My Philosophical Approach to Counseling
Definition of Existential Therapy
One survey taken by Corey suggests a definition of Existential Therapy include two key elements:
Existential Therapy is essentially an approach to counseling and therapy rather than a firm theoretical model, it stresses core human conditions.
Normally, personality development is based on the uniqueness of each individual. Sense of self develops from infancy. Self determination and a tendency toward growth are control ideas. Focus is on the present and on what one is becoming; that is the approach has a future orientation. It stresses self-awareness before action. (1996, p.465)
In layman terms, Existential therapy can be described as a philosophical approach that is not designed to cure people but instead help the client reflect and search for value and meaning in life. Existential Therapy does not supply a cookbook of methods like other approaches but instead it provides a framework that is adaptable to the therapist, in which to view the individual and the world in which they participate.
Definition of Person-Centered (Client-Centered) Therapy
According to Mosby's Medical, Nursing, and Allied Health Dictionary, client-centered therapy is a non directive method of group or individual psychotherapy, originated by Carl Rogers, in which the role of the therapist is to listen to and reflect or restate without judgment or interpretation the words of the client.
Objectives of Existential Therapy
The objectives of Existential Therapy are quite unique. Existential counselors are focused on helping the client achieve and expand their self- awareness. Many Therapist assume once self awareness is achieved, the client can examine new ways of dealing with problems and except the responsibility of choosing. Objectives of Client-centered Therapy
The objective of client-centered therapy is to assist the client to experience self exploration, so that they can identify problems that are hindering their growth process. Essentially, the main goal of client-centered therapy is to have the client achieve a sense of increased awareness and understanding of his attitudes, feelings, and behaviors.
Professional Opinions
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...ce of Counseling and Psychotherapy. (Rev. ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Coleman.
Hacker, D. J. (1994). An Existential View of Adolescence. Journal of Early
Adolescence. 14. (3), 300-327.
Kendall, P., & Southam-Gerow, M.(1996). Long-term follow-up of a Cognitive-
Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety-Disordered Youth. Journal of Consulting and
Clinical Psychology. 64.(4), 724-730.
Porter, R. L., Wagner W., Johnson, J., & Cox, L. M. (1996). Sexually abused girls' verbalizations in counseling: an application of the client behavior system. [CD-ROM]. Journal of Counseling Psychology. 43. (4), 383-389. Abstract from:
Health Reference Center. File Number: 18987461.
Westman, A. S., (1992). Existential Anxiety as Related to Conceptualization of
Self and of Death, Denial of Death, and Religiosity. Psychological Reports. 71.
1064-1066.
Abstract
This paper examined two philosophical and humanistic approaches I have chosen as my rationale to counseling and psychotherapy. The paper will define and explain the objectives and techniques of these two dynamic therapies.
Furthermore, it will illustrate existential and client-centered therapy's importance in regards to treating adolescence.
Throughout the years, “ U.S income inequality has been increasing steadily since the 1970s and now has reached levels not seen since 1928” (Source A).
Wilhelm, Heather “The Great Income Inequality Sham” Real Clear Politics. May 2013. Web. 29 Apr 2014.
Richard Wilkinson opened his Ted talk with the chilling statement, “I think the intuition that inequality is divisive and socially corrosive has been around since before the French Revolution” (Wilkinson). With this opening, he states that his Income Inequality Hypothesis is not new, but the way we can evaluate the evidence has changed. Now, we can look at the evidence behind this hypothesis and directly see what inequality does to our society. Wilkinson explains these dangers in his Income Inequality Hypothesis. Wilkinson’s Income Inequality Hypothesis states that societies with more equal distributions of incomes have better health, fewer social problems, including drug abuse, mental illness, teenage pregnancy, and obesity, etc., and are more cohesive than countries with a wider gap between the rich and poor.
In the United States there are four social classes : the upper class, the middle class, the working class, and the lower class. Of these four classes the most inequality exists between the upper class and the lower class. This inequality can be seen in the incomes that the two classes earn. During the period 1979 through the present , the growth in income has disproportionately grown.The bottom sixty percent of the US population actually saw their real income decrease in 1990 dollars. The next 20% saw medium gains. The top twenty percent saw their income increase 18%. The wealthiest one percent saw their incomes rise drastically over 80%. As reported in the 1997 Center on Budget's analysis , the wealthiest one percent of Americans ( 2.6 million people) received as much after-tax income in 1994 as the bottom 35 percent of the population combined (88 million people). But in 1977 the bottom 35 percent had about twice as much after tax income as the top one percent. These statistics further show the disproportional income growth among the social classes. The gr...
Income inequality in the United States has increased and decreased throughout history, but in the recent years, the widening gap has become a serious issue. Income inequality is usually measured by Gini coefficient. According to this method coefficient varies between 0 and 100; while 0 represents complete equality (income is distributed equally among all the population of the country), 100 represents complete inequality (only one person receives all the country’s income, while the rest of the population receives nothing). According to the Census of Bureau, the official Gini coefficient in the U.S. was 46.9 in 2010. This is way higher than the all-time low coefficient of 38.6 set in 1968 (qtd. in Babones).
Data generated by the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Federal Reserve and other nonpartisan sources oppose claims commonly made. For example, data from such agencies show that differences in family income largely reflect differences in how many members of a family actually work and how hard they work. Americans in all income groups have prospered, or have failed to prosper, together. Gains by upper-income Americans have not come at the expense of middle or lower-income Americans. Nor has anyone else gained in those periods when higher-income families have lost ground.
There are many theoretical models of counseling. Often, a diverse approach or the use of several approaches is best for the resolution of problems. I utilize several different theories and strategies in my role as a counselor. However, it is the Individual personal theory and the Family theory model that anchors my orientation to counseling as a Christian counselor.
Sutter, John. “What is income inequality, anyway?” CNN. 29 Oct. 2013. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.
If the therapist sent flowers it would definitely be an instance of boundary crossing. The action of sending flowers would raise concerns about the nature of the psychologist-patient relationship. There is a risk of violating APA ethics code General Principle A: Beneficence and Nonmaleficence as well as General Principle G: Fidelity and Responsibility. The act of giving a gift to a patient no longer in therapy does not serve to achieve a therapeutic goal but it instead focuses on an area unrelated to therapy. Therefore there is no therapeutic benefit to the former patient. In fact, because there is no therapeutic rational in giving the former patient a gift, the act of giving the gift may actually cause the patient harm. According to APA ethics code 3.4 Avoiding Harm, the
Working on personal ethics, values and orientation to counseling gives us a clearer understanding of what type of counselor we wish to become. Once these elements are linked one can focus on providing a practice statement on what clients will come to expect when seeking counsel. I will explore my own morals, beliefs and direction to counseling with an end goal to become a more effective counselor and summarize those qualities for my future clients. Through a better understanding of our own beliefs we see our theoretical orientation for counseling methods emerge.
¬When considering what my own personal philosophy of counseling would be, it was eye opening to consider who I was a person and how much I have grown. The self analysis was new to me because I never thought about how I do that on a day to day basis. Reviewing the questions I found that a lot of my focus surrounded family, my significant other, and close friends. Constantly living in a diverse population and having that as my surrounding also made its mark in my answers. I also noted that both past and present influences, but primarily the present, play a large role in my own perspective. By following the prompt, I was made to understand that my thought process makes me think of what is occurring in the present and how I can alter these happenings to help shape the future that I want.
Without theory, a counselor would be flying by the seat of their pants. “Nearly all theories of counseling currently recognize the powerful impact of the therapeutic alliance and offer clinicians ways to collaborate effectively with their clients.” ("Counseling Theories", 2010) A counselor needs to have a foundation for counseling. Studying counseling theories will help a new counselor become familiar with the different types of theories as well as how to discover a theory that works well with a counselors own personal values and beliefs. Understanding the different types of theories can help a counselor correlate it into what fits the different types of clients as well as the different types of issues at hand.
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.
Gerald Corey (2017) states in the beginning of our textbook, “Counseling students can begin to acquire a counseling style tailored to their own personality by familiarizing themselves with the major approaches to therapeutic practice” (p.2). Throughout this year I have learned that how I view the world and how I try to fix things is neither right nor wrong, but it works for me. It is not how every person is going to view to counsel clients, but it is one approach. There is no right or wrong way to help someone, as long as it does not damage the client more. I believe there is a reason why everyone is the way they are and helping the client understand why they feel, think, or act the way they do, helps them become more self-aware and become at peace with themselves. No one changes their behavior without a cause. Helping the client understand why there is a change in behavior, can help let them understand why they feel the way they do. Whether it is a negative or a positive change, it still helps to know why. Over the past semester, I have learned to apply my strengths to my own counseling style and to improve my weaknesses, found theories
It is imperative to study counseling theories when beginning field based work. Counseling theories provide a foundation to be able to learn and develop my own techniques. Some ideas that exemplify the significance of counseling theories are; research, application of theories, and case studies.