Two Models of Counselling - Coursework Example

COUNSELLING MODELS Introduction Counselling refers to the action of engaging individuals in conversations or activities aimed at ensuring the individuals become relieved of existing mental conditions, exerting abnormal pressure and consequently affecting the human body. In undertaking these psychological activities different approaches can be utilised in ensuring achievement of the best results, as might be desired by the psychiatrist(Heppner, Leong, & Chiao, 2008). The approach utilised commonly depends on the condition facing the person as well as the required outcomes from undertaking the counselling. There are different counselling approaches which can be utilised in achieving best results from a counselling session, consequently minimising the time taken to gain these results. These models might be humanistic approach, cognitive behaviour theory or psychodynamic models. Humanistic approaches remain mainly focussed on empathising with the client in order to understand their perceptions comprehensively. These approaches have sometimes being referred to as making the psychiatrist to become a person, an aspect which enhances the understanding of the feelings and perceptions held by clients. Cognitive behaviour theory seeks to understand the reasons why people behave in a certain manner through comprehending their cognition of environments. This is commonly utilised on individuals suffering from psychological dysfunctions and mental illnesses. Psychodynamic approaches commonly combine elements of the other two approaches and have continued to gain popularity in application to complex situations, where causative agents might not be clearly underlined. Person-centred therapy This could be defined as a form of psychotherapy developed in the mid-twentieth century with the aim of assisting individuals in achieving personal development. It forms part of the humanistic psychotherapy approach which focus on the individual, aiming to enable individuals develop a sense of being(Cepeda & Davenport, 2006). The individuals subjected to this form of therapy become empowered to realise the effects of their behaviour, attitude and feelings. This approach remains fundamental in ensuring individuals transform the elements affecting their personalities in a negative manner. An understanding of the effects of negativity upon one’s life introduces a behavioural change and complete transformation as individuals seek change from their behaviours. Since the preamble and growth of the approach, it has confirmed effectiveness in treatment of conditional behaviours, through creation of different conditional relationships(Shechtman & Pastor, 2005). The method remains based on the assumption that human behaviours are determined by the existing relationships; hence changing the relationships transforms into changed behaviour. Characteristics of person-centred therapy This approach has the following attributes, characterising the therapy Therapist- client contact – the contact occurs psychologically where the therapist and the client become psychologically attached to one another. The necessity of this contact remains enabling the therapist to understand the conditions facing the client, consequently providing solutions to the same problems(Cepeda & Davenport, 2006). Through this contact, both individuals become engaged on a similar problem, an aspect which induces sharing of problems. Client in-congruence – an in-congruence must be understood to exist between the experiences of the client and the awareness to these experiences. This remains fundamental in providing the psychiatrist with essential understanding of the causes to the experienced challenges, and consequently developing approaches which can ensure minimisation or elimination of the discrepancies(Lyon, Rodgers, & Tausch, 2013). The perceptions of the client regarding the issues facing him become clearly defined. Therapist genuineness – in administering treatment utilising this approach, a relationship becomes established between the client and the therapist. The therapist must remain genuine in this relationship and not pretend as such would induce doubt upon the client, making the client withhold essential information regarding the condition. The therapist must become fully involved and generate solutions from personal experiences. Therapist unconditional positive regard – the therapist must maintain an impartial attitude of accepting the client without judgement, acceptance or rejection, unconditionally. This psychologically impacts the clients, consequently changing their perceptions regarding the therapists, and ultimately becoming actively engaged within a relationship. This relationship results in sharing of personal information between the client and therapist, an essential element in assisting the therapist to comprehend the client’s perceptions and experiences. Therapist empathic understanding – this remains the fundamental element defining the person-centred therapy. The therapist must create and empathic understanding of the client’s condition through the conditional relationship induced within the therapy(Prochaska & Norcross, 2007). Accurate empathy of the therapist contributes significantly towards clients believing in the unconditional love from the therapist. This belief remains fundamental in ensuring the clients share the experiences freely. It also assists the therapist in understanding some difficult experiences of the client. Client perception – the perception held by the client regarding the therapist remains significant in the continuity of the relationship. It becomes the accountability of the psychotherapist to bring on perception of unconditional positive regard and empathic understanding upon the client(Poyrazli, 2003). These two elements must remain constantly perceived as present in the client’s mind. The process The fundamental role of the therapist when utilising this therapeutic approach remains the establishment of a conditional relationship between the therapist and the client. The therapist must become willing to establish a professional working relationship, which the client must perceive as real. This relationship becomes the fundamental base through which individuals begin sharing their experiences(Lyon et al., 2013). Though the relationship is conditional, the client must perceive the relationship as based on mutual understanding, and the therapist should remain committed in enhancing the relationship. Through the relationship, clients become freer and share some deeply ingrained personal feeling, which are fundamental to the therapist’s development of empathic understanding of the client problems. The fundamental reason behind creation of the conditional relationship remains creation of an empathic understanding. This assists the therapist in becoming psychologically connected to the client, enabling provision of solutions. Within most cases, the therapist assumes the role of the client and narrates his/her own experiences seeking solutions from the client(Cepeda & Davenport, 2006). By providing solutions, the client becomes empowered to undertake similar solutions. The empathic understanding enables the clients to discover solutions to their problems. The psychiatrist’s role remains creating an enabling, facilitative environment for clients to think and seek solutions. Rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT) REBT has been identified as a cognitive behaviour therapy approach which focuses on providing solutions to emotional and behavioural challenges facing people. The therapy remains based on philosophical and empirical approaches for understanding human behaviour, consequently offering solutions to problems facing various individuals. The theory is an active-directive combination of different psychotherapeutic theories and practices utilised by therapists in administering treatment to challenging conditions facing humans. It remains one of the earliest cognitive behaviour therapies developed in the mid-twentieth century. The theory remains based on the belief that people’s problems arise from the perceptions and views held regarding certain social elements, and not the social elements(Ellis, 1994). Characteristics of REBT The REBT approach remains a philosophical approach based on various philosophies and beliefs held by different philosophers. The approach perceives individuals as causing various mental problems because of their personal perceptions to various environmental factors within their residential areas. Psychological problems experienced by people become worsened by their views regarding those problems. The main characteristics of the therapy are as follows Psychological dysfunction – this remains one of the pillars of the REBT approach. The hypothesis is based on the conviction that unreasonable and dysfunctional behaviours contribute towards human disturbances. People commonly turn preferences and desires into the determinants of their actions. Through such thinking, individuals fail to differentiate between essential basic need and bodily desires, creating problems within the society(Ellis, Abrams, & Abrams, 2008). The theory determines that individuals disturb themselves through self induced perceptions, which contribute towards social defeatism and self-defeatism. The dysfunctional psychology causes individuals to continuously think about themselves and create problems through desiring to become different. This thinking results in personal disturbances about failures in attempting to overcome social challenges facing individuals. Mental wellness – the theory regards mental wellness as resulting from flexibility in self-helping and behaving in a particular manner. Individuals become capable of helping themselves through self-assessment and understanding of oneself, therefore eliminating the possibility of self-upsetting. The fundamental aspect behind this characteristic remains creating a perception that all individuals undergo situations of negativity(Ellis & Dryden, 2007). The perception held regarding these negative feelings, however, determine the occurrence of personal disturbance, and ultimately mental wellness. Mental wellness seeks to provide individuals with capacity to understand the predicaments of negative feelings, and management of these feeling for mental health. Mental health does not mean absence of negative feelings, but capacity to handle these feelings effectively and ensure mental wellness. Process The theory includes numerous philosophical, therapeutic systems and practices aimed at ensuring individuals understand self-inflicted mental disturbances. These processes and theories are utilised in eliminating the occurrence of such self-upsetting incidents through behavioural transformation. The therapy provides an understanding of the different methods which individuals can effectively utilise to eliminate self-inflicted disturbances(Ellis & Dryden, 2007). This is performed through a therapist demonstrating to an individual that social environmental factors influences must be eliminated within an individual’s mind. The therapist and client engage in active-directive working towards a particular target problem, facing the client. Within these identified target problems, dysfunctional emotions, beliefs and behaviours become assessed, based on the values and goals established by the client. By working through these problems, together with the therapist, the client learns to differentiate between insights and relevant situations, within his life. The therapists commonly focus of identification of fundamental beliefs, deeply ingrained within a client’s philosophical behaviours and emotions. PCT vs. REBT A comparison of the above counselling model theories, remains essential in identifying the existing similarities and discrepancies, between the discussed methods. Such comparison would effectively determine the weaknesses of a particular approach compared to the other; ultimately determining the advantages and disadvantages of the different models. Similarities The main similarity between these methods remains the fact that both methods believe in enabling the client to self-self heal. This aspect remains present in both therapies as the counsellors become facilitators towards finding a desirable solution to existing problems in clients. The counsellors perform the responsibility of empowering the patient to provide solution to personal problems(Heppner et al., 2008). The therapeutic process becomes a platform for the client to get answers to mental conditions facing the individual. Within both models, the client ultimately develops the solutions to the problems he/she faces in life. Both models can therefore be identified as empowering the client into solving problems faced in life. Differences These methods have several differences existing between them. The fundamental difference remains the approaches for these models. PCT is a humanistic approach in which the therapist and client become psychologically linked, and find solutions to a problem facing both of them. REBT on the other hand, is a cognitive behaviour theory, which assumes the problems facing clients are self inflicted problems(Ellis et al., 2008). In PCT, the counsellor portrays the client as an expert capable of providing solutions and helping others as well. This occurs through assisting the client in gaining confidence and self-acceptance(Lyon et al., 2013). The REBT theory however, the counsellor portrays himself as the expert in providing solutions to people’s problem. This occurs through the capacity of the counsellor to think rationally regarding various aspects of life. This rational thinking becomes induced into the client who utilises it to gain solutions to various problems(Ellis & Dryden, 2007). Therapists utilising PCT model become involved in conditional relationships, which remain fundamental in understanding the emotional situations facing the client(Poyrazli, 2003). REBT does not advocate for any relationship between the client and therapist, as it utilises homework and worksheets in administering therapy. REBT is commonly applied on individuals suffering from mental illnesses in assessment of their mental capacities. PCT on the other hand, is applied on individuals suffering from depression or other conditions caused by external factors, like lose of a close friend. Empathic understanding remains a fundamental element of the PCT, which is created through interaction with client through conditional relationship. The therapist assumes the problem facing the client and lets the client provide help. The system analyses the current thinking process of the client(Prochaska & Norcross, 2007). REBT involves the therapist assuming a directive role and providing assistance to the client. The client in this case becomes a recipient of continuous teachings and perceptions. There is no relationship present within this method as the problems and solutions are assumed to lie within the clients thinking. References Cepeda, L. M., & Davenport, D. S. (2006). Person-Centered Therapy and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy: An Integration of Present and Future Awareness. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 43(1), 1–12. Ellis, A. (1994). Reason and Emotion In Psychotherapy (revised.). New Jersey: Carol Publishing Group. Ellis, A., Abrams, M., & Abrams, L. (2008). Theories of Personality: Critical Perspectives. New York: Sage Press. Ellis, A., & Dryden, W. (2007). The Practice of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (2nd ed.). New York: Springer Publishers. Heppner, P., Leong, F. T. L., & Chiao, H. (2008). A Growing Internationalization of Counseling Psychology. Handbook of Counseling Psychology. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Lyon, H. C., Rodgers, C., & Tausch, R. (2013). On Becoming an Effective Teacher: Person-centred Teaching, Psychology, Philosophy, and Dialogues With Carl R. Rogers (p. 280). London: Routledge. Poyrazli, S. (2003). Validity of Rogerian Therapy in Turkish Culture: A Cross-Cultural Perspective. Journal of Humanistic Counseling, Education & Development, 42(1), 107–115. Prochaska, J. O., & Norcross, J. C. (2007). Systems of Psychotherapy: A Trans-theoretical Analysis (6th ed.). New York: Thompson Books/Cole. Shechtman, Z., & Pastor, R. (2005). Cognitive-behavioral and humanistic group treatment for children with learning disabilities: A comparison of outcomes and process. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 52, 322–336.  Read More