My beliefs about counseling have changed from the time I entered college up until now. I come from a family that has very strong religious views and when something “negative” occurs it’s due to karma, but if it’s good they claim it was because of God. When I was younger, my family would always have conversations about family members or friends and calling them “crazy.” In my aunt’s case, she said she would hear voices at times, but my family would blame the “dead” trying to communicate with her. My family has always avoided speaking about mental issues, since they believe psychology is “dumb.” I grew up think that counseling was for crazy individuals because my family would say so, but as I grew older I started to gain a different perspective. Now I think of counseling as guiding someone who is in greater need and …show more content…
There has always been that stigma that if someone receives therapy or counseling, they are viewed as crazy by family and friends, which should not be the case. Usually people need someone to speak to, but do not feel comfortable doing so with friends because they might be afraid that it will not be kept confidential or that they will judgmental. I think the purpose of counseling is so people may overcome their problems or behaviors such as grief, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, etc. I do not think helpers should try change clients or patients, but instead guide them to the correct path and try to come to an agreement what we both think the correct path or decision might be. As helpers we should listen and be able to listen to our clients even when there is a disagreement between differences in values therefore, I think we must leave our values aside so it does not interfere when trying to help the clients. I think that a helper should help clients to a certain extent, where the helper is not at risk or
A counselor should always keep their thoughts to themselves and remain open-minded about the situation. The only time a counselor should share their thoughts is if it helps the client with their situation that they are dealing with. “Counselors must practice only within the boundaries of their competence (Standard C.2.a.), and, if they “determine an inability to be of professional assistance to clients” (Standard A.11.b.), they should facilitate a referral to another provider. (Kocet, M. M., & Herlihy, B. J. (2014). Addressing Value-Based Conflicts Within the Counseling Relationship: A Decision-Making Model. Journal Of Counseling & Development, 92(2), 180-186 7p. doi: 10.1002/j.1556-6676.2014.00146.x).” Keeping your thoughts to yourself is
I was really nervous about doing this first practice recording. While I knew how I wanted to start the conversation, I was stressed out about the unknown that comes along with these sessions. I am constantly listening to my friends talk, but how I had to respond for the counseling session was very different than what I am typically used to. I usually give my friends my opinions and advice on how I would handle the situation. It was hard for me to just sit back and let my classmate talk. I wanted to respond to many of her statements, but I had to take a step back and really just listen. In these types of counseling sessions my thoughts and opinions are not important. Rather, the focus should only be on the person you are counseling.
‘Counseling’ is a recognized psychological therapy that is often provided to such patients. Counselors have often been employed to deliver psychological therapy to patients in primary care settings. Providing counseling alongside other treatments such as cognitive behavior therapy means that patients have greater choice, and that alternatives can be found for patients who either do not benefit from standard treatments or who do not find them acceptable.
Establishing a theoretical counseling orientation is an important step in developing professional identity. Theories provide counselors with explanations of human nature, help with conceptualizing clients’ problems and deliver procedural guidance in predicting clients’ change. Contemporary counselor is expected to be integrative and eclectic, drawing inspiration from many approaches. It is also my hope to synthesize a variety of concepts and a diversity of strategies from different theories and integrate them into a coherent, comprehensive perspective.
I think that clients find their way into therapy because their coping strategies have failed them. They need guidance and insight to deal with and solve their problems. Sometimes clients need someone to understand and listen to them; hence, they seek that through therapy. Furthermore, spirituality can play an important part in many clients’ lives. Some clients need further client that a therapist cannot provide; thus, through spirituality many clients can recover and become better. Spirituality provides extra guidance to those clients that need
I know as I further my education in the counseling field my philosophy of counseling will change. For myself, I feel that I am still young and learning about myself and my surroundings. In my eyes to be suitable to help others I need to continue to grow as a person myself both professionally and mentally. I want to be able to move forward and develop new distinctions and aspects to my philosophy of counseling as time goes on. I hope to continue my growth in understanding of what it means to be a good therapist or counselor by using good theories and techniques to help future clients.
Counseling Psychology is a specialty within the professional psychology that maintains a focus on facilitating personal and interpersonal function across the life span. Those who are Counseling Psychology focuses on the clients emotional, social vocational, education health-related, developmental, and organizational concerns.
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.
Theoretical Perspective: This semester in procedures of counseling class we discussed a lot of different types of counseling theories. We also did a lot of practicing with each theory with our partners. I found that person-centered therapy best fits my personal attitudes and style of counseling. I think this would be a good style of counseling for me because I can see myself better helping people as a whole than trying to fix an actual problem.
The need to have such rules protects the client as it protects the counselor and the association he or she is representing. In both individual and group counseling there are unique ethical attributions that counselors must stay focused on. One is what type of leader is he/she within the group. What preparations and qualifications they have earned, and how much experience they have with in the subjects that they are discussing. Jacobs et al., advises that “More and more clients are becoming aware that therapists have ethical standards by which they should abide; thus, an increasing number of clients are challenging the ethical behavior of professional helpers” (Jacobs p. 28). Many clients are well educated on the process, or have sufficient experience in group therapy that a helper with no or little experience can be seen with very little effort. The America Counseling Association (2004) have their members bind on codes of ethics that can help their success if followed, “Counselors practice in specialty areas new to them only after appropriate education, training, and supervised experience” (c.2.b.). Also seen in the ASGW’s Best Practice Guide (2008)
This assignment was conducted with myself as the counsellor and Olivia, a fellow classmate, as the client. A fifteen minute counselling session occurred and was recorded, in order for students to be able to critically analyze their counselling skills. Olivia felt the need to talk with a counsellor due to the pressure she is experiencing trying to fit all of her commitments into her weekly schedule. Olivia is currently struggling with splitting her time between her family, friends, school, and new fitness goals. Throughout this counselling session various techniques were used in the beginning stage, action stage and ending stage of the counselling session. These techniques were used throughout these stages of counselling to gain information
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
A counselor is defined as a person trained to give guidance on personal, social, or psychological problems. Professional counselors help to identify goals and potential solutions to problems which cause emotional or social interruptions. Counseling also improves communication, strengthens self-esteem, and promotes behavior change in relations to mental health. Counseling enables us to appreciate how we are in healthy relationships and safe environments due to some of the bad things others experience. Counseling helps clients understand and clarify their views on life and learn to reach their goals through making wise choices. In most counseling situations, the client is experiencing personal issues such as low self-esteem,
As I gradually make my way through this semester, I have come to realize that I am called to go into Psychology. I love watching people and trying to figure out why they act the way that they do. I, also, love knowing that I have finally figured out what careers I want to pursue. I want to become either a clinical or counseling psychologist, which both have the same requirements for everything – majors , classes, ect. So, I do not have to decide right off the bat on which career I want to pursue. Since I am planning on majoring in Psychology, I decide to do some research on my own, as well as go to a major’s fair hosted at the IU Southeast campus.
One aspect I found striking was the role of advice giving in counseling. Prior to this class, I knew that counselors did not typically give opinions or advice to lead a client in a certain direction. What I did not know was the entire reasoning behind this. A counselor might avoid giving advice so that a client learns to make his/her own decisions, does not become dependent on the counselor, and to ensure that a client will not later blame the counselor if the counselor’s advice did not turn out well. In this context, I have a better appreciation and understanding of why therapists refrain from telling the client what to do.