The Integrative Approach of Counselling - Essay Example

?Case Approach - Ruth Key concepts of your approach Generally, the approach adapted to the present counseling case involving Ruth is the Integrative approach. The integrative approach could generally be explained to be a type of counseling approach in which the counselor builds on the strengths of as many specific approaches to counseling as possible to solve the case or problem of a single client. In this case, the single client was Ruth, to whom about twelve different approaches were used. As part of the key concepts of the integrative approach to counseling, it will be noted that the approach does not rely on only one methodology, strategy or intervention. Again, the approach uses only the meriting aspects of selected approaches and eliminates the weaknesses of the selected approaches (Kramsch, 2005). In effect, the counselor uses the selected approaches only to a level or stage that it would be beneficial to the client in question. As and when a selected approach becomes inappropriate, it is changed. What is more, the integrative approach to counseling is differentiated from eclecticism in the sense that it is not just a combination of different approaches, whereby one approach or strategy is used after another one ends. Rather, there is a perfect mix within the use of the approaches, whereby the approaches are used interchangeably, and in a well harnessed manner. Role as a therapist My role as a therapist can be summed as a facilitator. By this, the general idea is that as a therapist, I am not supposed to device or discover an intervention for the client and go ahead to administer the intervention exclusively for the client. Rather, I shall go into the whole process with a well prepared therapeutic goals and possible strategies to use in solving the problem and also make the client a central role by actively taking to the strategies and interventions that will be prescribed. In essence, my role as a therapist will be to prescribe so that the client can ascribe. Both the client and therapist become active participants in the general approach, without the therapist playing an active role for the client to play a passive one. Indeed, it is only in medical treatments that such active – passive relationships exists between the service giver and service user (Hulstijn, 2007). I shall therefore have theoretical perspectives based on which therapeutic approaches and strategies will be developed even before entering into the counseling segments. It is expected that it will be these theoretical perspectives and therapeutic strategies and approaches that will determine the direction of the counseling. As a therapist, I al supposed to ensure that the whole process or segment of counseling moves along the stipulated scope and not beyond it. Therapeutic goals The basic therapeutic goal of the current case is one that has to do with helping the client overcome her problems with the expression of her emotion after making her come to realize who is actually is and accepting who she is. There is therefore a first goal of identifying the feelings of the client in a present to a past situation. What this means is that the current emotional feelings of the client will be identified and this will be related to what has been the past emotional feelings of the client. After this discovery has been made, a recovery will be made out of that by making the client express her feelings freely and thoroughly. This goal is very important as it will pave way for such a tie along the counseling sessions when the client would know and learn how to apply her emotional feelings to her immediate environment. There is also a therapeutic goal of helping the client identify some of the most critical choices she had made in life that account for her present situation. With this goal, the client will come to appreciate the key factors around her that influence her life. Finally, the emotions of the client will be directly linked or related to her attitude as she will be guided to explore her attitude and later relate these attitudes to her emotions. Relationship issues The integrative approach that is being used with Ruth is one that is built around as many people as many. This condition is created because the therapist would have to at one point in time or the other fall on other therapists and counselors who will be fallen upon and invited to come up with their own versions and ideas of most workable therapies and interventions that can be integrated together to help find the anticipated solutions wanted. Colleague therapists are thus some of the people with whom one form of relationship or the other will be established with. Another group of persons are the immediate family of Ruth and some few distant members. This is necessary because judging from the autobiography that Ruth developed, it would be noted that the emotional problems that Ruth seem to be battling currently are a compilation and combination of a number of problems that have existed with her since her infancy. Some of the problems also showed up when she became a family woman. As the different people with whom relationships will be established have been identified, an important exercise to do is to express that there is the maximum application of counseling ethical issues that has to do with relationship issues. For example, care must be taken to ensure that there is a high level of confidentiality with all information given. There will also be anonymity of respondents who will be included in one way or the other. More importantly, the inclusion and exclusion of respondents shall be based on the personal convections and approvals of these people so that no one will be forced to undertake an exercise that he or she is not convinced to. Central techniques and methods The central technique and method developed for the present case is pivoted on the integrative approach to counseling. This means that the central technique and method has specially been selected and prepared to ensure that it can give the counselor ideas of as many therapies that ought to be used as possible. To this end, the intake interview technique is used as the data collection instrument or method to collect as much information from the client and other respondents involved in the series of sessions as possible. The intake interview has a number of stages and follows a series of dimensions. For example the preliminary stage is used for the collection of identifying data, whereby relevant data such as the age, gender, name, ethnic background, socioeconomic status, appearance, religious identification and other personal information are collected from the client (Gerald, 2008). Further information is then collected using the intake interview on issues such as the current living circumstance of the client, and psychological analysis and assessment. At the psychological analysis and assessment stage of the technique, the therapist plays a very leading role though the information will be supplied by the client. The role of the therapists ensures that the client is able to identify her current psychological state. Furthermore, sufficient information on psychosocial developmental history is collected whereby developmental and etiological factors that relate to the client’s current difficulties are identified. Most clients will find it extremely difficult to make the identification of these developmental and etiological factors on their own. To this end, the therapist may ask questions touching on how well the client was able to master elementary developmental tasks (Kramsch, 2005). Problems that has to do with elementary or childhood conflicts are also outlined to give the therapist a better picture of the psychosocial developmental history of the client. Still on the application of the intake interview as a technique and method for collecting information on the client, health and medical history are also sampled from the client. These health and medical history are always important to collect as the medical conditions of some people may have a direct link with some of the emotional problems they experience currently. Specifically, consultation encounters that had to do with physical traumas must be taken into consideration and taken very seriously. Data are then collected on the adjustment to work by the client. In situations such as the one that Ruth faces, there is often a sense of failure in how well a client has adjusted him or herself to roles and responsibilities in life. It is for this reason that it is important to have a fair idea on the adjustments that the client has made to work. All in all, it will be noted that the selected technique makes a lot of room for the integrative approach to be well utilized as it opens itself up to making several discoveries on the client that demand diverse strategies and interventions in rendering solutions. Integration of several theoretical perspectives As it has been outlined earlier, the selected technique makes room for different strategies and interventions to be used. This is because revelations are made on different aspects of the clients past and present, that demand these different interventions. Leading on, it is important to stress that to utilize each of these strategies and interventions well to a better picture of the integrative approach, it will be very important to integrate several theoretical perspectives. In the present situation with Ruth, family therapy, reality therapy, person centered therapy, and gestalt therapy were all integrated in a well harnessed manner to give a common theoretical perspective of Ruth’s case. For example, the gestalt therapy develops a functional diagnosis, which is used to establish how a client experiences satisfaction or blocks in their relationship with the environment (Gerald, 2008). However, it will be noted that the family background and history of the client forms a core part of her environment. Consequently, the family therapy is integrated with the gestalt therapy in helping the client understand how they experience interruptions in the nature process of fulfilling their needs (Gerald, 2008). In a like manner, the reality therapy is aimed at helping the client make a comprehensive assessment of her present behavior. Because this is purposely focused on the personal behavior of the client, the person-centered therapy is also integrated into the reality therapy to ensure that the integrative approach is achieved in a well simulated manner. Between the integration of the gestalt therapy and the family therapy on one side and the reality therapy and person centered therapy on the other side, the person-centered therapy is brought ahead of the family therapy so that the findings from the former will determine how the latter should be approached (Skehan and Foster, 2001). Working with several of Ruth’s themes In the case of Ruth, there are several themes that can be developed or outlined. The diversity of these varying themes demands that a variety of concepts and strategies be used. Some of the themes that can easily be identified include the fact that Ruth seems to live not for herself but for other people, doing things to please them rather than her self. There is another theme that has to do with Ruth’s dietary problems, which has currently made her gain much wait than she desires. Another perspective or theme of Ruth’s problem is the fact that she feels insufficiency in what she has achieved so far, especially in relation to her family responsibilities as a mother. Furthermore, Ruth has a problem that has to do with coming to terms with what the possible outcome of a change in her behavior would lead to in her marriage. The latter has actually resulted in a dilemma that makes it difficult for Ruth to choose between either changing her attitude or maintaining her attitude. The multi-diversity in themes clearly spells out the need to use a multi-variance and multiplicity of sessions and strategies in coming out with a solution. In the following sessions, there is much discussion on how the six session therapy is going to be used. Phases in the counseling sessions The integrative approach to counseling Ruth would not be very different in terms of structure of ordinary counseling sessions. The difference that would come in would do with the approaches involved in the various sessions and not the structure of the sessions themselves. To this end, there is going to be the adaption of four major counseling processes, which shall be made up of several phases and stages. The four major processes are identification of problem process, preparation process, counseling implementation process and follow up process and these will be spread for a total of six counseling sessions. Generally, the first two processes are at the pre-counseling stage where sufficient information or data is collected about the client. It is also at this stage that the counselor sets his therapeutic goals and looks for the most appropriate strategies that will help in addressing the problem at hand. The idea that the identification of problem process gives is that counseling should not be undertaken for the sake or fun of it but upon careful diagnosis of a problem to come to terms that there is indeed the need for the counseling to take place. The preparation process also outlines how important it is for the counselor to go into the major implementation or counseling process well prepared. Based on the preparations made, the counseling process is begun and this process could be said to contain the beginning and termination sessions. Generally, for an integrative approach directed at helping Ruth identify her emotional weaknesses and accepting her personality so as to use it appropriately, it is only appropriate that the opening session will be well coordinated with the remaining session or phases of the counseling. For example, at the opening session, the counselor ought to make clear the purpose of the session to the client. Again, if there has been an existing plan of action, it is important that the status of this plan of action is thoroughly reviewed. What is more, the opening session should be used for establishing a mutual understanding of all issues at hand. This is an exercise that will facilitate the need to make the client an active part of the entire counseling session because the mutual understanding of issues would make the client realize everything that will go into the major session. After these phases are accomplished, the actual counseling can begin. But the termination should also be regarded as highly important. The termination session will be the sixth and final session, where the counselor will be expected to record and document all proceedings for the sake of future reference. Even more, the termination session should see the summarization of all key points that emanated from the different therapies and approaches to the client. The client must also give an indication of having understood the plan of action. An important phase in the termination session could be a review of the plan of action being done by the client of the counselor so that the counselor can know his shortfalls and weaknesses. Finally, a comprehensive follow up exercise must be developed. CITED WORKS Gerald, Corey. 2008. Case Approach to counseling and psychotherapy 8th edition Hulstijn, John. Second language acquisition research in the laboratory: possibilities and limitations. In: Studies in Second Language Acquisition 19, 131-143. 2007. Kramsch, Charles. The applied psychotherapy and the foreign language teacher: Can they talk to each other? In: Australian Review of Applied Linguistics 18, 1-16. 2005. Skehan, Paul. & Foster, Peter. Cognition and tasks. In: Robinson, P. (ed.), Cognition and second language instruction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2001. Print. Read More