Many people seek therapy for a variety of reasons. Comer (2014) states “that people who seek therapy compared to those who don’t experience greater improvement than seventy five percent of people who don’t get treatment” (pg. 91). This statistic shows there a clear correlation between therapy and problem resolution. What’s the difference between a professional helping relationship that is established in therapy and a having a friend who you have social relationship with hear your problem, aren’t they essentially the same thing? I’ll discuss how a professional helping relationship differs in structure and content from a social friendship and its value in problem resolution.
Friendship
First of all what is a friendship? A friendship
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a Social Friendship A professional helping relationship doesn’t stem from a social relationship. This type of relationship is “formed for a specific purpose and for a finite amount of time” (Mandell & Schram, pg. 107). There are “five qualities that are distinct about a professional helping relationship” (Mandell & Schram, pg. 107). The helping relationship between client and therapist is formed as a necessary component of the therapeutic process (Mandell & Schram, pg. 107). A friendship is formed only because two people are interested in spending time together, like each other and want to be in each other’s …show more content…
108). Saul Alinsky said “the human service worker who built a strong neighborhood action group will eventually be thrown out by the indigenous leadership” (Mandell & Schram, pg. 108). As terrible as that sounds on the surface how accomplished that worker must feel to see a group of people he helped become empowered and self-sufficient. The second quality of a Helping Relationship is that “there is a specific purpose and focus for the professional helping relationship” The therapist and client would “discuss clear goals and what they want therapy to accomplish” (Mandell & Schram, pg. 108).
A friendship isn’t a “task or goal to complete, it’s a need that people have for companionship and can last a life time” (Mandell & Schram, pg. 107). As seen in the table below the therapist and client would “negotiate a contract in which the tasks and goals are spelled out” (Mandell & Schram, pg. 108). Table 2 is an example of a dialog of a
According to Allison L. Kramer (2016) in her “Why we can’t be friends” article, researches have observed numerous relationships between psychotherapists and their present and/ or previous clients. Boundary issues have been studied in the world of ethics and dual-role relationships with current clients are ordinary for some practitioners in their daily practice. Meaning it isn’t rare to run into dual relationships in counseling. These relationships aren’t always negative nor avoidable states Kramer. The example she used for dual-role relationships being advantageous and unavoidable was a school guidance counselor having multiple roles in the school. The counselor could also be “a coach of a sports team, thus filling both a counselor and
...ives from the implementation of an empathic, hopeful continuous treatment relationship, which provides integrated treatment and coordination of care through the course of multiple treatment episodes” (Watkins, 2015). Whether, confronted with a substance use disorder, gambling or sex addiction the way in which a counselor work with the client in an open helpful manner is the key to motivating the client to change their behaviors. “A man convinced against his will, Is of the same opinion still” (Carnegie, 1981). The most piece of the helping relationship is that the client is the lead in their care, as they are the ones that will be making the decisions for their care. A counselor is essentially a trained skillful teacher that guides an individual toward their best recovery options and it is up to the individual to make the needed changes in their life and behaviors.
Current research implies that an empathetic clinician-client relationship and interrelated ecosystems play the majority role in the success of therapy (Kilpatrick & Holland, 2009). The clinician’s ability to be present and actively perceive what the client is experiencing is of utmost importance in creating a therapeutic alliance. It is imperative that the clinician gains positive regard towards the client and their environment displaying honest acceptance towards the client no matter what issues are presented in session. This closely relates to a sincere presentation of genuineness that instills a feeling of honesty within the client and clinician (Kilpatrick & Holland, 2009). An experienced clinician builds upon the therapeutic
Regardless of the treatment method, the findings of scientific research stress the importance of a relationship-based treatment which operates on trust and openness. All researchers claim that developing a strong therapeutic alliance in the beginning influences the course of the treatment and its success. The early development of this kind of relationship with the patients will improve the therapists' chances of success.
Ruddy, N. B., Borresen, D. A., & Gunn Jr., W. B. (2008). Colocating with medical professionals: A new model of integrated care. In The collaborative psychotherapist: Creating reciprocal relationships with medical professionals (pp.115–133). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
For this reason, the AAMFT Code of Ethics (standard 1.3) stipulates that situations and multiple relationships in which I would engage the client in any way other than the therapeutic relationship is risking compromised professional judgment (AAMFT, 2015). Furthermore, entering into a social relationship may be the beginning of a slippery slope, leading to a romantic and/or sexually intimate relationship (Martin, Godfrey, Meekums, & Madville, 2011). Such a relationship with a client is completely forbidden according to standard 1.4 of the Code of Ethics (AAMFT, 2015), even with former clients (AAMFT, 2015, standard 1.5), as it risks exploiting the client’s trust and dependence. An additional standard that precludes me from engaging in a relationship with this client is that of 3.4 in which a conflict of interest would potentially inhibit me from serving my client without prejudice or compromised performance and integrity (AAMFT,
... of contact with their client even if it is to be a friend outside of the session. Sometimes the extra support outside of the session is more beneficial to the client than just in session support. It is important to be open to the roles that are presented to the psychologist as well as to be cautious of these roles.
4e. I feel that it is very important that the client and the counselor have a relationship built upon trust. I feel that there should never be any kind of friendship outside of the counseling, however, in counseling it should be a relationship that one would have with a mentor or guardian.
...lly beneficial (Dams, 1997). Jane would spend less time and resources on improving her mental health and gain the same or better results. Therapists who know how to form therapeutic alliances and set goals with their patients will spend fewer resources to produce effective outcomes, so both the patient and therapists will benefit from spending fewer resources, such as time and money, to achieve beneficial results. Outside of the health care system, support is a valuable resource in psychotherapy because people who are dealing with their issues often require it for motivation. While Jane was lacking a supportive environment while growing up, she is able to create one with Ricky after meeting him. Although she still has to monitor her addictive behavior, creating or finding a supportive community will decrease her depression and increase her self-esteem significantly.
Counseling skills has provided me with a valuable insight into the helping relationship and how it is both created and maintained in order to encourage growth and development in the client. The factors involved within the helping relationship include considering Roger’s core conditions, congruence, unconditional positive regard and empathy as the three main characteristics necessary in a helping relationship. In order to fully incorporate all three of Roger’s core conditions, I as the counselor must be self-aware, as a lack of self-awareness may inhibit truly listening and understanding the client; self-awareness can be enhanced through exercises such as Johari’s window. Counseling skills such as body language and active listening also plays a role within encouraging the client to open up and can help me as the counselor convey empathy.
Stickley,T. & Freshwater, D. (2006). “The Art of Listening to the Therapeutic Relationship” Journal of Mental health Practice. 9 (5) pp12 - 18.
Understanding the counseling session from the client’s perspective is a very important aspect in the development of a therapeutic relationship. A clinician must be an excellent listener, while being to pay attention to the client’s body language, affect and tone. The dynamics in the counseling session that is beneficial to the client include the recognition of the pain that the client is feeling. The detrimental part of this includes a misunderstanding of the real issues, a lack of consideration of the cultural aspects of the client, and a lack of clinical experience or listening skills. In this presentation, we will discuss the positive and negative aspects of the counseling session from the client’s perspective which includes the client’s attitudes, feelings, and emotions of the counseling session. We will next examine the propensity of the client to reveal or not reveal information to the counselor, and how transference, and counter-transference can have an effect on the counselor-client relationship.
Interpersonal psychotherapy, a theoretical approach that strives to lessen clients’ symptoms and ameliorate interpersonal relationships, aligns well with my counseling style because I believe in an active, directive, and collaborative approach that seeks to assist clients with establishing and maintaining interpersonal relationships. With regard to the therapeutic nature of interpersonal psychotherapy, I really am intrigued by the therapy’s focus on being directive, yet prescriptive, with allowing clients to arrive at his or her own decisions yet also making the initiative to ask questions when warranted. In addition, the idea of attentively paying close attention for difficulties in interpersonal relationships that may have promoted the onset of depressive symptoms and an inability to effectively communicate is captivating because I believe that one of the most essential skills of an effective counselor is to be an attentive listener who is able to unveil aspects of a client’s life that are causing significant distress or impairment. With that said, interpersonal psychotherapy’s focus on problem areas, depressive symptoms, and being in the here-and-now moment is really appealing to me because I firmly believe that addressing interpersonal issues in the present moment that are causing distress will give clients the opportunity to address these concerns and to learn ways to achieve a sense of belonging and mastery over his or her own life.
There are many aspects that play into the relationship between a helper and a person seeking help. One of the most important aspects of this relationships is understanding and recognizing the special characteristic values, goals, expectations, and biases that we bring into the relationship as helpers. As an aspiring helper, it is part of my duty to know what I am bringing into these relationships and how these things could affect my treatment of the relationship I have with this person. Some of the things that make up who we are and how we go about interacting in our helping relationships will be unavoidable to keep from affecting how we act in those relationships. For myself, this includes my values, goals in life, expectations of what it
Helping relationship is a natural of helping others. Helping is refer to counseling and guidance or helping those who is in needs of help. In the human service profession helping clients manage their problems in living more effectively and developing a plan. Human services workers are making a difference in client’s needs. As a future human services worker/advocate I believe that I opportunities and obligations to reaching out to make a difference with elderly and special needs adults environment surrounding. Helping others has a benefit for the helper. It has a positive impact, sharing your own experiences, and you are focus more on the client’s problem. I feel good when I can help others whether I’m helping a client,