Counseling and Practice Development - Literature review Example

Counseling and Practice Development Student name Institution name Date of submission Reflective practices according to Meier and Davis (1997) is where training counselors are willing to open to supervision, to accept clients’ failures and criticisms and most importantly to participate in the counseling session whenever they are appropriate. This will ensure that the trainee becomes successful and satisfied since they are able to accept their limitations. Personality and behavior of the professional in counseling influences his/her career. It is important for trainees to discover and increase self-awareness and counseling procedures. Just like in the teaching profession where teachers are required to reflect on daily learning and teaching activities in class in order to develop teaching skills. Teachers who reflect on their teaching methods and how they influence students is able to understand the strength and weakness of their teaching and learning techniques. Counselors also do a reflection of their daily activities and relate them with theories in counseling or Psychotherapy. Professional and personal awareness are terms that cannot be separated especially in counselling and psychotherapy literature. The most fundamental component of reflective practice is self-awareness, the process of self-awareness ensures that reflective practice is effective. Personal development and self-awareness in the term used to describe counselor education or practice, it is the process on self-understanding which help in development of effective therapeutic alliances makes sense. Personal development according to Johns (1995) can be defined as the process that includes exceptional patterns of moral, emotional, social, intellectual and sexual concern, enabling the practitioner to point out his/her own strengths, limitations and oddities . As a counselor one should not only be aware of their skills, capability, knowledge and performance as a professional but also they should understand their limitation which impedes their capability and effective performance as professionals. “As important as methods may be, the most practical thing we can achieve in any kind of work is insight into what is happening inside us as we do it. The more familiar we are with our inner terrain, the more sure footed our [work] – and living- becomes.” P. J. Palmer (cited in Skovholt, T. M., 2001) There are many channels in which counselors can ventilate their actions, beliefs, thought and reactions. This can be done through discussion groups in school or a partner, family members or even friends. Sometimes you can just thinking about the actions you want to take before undertaking them; this is also another channel of reflective practice. Counselors can also be involved in personal development group or involved in personal therapy for self-understanding purposes. It is not yet conclusive which approach between a personal group and personal therapy the most effective approach of developing counseling and psychotherapy (Norcross, 2005). Journaling is another method used in reflective strategies since is the most effective, safe, and honest and authentic method since it will not be put to question or submission for criticism. Students on an interactive program pointed out that there are many merits of writing compared to personal therapy or personal development groups, they used words such as “reflection, time/space, a means of clarifying thinking, confidential, freedom of expression” (Daniel and Feltham, 2004 P184). Studies show that there are many benefits for the professional and personal development whenever expressive and reflective writing is used (Bayne, et al. 2008). This paper requires a counselor to write down a journal of experiences, reflections and observations to track their emerging integration or not. The experiences and observation recorded are supposed to be within a work-based environment. The journal will indicate what I should have done, the lesson learnt from a particular case, general observation about the day or week. A journal enables us to understand how our experience changes, how the values and background influences the ability to deliver as a professional. To be an effective therapist, it is necessary to develop a way of being with people that is genuinely grounded in one’s own personal experience, values and cultural context. Over and over again, research studies have found that what makes the difference to clients are the personal qualities of the counsellor, and his or her capacity to form an accepting and facilitative relationship (McLeod, 2010 P3, as cited from Feltham & Horton, (2005) ). Ethical consideration The writing of the counselor should remain private until he/she decides to communicate about it with others. The writer should feel comfortable that their ideas and feeling are not going to be examined by anybody. This ensures that they do not hold some feelings or choose words to use in expressing their thoughts. The writing will be different and censor their thinking if you are writing for an audience or think that someone else will read the material (Feltham & Horton, 2005). Initial counsellor education is requires that one writes autobiography. The question that comes up include who will read the work, what will be the criteria of assessing the writing if it has to be assessed this questions bring up important ethical questions. We were asked to write our life story and hand it in by the following week. It was my first experience of counsellor education. I knew why I wanted to retrain as a therapist and it had taken a huge amount of effort to get into this particular programme. Refusing to do the first ‘homework’ we were given seemed downright daring. I sat for hours and finally wrote a letter to the tutor, a man I had never met, explaining why I did not want to write my autobiography and ‘hand it in’. At different stages of my therapeutic development and training this same process has been repeated. I need to know who is going to read my writing and why. (Jeannie Wright) Such experiences also form a basis of critical reflection on the personality of the writer. The characteristics and principles of the counselor can be discovered from the above argument. Self-awareness from a work-based placement can be developed from experience with the supervisor, colleagues and interaction with clients. The best way to write a journal that is of reflective development should be done without a critic or judge even you should not judge yourself. Theoretical foundations Personal development in counseling and psychotherapy is founded on a theoretical framework. These theories range from the traditional elements in psychology, psychodynamic, cognitive behavioral and humanistic. Self-reflection is a tool that enables a counselor to evaluate their role in a given situation, in this scenario, personal beliefs, values and biases are put into account and why a given a given opinion was presented. According to Inskipp, & Proctor, (1993) knowing wide range theories does not make a therapist the best, it is not important to only base on the nature of theories and its knowledge. A counselor should be able to differentiate and acknowledge discrepancy between their practices in relation to their actual practice, due to belief or value system; it can be integrated without changing. Cognitive information processing (CIP) is an approach to career problem solving and decision making. CIP theory looks at counseling from the traditional element perspective, self-knowledge, options knowledge and decision making. The theory underlines the impact of negative thinking and its impediment on a person’s ability to solve a career problem. The cognitive changes themselves now allow individuals to begin to think about and use their social world differently. They talk more; they connect with others differently. They are now better able to take advantage of social support. And with these cognitive and social changes, many of their unhealthy behaviors abate. As recent data suggest, expressive writing promotes sleep, enhanced immune function, reduced alcohol consumption, etc. (Pennebaker & Chung, 2007: 38) Journal writing is based on the theory of multiple intelligences (Gardner, 2006). The two intelligences that are very valuable in the education system are linguistic intelligence and skills in logical mathematical operations. Writing reflective journal There are four important steps in writing a journal in counseling for reflective writing. They include; evaluating your own performance, developing self-awareness, monitoring potential for burnout and ensuring adequate self-care. Situations that counselling professionals face in their daily practice are unique and complex in nature. Such situations may be unsolvable in technical rationale approaches. Self-evaluation is reflecting on one’s own skills, limitations and strengths professionally. The gap is knowledge and skills can be filled by having further training or professional development. Self-assessment is the process of beginning to reflect and blend solid and effective counselling therapy techniques with your applied practice (Hawkins & Shohet, 2001). Reflective practice cycle is a structure that enables counselors to learn guide their questions in an effort for self-understanding. Some of questions to be answered in a reflective journal are listed below What have I learnt over the last 12 months? What new skills, knowledge and insight have I gained? What has been my biggest accomplishment to date? What might I do differently if given a second chance? Why? What have I done right? What am I particularly proud of? What am I most thankful for? Am I different this year than I was at this time last year? How so? What motivates me? What gives me energy? What am I striving for? My journal This journal aims at enabling me reflect, evaluate and make a conclusion about my experience, observation and reaction at a work-based placement in relation to integration or not. The purpose of this journal is to reflect upon my professional practice or development that I have encountered throughout my time as a trainee/student counsellor. The journal will be written in first person since it is a personal reflection. Ethical considerations dictates that I am not supposed to mention the names of other parties in this journal, according to Code of professional conduct, confidentiality shall be maintained and all names have been changed to protect the identity. I will used initials in which necessary are not their initial names. I used the reflective model by John (John, 1995). Johns model of reflection is based on five cue questions which enables one to record experience and reflect on the process and the result. This model promotes a practitioner to have self-understanding about their experiences. I have decided to reflect on the period in the university I had to do some counselling to students who are single mothers and are struggling with their studies. In addition to studying, they are also working. The experience of a single mother, a student and is best narrated with mixed feelings…. What have I learnt over the last 12 months? Some students enrol to different programs as single mothers. It becomes challenge with demanding school work in addition to strict job schedules. Single mothers often work on to be able to sustain their needs and those of their kids. You who do not have female student who do not have kids tend to avoid single mothers. It is the same case with male students who discriminate single mothers in their classes. The painful reality is that such students are lonely in addition to missing most the lecturers due to child-related or work complications. I encountered Miss B who was a single mother, a student and working person. She describes her situation in a painful way…. “I felt sad and anxious following difficulties during my first days as a mother… the baby could cry the whole night….” She explained. Having a connection with the baby is the joy of the mother; initially she had a problem dealing with the baby which made her worried and felt guilty. Miss B further adds… “The exams were around the corner few weeks few from now to be exact three weeks, since I missed most of my lectures I will have to do a lot reading just to catch up with the rest….. There were many term papers and tests that I missed hence I will have to personally locate the course lecturers for make ups…” She sometimes felt resentful of the time it takes to care for the baby. It was further aggravated with the fact that she was a single mother with little support from her family. She had to work for longer hours so that she can support the kid. Miss B had not experienced the joy of being a mother and wife. She became more anxious after she had a strong connection with the baby and she had to leave her to a day-care centre. The fear of what could happen to the baby become evident since she was impatient, lacked motivation to do anything which resulted into depression. Through this experience as a trainee counsellor I have learnt what clients especially single mother what they go through. It was an experience that thought me how to survive, to be patient, determined and independent. Integration model is an approach that uses several theories in a given situation. It combines humanistic approaches, client centred, existential and realistic theories. I understood the human nature that we are determined by the struggles to ensure that we are identified in life that we live. Going to college while I was pregnant was a struggle for Identification the society which is a human nature. The main concept of human struggle is to have a satisfying life. What new skills, knowledge and insight have I gained? According to client-centred counselling approach, the patient knows ‘where it hurts’ and given enabling environment they progressively solve the issues (Rogers, 1957). The client was in apposition where she felt that she was not going to make. She developed negative attitude in her life. I was able to employ several models in deal with this situation. Humanistic nature and realistic theories asserts that human nature like to seek comfort and have a life without struggle especially from others. I told her that is was natural for her friends to suggest quieting college should be taken positively and it was expected. CBT approach in contrast to CCC is directive form of engagement. Through Socratic questioning I was able to develop a positive attitude about her situation. Through this experience I was able to understand how different approaches although contrast to each other can be applied in a given situation. What has been my biggest accomplishment to date? Through the hard times she was having, I managed to help her to raise kid as a single mother study and also work at the same time without being depressed. The biggest accomplishment was to enable her overcome all the criticism and serve as an example to other single mothers with the same problems. Many young ladies either drop from college or terminate pregnancy with an excuse that they cannot manage raise a baby and school at the same time. I have been motivated by the determination and reliance of Miss B after counselling session. I am proud that I was able to learn much from single mother challenges. I have learnt how to handle counselling sessions applying models and theories practically. What am I most thankful for? I can just sum this up as Rogers (1957) point out, ‘self’ shows that low self-esteem has a great influence on how a person functions- resulting into the incongruence experience which acts an obstacle for an individual to change. The opportunity to explore ‘self’ enables an individual to move from the edge of self-understanding to great heights of self-acceptance and understanding… References Bayne, R., Jinks, G., Collard, P. & Horton. I. (2008) The counsellor’s handbook: A practical A-Z guide to integrative counselling and psychotherapy. 3rd ed. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes Bernard, J. M. and Goodyear, R.K. (1998). Fundamentals of clinical supervision. Boston, Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon. Feltham, C. & Horton, I. (Eds) (2005) Handbook of Counselling and Psychotherapy London: Sage. Geldard, D. and Geldard K. (2005) Basic Personal Counselling; a training manual for counsellors. NSW, Australia: Pearsons Education. Hawkins, P., & Shohet, R. (2000). Supervision in the Helping Professions. (2nd Ed). Philadelphia: Open University Press. Inskipp, F. & Proctor, B. (1993). The art, craft and tasks of counselling supervision. Part 1: Making the most of supervision. Twickenham: Cascade Publications. Johns C (1995) Framing learning through reflection within Carper’s fundamental ways of knowing in nursing. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 22, 2,226-234 Patterson, C.H. (1986). Theories of counselling and psychotherapy (4th ed.). New York: Harper & Row. Potter, B. A. (1987). Preventing Job Burnout. Los Altos, California: Crisp Pubns., Inc. Rogers, Carl R. (1957). Training Individuals to Engage in the Therapeutic Process, In Psychology and Mental Health. Ed. C. R. Strother. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Read More

Sometimes you can just thinking about the actions you want to take before undertaking them; this is also another channel of reflective practice. Counselors can also be involved in personal development group or involved in personal therapy for self-understanding purposes. It is not yet conclusive which approach between a personal group and personal therapy the most effective approach of developing counseling and psychotherapy (Norcross, 2005). Journaling is another method used in reflective strategies since is the most effective, safe, and honest and authentic method since it will not be put to question or submission for criticism.

Students on an interactive program pointed out that there are many merits of writing compared to personal therapy or personal development groups, they used words such as “reflection, time/space, a means of clarifying thinking, confidential, freedom of expression” (Daniel and Feltham, 2004 P184). Studies show that there are many benefits for the professional and personal development whenever expressive and reflective writing is used (Bayne, et al. 2008). This paper requires a counselor to write down a journal of experiences, reflections and observations to track their emerging integration or not.

The experiences and observation recorded are supposed to be within a work-based environment. The journal will indicate what I should have done, the lesson learnt from a particular case, general observation about the day or week. A journal enables us to understand how our experience changes, how the values and background influences the ability to deliver as a professional. To be an effective therapist, it is necessary to develop a way of being with people that is genuinely grounded in one’s own personal experience, values and cultural context.

Over and over again, research studies have found that what makes the difference to clients are the personal qualities of the counsellor, and his or her capacity to form an accepting and facilitative relationship (McLeod, 2010 P3, as cited from Feltham & Horton, (2005) ). Ethical consideration The writing of the counselor should remain private until he/she decides to communicate about it with others. The writer should feel comfortable that their ideas and feeling are not going to be examined by anybody.

This ensures that they do not hold some feelings or choose words to use in expressing their thoughts. The writing will be different and censor their thinking if you are writing for an audience or think that someone else will read the material (Feltham & Horton, 2005). Initial counsellor education is requires that one writes autobiography. The question that comes up include who will read the work, what will be the criteria of assessing the writing if it has to be assessed this questions bring up important ethical questions.

We were asked to write our life story and hand it in by the following week. It was my first experience of counsellor education. I knew why I wanted to retrain as a therapist and it had taken a huge amount of effort to get into this particular programme. Refusing to do the first ‘homework’ we were given seemed downright daring. I sat for hours and finally wrote a letter to the tutor, a man I had never met, explaining why I did not want to write my autobiography and ‘hand it in’. At different stages of my therapeutic development and training this same process has been repeated.

I need to know who is going to read my writing and why. (Jeannie Wright) Such experiences also form a basis of critical reflection on the personality of the writer. The characteristics and principles of the counselor can be discovered from the above argument. Self-awareness from a work-based placement can be developed from experience with the supervisor, colleagues and interaction with clients. The best way to write a journal that is of reflective development should be done without a critic or judge even you should not judge yourself.

Theoretical foundations Personal development in counseling and psychotherapy is founded on a theoretical framework.

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