Confidentiality of Kathrine Counselling - Case Study Example

Core Conditions Part 2 [Student’s Name] [Institution Affiliation] DVD Analysis This being a counselling session on Kathrine, it was paramount for the counsellor to assure her of the confidentiality of the information they exchange. It was however, important to inform her that the confidentiality of the information could be compromised in case she intends to harm herself or another person. It is also worth to let her know that, in case the court convenes her, the information can be availed. It was also necessary to welcome Kathrine with much hospitality and spirit of acceptance. Offering Kathrine a drink at the beginning of the counselling session would have made her more comfortable and free to express herself with confidence. Telling Kathrine that she can talk when she is ready was not appropriate. I would have been more friendly and calm, and ask her open question to kick-start the discussion. It is important to note that the objective of the discussion is to show a feeling of empathy and an unconditional acceptance. It was also necessary for me to have a pen and a notebook where I could be noting important points during the counselling session. This helps the counsellor to keep track of the conversation and to avoid asking the client similar questions. The objective of every counselling session is to gather as much information as possible from the client (Geldard, 2008). The counsellor in this session practices listening skills without much interruption on the client. It is paramount to listen keenly to the client as she expresses her feelings. Because Kathrine is willing to express herself, the counsellor practices active listening. He allows Kathrine do most of the talking as he keenly listens to her. The counsellor shows empathy with the client when he offers a piece of tissue to her to wipe her tears. This is an important factor in a counselling session, as it ensures that the client knows the counsellor is feeling what she is feeling. The counsellor even wants to hold her hand and comfort her. This is an indication of the genuine feelings and understanding of the client. The counsellor asks the client whether they have a break and continue later, but Kathrine wants them to continue. During a counselling session, it is important to allow the client direct the therapy session. The counsellor should allow the client express herself without directing what she does or says. According to Carl Rogers’ person-centred approach theory, the focus should be on the client. The counsellor should ensure that the client regains his or her sense of self worth. Kathrine’s worry is that she could have done more to avoid the death of her brother. She thinks she is the one to blame. These thoughts have tormented her for two years. The counsellor allows Kathrine express herself and only asks her simple open questions, which prompt her to expound more on her problem. The person-centred approach requires the solution to come from the client as she realizes her sense of self (Geldard, 2008). When Kathrine explains what is bothering her, the counsellor responds by telling that he has realized she was very emotional and asking her whether she has spoken this to anyone. This shows that the counsellor is paying attention to the client’s problem and is willing to explore any means possible to help her. When Kathrine explains that everybody thinks she is ok and she does not suffer from any emotional difficulty, the counsellor is quick to ask openly her whether she feels that she is being given too much responsibility and people expect too much from her. By doing this, the counsellor is seeking more details on the client’s problem. This is a useful technique in self-centred approach, as it will ensure the client eventually come up with solutions to their problems (Stone, 2007). The role of the counsellor is to facilitate the discussion and set an avenue for the solution of the problem at hand. At this point, Kathrine confesses that other people expect too much from her and think she is the strong one whereas inside she is not. She says that she is just but a normal person and suffers emotional distress just like any other person. The counsellor expresses more will and concern to help the client by asking whether she has spoken to anybody, like her husband, about what she feels. When Kathrine says that she has not talked about her feelings to anyone, the counsellor asks her whether she feels like she has withheld her feelings. By doing so, the counsellor wants to understand what the client thinks and feels about what she is going through. It is imperative to be genuine with the client about her problem. The counsellor should be honest with the client about her problems and should not hide anything from the client. Being genuine and honest with a client ensures that the client will be open with the counsellor. Kathrine says that she feel tied and believes she could have done something more to save her brother. She believes she could have continued taking care of her brother despite her having her own family to care of. Kathrine confesses to be feeling guilty that she could have done more to save her brother. In a counselling session, it is important to focus on the strengths of the client rather than their weaknesses. The counsellor expresses his surprise of where the guilt is coming from. This starts to create a sense of self worth in Kathrine. At this point, Kathrine starts to realize there were other people in her family who could have taken up the responsibility, but believes that the duty was left for her. The role of the counsellor as said earlier is to facilitate the discussion and help the client generate solutions on his or her own. By asking such questions like “: I wouldn’t know, I mean what is normal” asserts that the counsellor’s objective is not to give answers, but to direct the client seek self worth. The counsellor concentrates on seeking information from the client rather than giving directions. He expresses his concern for the client by saying that a certain question may be a very emotional question. This helps to show the client that the counsellor is concerned about her welfare. It is necessary as a counsellor to seek to understand the client’s problem from a different perspective. The questions the counsellor asks the client are meant to gather enough information of the situation. The answers, which the client gives, arm the counsellor with resources, which enable him to view the problem differently. In this counselling discussion, Kathrine focuses so much on what she could have done more to save her brother. It is however clear that she had other relatives whose contribution could have helped save the situation. The counsellor asks Katharine question, which enable her to view the situation differently. This is an effective technique in counselling, which brings in a new dimension into the problem. This helps the client to realize that he or she has some potential and have done his or her best. The counsellor asks Katharine questions, which helps her realize that if she had talked to someone about her feelings, she could be better. The issue disturbing Katharine forces her to seek the services of a counsellor simply because she has not discussed it with anybody else. The counsellor even asks Katharine whether she thinks that her feelings are because of not talking to anyone about it. The counsellor has helped Katharine to realize something she could have done to solve her problem. The counsellor applies cognitive behavioural counselling to make Katharine realize the root cause of her problem. What the counsellor has done is to direct the counselling session towards the realization of the root cause of the problem. This technique of counselling insists on making necessary changes instead of concentrating on the frustrations, and feeling defeated and disempowered. The questions asked by the counsellor direct the discussion to a conclusion that Katharine should not feel any more guilt. This is because Katharine agrees that other members of the family were there, and had a duty to look after her brother. They both agree that the duty of taking care of the brother was not Kathrine’s alone. When the counsellor asks Katharine whether now she believes she was not to blame because the other members of the family could have chipped in, she agrees. The counsellor continues to create an avenue of seeking a solution by asking her whether that could be the strategy of dealing with the guilt. Katharine agrees she will use this strategy. With a minute left, the counsellor gives Katharine a chance to say anything left. He also asks her how the session was and how she felt. At this point of the counselling session, the solution to the problems appears as if it has been found. The counsellor however, did not come up with the solution, but rather Katharine who is the client comes up with the solution. The counsellor just facilitates the discussion through well-guided questions. This directs the client to realize herself and view the problem from a different perspective. Katharine agrees that she now sees the entire problem very different and believes that it was not only up to her, but also to everybody else. The counsellor expresses his satisfaction with Kathrine’s realization of her potential and self worth. He says that he is glad she is feeling better, and says he can see that she is more relaxed. Kathrine agrees to have more counselling sessions later. This indicates that she has been contented with what she has gained. She arrived at the solution to her problem. The role of a counsellor in a counselling session is not to provide the solution, but to aid the discussion, which will make the client realize solutions herself (Stone, 2007). It is important to establish a good relationship in a counselling session between the client and the counsellor. This is brought forward by the core objectives of the session. In Kathrine’s counselling session, the counsellor is very genuine and real with the client. This ensures that the client provides all the information relating to her problem without fear of being judged. It is also worth to consider that a counsellor does not need to appear professional in a counselling session. Kathrine uses an informal language, which does not make her appear too official. This indicates that she expresses herself in her real picture. The counsellor provides an enabling environment by not using a formal language as well. Another core objective of counselling is the unconditional positive regard. Despite the fact that Kathrine had the wrong approach to her problem; the counsellor accepted her and led her to the realization of her potential. All along the session, the counsellor listens to Katharine in non-judgmental way. This makes the client talk out her feelings without any fear of rejection or judgment. This also helps to enhance the relationship between the client and the counsellor. Through the entire counselling session, the counsellor shows empathic understanding of Katharine’s problems. When she cries, he provides a tissue paper for her to wipe her tears and even offers a break to give her time to regain her composure. Empathically understanding the client helps them to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance (Stone, 2007). In Kathrine’s counselling session, the counsellor has proven empathic in understanding her problem. Such questions like “do you feel ahh this may be a very emotional question to you but do you feel you have grieved him enough do you feel you have grieved ahh because I can sense you still hurting” from the counsellor show that he felt what his client felt. Although the counselling session was good, there were still some few issues, which could be improved. The counsellor could have considered taking notes throughout the session. This could have helped keep track of the entire session. It was important to summarize the whole discussion. This could have been done by highlighting the main points discussed in the session at the end. In conclusion, the objective of counselling is to take clients through a session, which enables them view issues differently and explore many avenues of dealing with their problems. The role of a counsellor is not to provide a solution, but to create an avenue that enables the clients explore many ways of approaching a problem and find their solutions themselves. In Kathrine’s counselling session, this is clearly brought out. This is because the counsellor leads her to the realization that there were other approaches to her feelings. This ends by her realizing that other people had a duty to play in helping her brother. This reduces her guilt and gives her energy of self worth. References Geldard, K. (2008). Personal counselling skills: an integrative approach. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas Publisher. Stone, F. (2007). Coaching, counseling & mentoring: how to choose & use the right technique to boost employee performance. New York: AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. Read More

These thoughts have tormented her for two years. The counsellor allows Kathrine express herself and only asks her simple open questions, which prompt her to expound more on her problem. The person-centred approach requires the solution to come from the client as she realizes her sense of self (Geldard, 2008). When Kathrine explains what is bothering her, the counsellor responds by telling that he has realized she was very emotional and asking her whether she has spoken this to anyone. This shows that the counsellor is paying attention to the client’s problem and is willing to explore any means possible to help her.

When Kathrine explains that everybody thinks she is ok and she does not suffer from any emotional difficulty, the counsellor is quick to ask openly her whether she feels that she is being given too much responsibility and people expect too much from her. By doing this, the counsellor is seeking more details on the client’s problem. This is a useful technique in self-centred approach, as it will ensure the client eventually come up with solutions to their problems (Stone, 2007). The role of the counsellor is to facilitate the discussion and set an avenue for the solution of the problem at hand.

At this point, Kathrine confesses that other people expect too much from her and think she is the strong one whereas inside she is not. She says that she is just but a normal person and suffers emotional distress just like any other person. The counsellor expresses more will and concern to help the client by asking whether she has spoken to anybody, like her husband, about what she feels. When Kathrine says that she has not talked about her feelings to anyone, the counsellor asks her whether she feels like she has withheld her feelings.

By doing so, the counsellor wants to understand what the client thinks and feels about what she is going through. It is imperative to be genuine with the client about her problem. The counsellor should be honest with the client about her problems and should not hide anything from the client. Being genuine and honest with a client ensures that the client will be open with the counsellor. Kathrine says that she feel tied and believes she could have done something more to save her brother. She believes she could have continued taking care of her brother despite her having her own family to care of.

Kathrine confesses to be feeling guilty that she could have done more to save her brother. In a counselling session, it is important to focus on the strengths of the client rather than their weaknesses. The counsellor expresses his surprise of where the guilt is coming from. This starts to create a sense of self worth in Kathrine. At this point, Kathrine starts to realize there were other people in her family who could have taken up the responsibility, but believes that the duty was left for her.

The role of the counsellor as said earlier is to facilitate the discussion and help the client generate solutions on his or her own. By asking such questions like “: I wouldn’t know, I mean what is normal” asserts that the counsellor’s objective is not to give answers, but to direct the client seek self worth. The counsellor concentrates on seeking information from the client rather than giving directions. He expresses his concern for the client by saying that a certain question may be a very emotional question.

This helps to show the client that the counsellor is concerned about her welfare. It is necessary as a counsellor to seek to understand the client’s problem from a different perspective. The questions the counsellor asks the client are meant to gather enough information of the situation. The answers, which the client gives, arm the counsellor with resources, which enable him to view the problem differently. In this counselling discussion, Kathrine focuses so much on what she could have done more to save her brother.

It is however clear that she had other relatives whose contribution could have helped save the situation.

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