults. Freud believed that our mind is made up of both the conscious mind and the unconscious …show more content…

The Adlerian theory, emphasizes on the conscious over the unconscious and its basic assumption is that people are socially motivated. This approach is both humanistic and goal oriented. Adler believed that people 's behavior are purposeful and directed towards a goal. The application of Adler 's counseling theory has four central objectives, that correspond to the four phases of the therapeutic process (Corey, 2013.) Included in these phases is establishing a relationship, assessment, promoting self-awareness and guiding the client into making new choices. During a counseling session, the counselor will ask question in order to get an insight into the client 's lifestyle. For example, they may be asked questions regarding personal relationships with family, friends and acquaintances. Another area that is delved into is their professional life. The counselors ' goal is to educate the client, provide direction and encouragement in order for the client to make new choices and positive changes in their …show more content…

Looking back when I began this session, I was a little apprehensive and lost as to the direction I should take when trying to apply the different theories. Gradually, I gained confidence and through trial and error, I could see that my counselee was becoming more receptive to my techniques. For example, during the first counseling session, I applied the psychoanalysis theory. Since I did not have a clear direction on how to apply the theory, I could sense that the counselee was confused to what I was attempting to convey. If I had to do it all over again, I would have began by clearly stating the objectives and desires results of our session together. I would have explained the need for delving into the past as a means to resolving the counselee 's issues that she was presently struggling with. On our second session, I believe that I gained a positive rapport with the counselee. I came better prepared and executed my plan more efficiently. The theory that I used during our second session was the Adlerian therapy

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