Use of ELIZA Program for Counseling Purposes - Essay Example

ELIZA analyzes the user's statement and generates a suitable response which is displayed on the monitor, which gives the control back to the user. Input sentences are analyzed on the basis of decomposition rules which are triggered by keywords appearing in the input text. Responses are generated by reassembly rules associated with selected decomposition rules (Wikipedia, 2006).

During my conversation with ELIZA, I found that the program is responding to only the keywords present in the sentences, which leads to confusion. For example, I am talking about my headache in my conversation, but the program has turned the topic into a psychological problem that is confusing the user.

The fundamental technical problems with which ELIZA is concerned are:

1. the identification of keywords,
2. the discovery of minimal context,
3. the choice of appropriate transformations,
4. generation of responses in the absence of keywords, and
5. the provision of an ending capacity for ELIZA "scripts" (Wikipedia, 2006).

With these kinds of drawbacks in the ELIZA program, we cannot use it for counseling purposes, as it may lead the user to confusion. Whereas in a Client-Centered Treatment, the central hypothesis is that the growth potential of any patient will tend to be released in a relationship in which the therapist communicates realness, caring, and a deeply sensitive, non-judgmental understanding. Thus, the therapist practices participative and empathic listening, while allowing the client to freely vent his/her feelings (clinicalsolutions.org, N.D.).

Client-Centered Therapy (CCT) was developed by Carl Rogers in the '40s and '50s. It is a non-directive approach to treatment, "directive" meaning any therapist behavior that deliberately steers the client in some way. Directive behaviors include asking questions, offering treatments, and making interpretations and diagnoses. A non-directive approach is very appealing in the face of too many clients because they get to keep control over the content and pace of the treatment. It is intended to serve them, after all. The therapist isn't evaluating them in any way or trying to "figure them out" (Ryan, N.D.).

Client-centered therapy is a treatment based on attitudes. Unlike other therapies, its essence involves the implementation of therapeutic attitudes congruence, unconditional positive regard, and empathic understanding, not the diagnosis of disorders and subsequent application of treatments. The client-centered therapist's behavior is guided by a philosophy of persons and by her/him holding the therapeutic attitudes in relationship with a client; it is not an application of techniques (Brodley, 1991).

In conclusion, it can be said that the ELIZA program cannot be solely used for counseling purposes because a computer program cannot replace a human. Besides, human is a creation of God, which cannot be replaced by anyone in the world. Client-centered treatment is effective when compare to the ELIZA program, as in this type of treatment the client is a more open mind and believes the therapist and his words. Since this treatment is based on belief, relationship and intense caring, the client who has complete trust in the therapist will have a good positive effect on the treatment.