Counselling Notes PDF

lOMoARcPSD|29865018 Counselling notes Introductory Counselling Psychology (Amity University) Scan to open on Studocu Studocu is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 Counselling Psychology Module 1: Introduction Counselling as a profession grew out of the progressive guidance movement of the early 1990s. Its emphasis was on prevention and purposefulness- on helping individuals of all ages and stages to avoid making bad choices in life while finding meaning, direction, and fulfilment in what they did. The focus on wellness, development, mindfulness, meaningfulness, and remediation of mental disorders is the hallmark of counselling for individuals, groups, couples, and families across the life span. The counsellor's role is to guide the client through the process and not tell the client what they should do. The clients are helped to help themselves. Initially, counselling can be a bit painful, in that one may suddenly come face to face with certain unpleasant aspects of one’s own self. However, as the person continues on with the counselling sessions, the person will discover that the sessions are easier and easier, and the client will learn to be more positive, and make better decisions. Definitions of Counselling Carl Rogers said “Counselling is a series of direct contacts with the individual which aims to offer him assistance in changing his attitude & behaviours.” Burke said “Counselling is the artful application of scientifically derived psychological knowledge and techniques for the purpose of changing human behaviour.’’ Shostrom and Brammer say counselling is, “A purposeful, reciprocal relationship between two people in which one, a trained person, helps the other to change himself or his environment.” The following four variables determine the amount of growth and change that take place in any type of counselling: 1) Counsellor 2) Client 3) Setting 4) Theoretical orientation Theory is a model the counsellor uses as a guide to hypothesise about the formation of possible solutions to a problem. According to Hansen (2006), “Theoretical understanding is an essential part of effective counselling practice. Theories help counsellors organise clinical data, make complex processes coherent, and provide conceptual guidance for interventions”. Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 Difference between Guidance, Psychotherapy and Counselling Guidance helps people make important choices that affect their lives, such as choosing a preferred lifestyle. One distinction between guidance and counselling is that guidance centers on helping individuals choose what they value most, whereas counselling helps them to change. Guidance is one part of the service that professional counsellors provide. Psychotherapy on the other hand, has focused on serious problems associated with intrapsychic, internal, and personal issues and conflicts. Psychotherapy, especially analytically based therapy, has emphasised (a) the past more than the present, (b) insight more than change, (c) the detachment of the therapist, and (d) the therapist’s role as an expert. In modern times, the distinction between psychotherapy and counselling has blurred and professionals who provide clinical services often determine whether clients receive counselling or psychotherapy. The similarities in counselling and psychotherapy often overlap. The Nature of Counselling Given by Ford and Urban in the book ‘Systems of Psychotherapy’ (1963) 1) Counselling involves two people in interaction, a generic term for the exchange of meanings between people which includes the direct communication of talking and listening as well as gestures, glances, nods or shakes of the head, frowns, and other non-verbal features by which meaning is transmitted from one person to another. The interaction is highly confidential, and since counselee discuss themselves in an intimate fashion, it is highly private and unobserved by others. 2) The mode of interaction is usually limited to the verbal realm; the counsellor and counselee talk with one another. Counselees talk about themselves, their thoughts, feelings, and actions. They describe events. The counsellor listens and responds in some fashion to what the counselee says to provoke further responses. The two think, talk, and share their ideas. 3) The interaction is relatively prolonged since alteration of behaviour takes time. In contrast to a brief conversation with friend in which distortions or unconscious desires are usually maintained and usually only temporary relief is gained, counselling has its goal, the change of behaviour. It is assumed that through the counselling interaction, the counselee will in time revise his distortions and alter his behaviour. 4) The purpose of the relationship is change of behaviour of the counselee. The counsellor focuses he interaction upon the counselee. Counselees need not to be concerned about the happiness of the counsellor but must devote their energies to changing themselves. Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 Ford and Urban’s four major points highlight the fact that counselling is a collaborative relationship that permits counselees to freely express and explore themselves and the issues which are of concern to them. The concept of Counselling Counselling involves two individuals-one seeking help & the other a professionally trained person who can help the first. There should be a relationship of mutual respect between the two individuals. Counselling is aimed at bringing about desired changes in the individual for self-realisation & providing assistance to solve problems through an intimate personal relationship. The counsellor discovers the problems of the counselee & helps them set up realistic goals. Counselling deals with wellness, personal growth, career, education, and empowerment concerns. Types of Counselling 1) Directive- this type of counselling allows the counsellor to give the counselee information about themselves, their opportunities, and their problems. Also called prescriptive counselling as the counsellor prescribes the solution or course of action. 2) Non-Directive- this is also known as client centred counselling. The client is pivotal to the counselling process. Counsellor functions merely by providing support and warmth. 3) Eclectic- is a merger between both directive and non-directive counselling. Effectiveness of the Counsellor The effectiveness of the counselling depends on numerous variables: 1) The personality or background of the counsellor. 2) The formal education of the counsellor. 3) The ability of the counsellor to engage in professional counselling-related activities. Personal Qualities of the Counsellor Among the functional and positive factors that motivate individuals to pursue careers in counselling and make them well suited for the profession are the following qualities as delineated by Foster( 1996) and Guy (1987). Although this list is not exhaustive, it highlights aspects of one’s personal life that makes a person best suited to function as a counsellor: 1) Curiosity and Inquisitiveness: these qualities are necessary as it enables one to have natural interest in people. 2) Ability to listen: the counsellor should be an active listener and should make the client feel heard. Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 3) Comfort with conversation: the counsellor should be able to display a level of comfort in their voice and conversations that motivate the clients to open up and share their problems. Sometimes client have very disturbing thoughts and experiences and this shouldn’t cause discomfort in the counsellor. 4) Empathy and understanding: the ability to put oneself in another’s place, even if that person is totally different from you. 5) Emotional insightfulness: the counsellor should be comfortable dealing with a wide range of feelings and should also be adept to identify their own emotions during the counselling process in order to identify transference and counter-transference. 6) Introspection: the ability to see or feel from within. Not only is this a quality counsellors encourage their clients to build, but it is something that they should hone themselves as it can improve the quality of sessions and their thoughts on how to proceed with the same. 7) Capacity for self-denial: this refers to the ability to set aside personal needs to listen to and take care of others’s needs first. 8) Tolerance for intimacy: this refers to the ability to sustain emotional closeness. 9) Comfort with power: accepting power with a certain degree of detachment. 10) Ability to laugh: finding humour during the tough times is a sign of resilience. Counsellors, before they can instil these qualities in their clients should have the ability to see the bittersweet quality of life events and humour in them. 11) Intellectual competence: the desire and ability to learn as well as think fast and creatively. 12) Energy: the ability to be active in sessions and sustain that activity even when one sees a number of clients in a row. 13) Flexibility: the ability to adapt what one does to meet client’s needs. 14) Support: the capacity to encourage clients in making their own decisions while helping engendered hope. 15) Goodwill: the desire to work on behalf of clients in a constructive way that ethically promotes independence. 16) Self-Awareness: a knowledge of self, including attitudes, values, and feelings and the ability to recognise how and what factors affect oneself. The potency of counselling is related to the counsellor’s personal togetherness. The personality of counsellor is as important, if not more crucial in bringing about client change, than mastery of knowledge, skills, or Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 techniques. Effective counsellors are sensitive to themselves and others. According to Ford, Harris, & Schuerger (1993), counsellors monitor their own biases, listen, ask for clarification, and explore racial and cultural differences in an open and positive way. The Attribution and Systematic Framework of Counselling Attribution is what the counsellor attributes the cause of a client’s problem to (e.g., an external circumstance or an internal personality flaw). A system is a unified and organised set of ideas, principles, and behaviours. There are 4 attribution models counsellors use on a conscious or unconscious basis (Kernes & Mc Whirter, 2001). These are as follows: 1) Medical model: In this model, clients are not held responsible for either the cause of their problem or its solution. 2) Moral Model: This model is best typified by the self-help movement and is basically the opposite of medical model. 3) Compensatory Model: In this model, clients are held responsible only for solving their problems but not for causing them. Clients are viewed as suffering from the failure of their social environments to meet their needs. 4) Enlightenment Model: This model holds clients responsible for causing their problems but not for solving them. The 5 Stage Model of Counselling Processes: Stage 1: Initial Disclosure In this stage, the main focus is relationship building. Here, relationship building means establishing rapport with the client that is based on trust, respect, and care. When there is a good relationship between Counsellor and client, the likelihood of the sessions being more productive are greater. In this stage, counsellors’ basic skills are used such as: Empathy, Genuineness, Unconditional Positive Regard, Etc. Here are some practical tips for building a relationship with your client: – Introducing oneself. Being personable and inviting. – Being hospitable. Inviting the client to sit down. Making sure they are comfortable. – Addressing the client by name. This is a big step in helping client feel known. – Be inviting of social conversation to help reduce any anxiety they may be feeling. Remember, recognising that they need and want help working through things can be a really big step. Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 – Allowing client to talk about his or her reason for coming in to talk. – Indicating interest in them and what they are going through. Note: One of the greatest obstacles in the relationship building stage is the tendency to move at too quick of a pace. The counsellor should be patient with the client, be sensitive, and should give them room to move at a natural pace. As trust begins to build between counsellor and client, they are more inclined to respond in a positive way as you encourage them to move towards change. Stage 2: In-Depth Exploration In this stage the problem is assessed. Assessment refers to anything the counsellor does to gather information and draw conclusions about the concerns of the client. This stage should not feel like an interrogation to the client, but, rather, they should feel that someone desires to know who they are, the things that have shaped how they think, how they feel, and their concerns. Psychologist Martin Seligman suggests the following reasons for assessing a client: - Allow for counsellors to make an accurate diagnosis - Discern whether or not a person is suitable for a certain treatment plan - Help counsellors to develop a treatment plan - Help the counsellor to have better clarification in setting goals, and makes the achievement of goals more measurable. -Helps the counsellor to better facilitate the generation of options and alternatives. Note: In this stage information is gathered regarding personal history, family history, medical history and so on in order to understand the problem thoroughly. Stage 3: Goal-Setting The client’s focus is going to be on the problem, but the counsellor needs to be focused on the problem, the client, the counselling process, and the overall goal. - Goals help to give direction during each session. - In goal setting, the client identifies, with the help of the counsellor, specific ways to move towards change and the best course of action to help make that happen. Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 - Clear goals can help to motivate your client to take the steps necessary in achieving those goals. It helps them to structure their lives in a way that makes reaching those goals more practical. - Setting goals helps to eliminate sideways energy, as the client and counsellor set forth on the same page about what the goal is. Goals should be: - Goals should be connected to the desired end that the client is looking for. - Goals should always be laid out in explicit and measurable terms. - Goals should be attainable - Goals should not be outside of the knowledge and skill set of the counsellor. - Goals should always be focused on positive growth. Stage 4: Intervention There are 3 steps within the counselling intervention stage, - Step 1- Summarise the problem, - Step 2- Identify a strategy, - Step 3 – Select and Implement intervention. Summarise the problem using the four dimensional analysis, which includes four different components, Affective, behavioural, cognitive, and interpersonal/systemic component. Stage 5: Evaluation, Termination, Referral Evaluation refers to assessing how the client is doing with respect to the goals that were set. Have they been achieved? What is the progress made so far? Termination is dependent on how much of the goal is left to achieve. It may seem odd for someone beginning counselling to think of terminating a patient. But, termination is something that you want to move towards. Ideally, termination happens when the goals that are mutually agreed on by the counsellor and client have been achieved, or the problem has become more manageable or resolved. Researchers at Syracuse University say that “Termination should be one of the first topics the counsellor and client discuss. The counsellor is ethically bound to discuss how long they are able to meet with the client, the timeline of their relationship, and to make helpful referral or recommendations at the conclusion of the counsellor/patient relationship.” If the client is not progressing as planned, the counsellor is bound to refer the client to another professional counsellor. Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 Module 2: Psychodynamic-Humanistic-Gestalt Approaches to Counselling Psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud’s contribution to the current practice of psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, and counselling is enormous. Because psychoanalysis was the most influential theory of therapy during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. Some theorists totally rejected his ideas, and many developed their own ideas based, in part, on their knowledge of Freud’s views of human development and the structure of personality. As new theories were created, it was Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis to which they were compared. Many of Freud’s contributions have been a mainstay of psychoanalytic thought, such as his emphasis on the importance of unconscious processes in human motivation and his concepts of personality (id, ego, and superego). Psychoanalytic writers also accept the importance of early childhood development in determining later psychological functioning. However, they disagree about which aspects of childhood development should be emphasised. Initially, Freud used hypnosis and Breuer’s cathartic method as a means of helping patients with psychoneuroses. However, he found that patients resisted suggestions, hypnosis, and asking questions. He used a “concentration” technique in which he asked patients to lie on a couch with their eyes closed, to concentrate on the symptom, and to recall all memories of the symptom without censoring their thoughts. Later, Freud became less active and encouraged his patients to report whatever came to mind—free association. The Drive Theory Perhaps his most controversial views (both in his own time and now) concern the importance of innate drives, especially sexuality. These drives often express themselves through unconscious processes, a pervasive concept in psychoanalysis, and in sexual stages. Freud identified stages of childhood development —oral, anal, phallic, and latency—that, depending on a person’s experience, can have an impact on later psychopathological or normal development. To describe the structure of personality, Freud used three concepts—id, ego, and superego—that are avenues for the expression of psychological energy. Conflicts between them result in neurotic, moral, or objective anxiety and may be expressed through unconscious processes such as verbal slips and dreams. To deal with the emergence of strong biological (id) forces, individuals develop ego defence mechanisms to prevent the individual from being overwhelmed. These concepts are necessary in understanding the application of psychoanalytical therapeutic techniques. Drives and Instincts In psychoanalysis, drives and instincts are used interchangeably. Freud spoke about two drives, one that Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 is self-preservative (breathing, eating, drinking, and excreting) and the other is species-preservative drives (sexuality). The psychic energy that emanates from sexual drives is known as libido. Freud believed that human motivation was sexual in the broad sense that individuals were motivated to bring themselves pleasure. However, libido later came to be associated with all life instincts and included the general goal of seeking to gain pleasure and avoid pain. Freud later put forth the idea of a ‘death instinct’, which accounted for aggressive drives. These include unconscious desires to hurt others or oneself. Often conflict arises between the life instincts— eros—and the death instincts—thanatos. The Levels of Consciousness Freud gave three levels of consciousness: the conscious, the preconscious, and the unconscious. The Conscious Includes sensations and experiences that the person is aware of at any point in time. Examples include awareness of being warm or cold and awareness of this book or of a pencil. Conscious aware- ness is a very small part of a person’s mental life. The Preconscious Includes memories of events and experiences that can easily be retrieved with little effort. Examples might include a previous examination taken, a phone call to a friend, or a favoruite dessert that was eaten yesterday. The preconscious forms a bridge from the conscious mind to the much larger unconscious. The Unconscious Is the container for memories and emotions that are threatening to the conscious mind and must be pushed away. Examples include hostile or sexual feelings toward a parent and forgotten childhood trauma or abuse. The Structure of Personality Id Id represents the unchecked biological forces. At birth, the infant is all id. Inherited and physiological forces, such as hunger, thirst, and elimination, drive the infant. There is no conscious awareness, only unconscious behaviour. The means of operation for the id is the pleasure principle. When only the id is operating, for an infant or an adult, individuals try to find pleasure and avoid or reduce pain Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 Ego Ego is the rational thinking that mediates between the id and the superego and deals with reality. The ego must mediate between the world around the infant and the instincts or drives within the infant. By waiting or suspending the pleasure principle, the ego follows the reality principle. For example, the young child learns to ask for food rather than to cry immediately when her needs are not met. Superego Superego is the voice of social conscience. Whereas the id and ego are aspects of the individual, the superego represents parental values and, more broadly, society’s standards. As the child incorporates the parents’ values, the ego ideal is formed. It represents behaviours that parents approve of whereas the conscience refers to behaviours disapproved of by parents. Thus, the individual develops a moral code or sense of values to determine whether actions are good or bad. The superego is non-rational, seeking perfection and adherence to an ideal, inhibiting both the id and the ego, and controlling both physiological drives (id) and realistic striving for perfection (ego). When conflicts among the id, ego, and superego develop, anxiety is likely to arise. When the id has too much control, individuals may become impulsive, self-indulgent, or destructive. When the superego is too strong, individuals may set unrealistically high moral or perfectionistic standards (superego) for themselves and thus develop a sense of incompetence or failure. Defence Mechanisms Defence mechanisms are techniques the ego uses to cope with anxiety. It does so by denying and distorting reality while operating on an unconscious level. When ego defence mechanisms are used infrequently, they serve an adaptive value in reducing stress. However, if they are used frequently, this use becomes pathological, and individuals develop a style of avoiding reality. Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 Psychosexual Stages of Development Freud believed that the development of personality and the formation of the id, ego, and superego, as well as ego defence mechanisms, depend on the course of psychosexual development in the first 5 years of life. Freud’s theory is based on biological drives and the importance of the pleasure principle; thus, certain parts of the body are thought to be a significant focus of pleasure during different periods of development. Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 According to the Psychoanalytical approach, psychopathology can result due to: 1) Imbalance between id, ego and superego. 2) Repressed or suppressed issues. 3) Excessive use of defence mechanisms. 4) Fixation in any of the psychosexual stages. 5) Conflicted, maladaptive or inadequate child-parent relationships. Role of Counsellor in Psychoanalytical Therapy - Encourage the client to talk about whatever comes to mind, especially childhood experiences. - Make it easy for client to express their thoughts that can be difficult to express by getting them comfortable (laying on the couch), and sitting behind them (helps with the free association process). - Enable clients to gain insight by reliving and working through the unresolved past experiences that come to the forefront during sessions. - This therapy encourages the counsellor to interpret material for the client. - The counsellor’s role is to help the client connect dots between their past experiences and Current problems. Goals of Psychoanalytical Therapy - Goals of any therapy vary as per the client. However, psychoanalytical therapy focuses on personal adjustment, usually inducing a reorganisation of internal forces within the person. - The primary goal is help the client become more aware of the unconscious aspects of his or her personality and to work through current reactions that may be dysfunctional. Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 - The next goal is to help a client work through a developmental stage not previously resolved. Through which clients become unstuck and become able to live more productively. - Finally, it aims to help clients cope with the demands of the society in which they live. Because according to this theory unhappy people are not in tune with themselves or society. The focus of this theory is on environmental adjustment, especially in the areas of work and intimacy. The focus is on strengthening the ego so that perceptions and plans become more realistic. Techniques Used in Psychoanalytical Therapy 1) Free Association- in this technique, the client abandons the normal way of censoring thoughts by consciously repressing them and instead says whatever comes to the mind, even if the thoughts seem silly, irrational, suggestive, or painful. In this way, the Id is requested to speak and ego remains silent. Through this technique unconscious materials enter conscious mind and then the counsellor interprets it. 2) Dream Analysis- Freud believed that dreams were a main avenue to understand the unconscious, even calling them “the royal to unconscious”. He thought dreams were an attempt to fulfil a childhood wish or express unacknowledged sexual desires. In dream analysis, clients are encouraged to dream and remember dreams. The counsellor is especially sensitive to two aspects of dreams: the manifest content (obvious meaning) and the latent content (hidden but true meaning). The analyst helps interpret both aspects. 3) Analysis of Transference- transference is the client’s response to a counsellor and might reflect the client’s relationship with a significant figure in the client’s past, usually a parent figure. The analyst encourages this transference and interprets the positive or negative feelings expressed. The release of feelings is therapeutic, an emotional catharsis. But the real value of these experiences lies in the client’s increased self-knowledge, which comes from the counsellor’s analysis of the transference. Those who experience transference and understand what is happening are then freed to move onto another developmental stage. 4) Analysis of Resistance- Sometimes client’s initially make progress while undergoing psychoanalysis and then slowdown or stop. Their resistance t the therapeutic process may take many forms, such as missing appointments, being late for appointments, not paying fees, persisting in transference, blocking thoughts during free-associations, or refusing to recall dreams or early memories. Counsellor’s analysis of resistance can help client’s gain insight into it as well as other behaviours. If resistance is not dealt with, the therapeutic process will definitely come to a halt. 5) Interpretation- It should be considered part of techniques we have already discussed. When interpreting, the counsellor help the client to understand the meaning of past and present personal events. Interpretation encompasses explanations and analysis of a client’s thoughts, feeling, and actions. Counsellor’s must Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 carefully time the use of interpretation. If it comes too soon in the relationship, it can drive the client away. However, if it is not employed at all or used infrequently, the client may fail to develop insight. Strengths of Psychoanalysis The approach emphasises the importance of sexuality and the unconscious in human behavior. Before this theory came into being, sexuality (especially childhood sexuality) was denied, and little attention was paid to unconscious forces. The approach lends itself to empirical studies; it is heuristic. Freud’s proposals have generated a tremendous amount of research. The approach provides a theoretical base of support for a number of diagnostic instruments. Some psychological test , such as TAT, Rorschach Ink Blot test, are rooted in psychoanalytic theory. Psychoanalysis continues to evolve and most recently has emphasised adaptive processes and social relations. The approach appears to be effective for those who suffer from a wide variety of disorders, including hysteria, narcissism, obsessive compulsive reactions, character disorders, anxiety, phobias, and sexual difficulties. The approach stresses the importance of developmental growth stages. Limitations of Psychoanalysis Time consuming and expensive. The approach does not seem to lend itself to working with older clients or even a large variety of client’s. The approach has been claimed almost exclusively by psychiatry. The approach does not lend itself to the needs of most individuals who seek professional counseling. The psychoanalytic model has become associated with people who have major adjustment difficulties or want or need to explore the unconscious. Determinism refers to the understanding that all human behaviour is The approach is deterministic. controlled and has an identifiable cause. The approach is based on many concepts that are not easily communicated or understood- id , ego, and superego. Psychoanalytic terminology seems over complicated. Adlerian Therapy Adler is a neo-freudian, although his ideas are very different from that of Freud’s. The only similarity they have is that both of them believe that personalities of individuals form during early childhood, ie, before the age of 6. Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 Adler’s Theory of Personality Adler’s view of personality was broad and open and not only considered the individual as a whole, unified organism but also emphasised the importance of the individual’s interaction with the rest of society. This emphasis on the individual as a whole organism was consistent with Adler’s view of the individual as a creative and goal-directed individual who was responsible for their own fate. This emphasis on the individual and society is in direct contrast to Freud’s emphasis on biological needs as a basis for personality theory. Style of Life The style of life determines how a person adapts to obstacles in his life and ways in which he creates solutions and means of achieving goals. Adler believed that the style of life was developed in early childhood, allowing children to strive, in individual ways, for perfection or superiority. For example, the child who has been picked on by other children in the neighbourhood may develop a style of verbally manipulating other children. This behaviour would then compensate for the inferiority that the child had experienced. Adler believed that lifestyle was based on overcoming a series of inferiorities. Most of these would be established by the age of 4 or 5, so that it would be difficult to change one’s lifestyle after that time. For Adler, expressions of life- styles throughout life were elaborations of earlier lifestyles. Using the previous example, the child who develops a style of manipulating other children to get his way may as an adolescent create excellent excuses for late or poorly done work or reasons for missed meetings with friends. As an adult, this individual may find ways to persuade others to buy products or to excuse him for poorly done work. These adult behaviours are the result not of reactions to other adults at a particular point in time but rather of a lifestyle developed at an early age. Adlerians note that the lifestyle can be understood by observing how individuals approach five major interrelated tasks: self-development, spiritual development, occupation, society, and love. Social Interest Social interest evolves in three stages: aptitude, ability, and secondary dynamic characteristics. An individual has an innate ability or aptitude for cooperation and social living. After the aptitude has been developed, the individual develops abilities to express social cooperation in various activities. As these abilities are developed, secondary dynamic characteristics express them- selves as attitudes and interests in a variety of activities that then become a means of expressing social interest. Although Adler viewed social interest as an innate concept, he believed that the parent–child relationship was highly instrumental in developing it. Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 The first relationship in which social interest arises and is taught is in the mother–child bond. Adler sees the mother’s task as developing a sense of cooperation and friendship in her child. By caring deeply for her child, the mother communicates a model of caring to the child. Furthermore, her care for her husband, the child’s siblings, and other friends and relatives becomes a model of social interest. If the mother concentrates only on friends and relatives but not her children, or only on her husband but not friends and relatives, then the child’s potential for developing social interest may be thwarted. If social interest is truly thwarted, then children may develop an attitude toward others in which they may want to dominate others, use others for their personal gain, or avoid inter- actions with others. Although the mother–child relationship is the earliest and most significant relationship in the development of social interest, the father– child relationship is also important, and the father should have favourable attitudes toward his family, his occupation, and social institutions. According to Adler, the emotional or social detachment or authoritarianism of a parent can bring about a lack of social interest in the child. The relationship between father and mother is an important model for the child. If the marriage is unhappy and the parents actively disagree, an opportunity to develop social interest in the child is missed. Forgiveness between husband and wife is an act of social interest that can lead to improved relationships. The parental relationship can have an impact on the lifestyle of a child by affecting romantic relationships and overall adaptation in later life. The concept of social interest is so important that Adler used it as a means of measuring psychological health. If a person has little social interest, then that per- son is self-centred, tends to put down others, and lacks constructive goals. Social interest is important throughout one’s entire life. Inferiority and Superiority Adler suggested that individuals tried to overcome physical inferiorities by psychological adjustments. An example would be that of an individual who compensates for childhood illness by developing her intellect. In a sense, the infant is exposed to inferiority at birth. For Adler, feelings of inferiority were the motivation to achieve and attain in life. Inferiority is not a human weakness unless it develops into an inferiority complex. Children’s parents and older siblings are bigger, more powerful, and more independent than the child. Throughout life, individuals struggle to achieve their places in life, striving for perfection and completion. As the child moves from inferiority to- ward superiority or excellence, three factors may threaten the development of self-confidence and social interest : 1) Physical Disabilities Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 2) Pampering 3) Neglect Physical disabilities may include organ inferiority as de- scribed previously, as well as childhood diseases. Pampered children may expect to have things given to them and may not develop an urge to be independent and to overcome inferiorities. Neglected children or those who feel unwanted may try to avoid or escape others rather than overcome their inferiorities. Although the desire to overcome inferiority and achieve superiority or mastery is normal in individuals and a major goal of life, some inferiority complexes and superiority complexes are not normal. Although the term inferiority complex has had several meanings in the development of Adlerian psychology, Adler in his latest writings stated that it is “the presentation of the person to himself and others that he is not strong enough to solve a given problem in a socially useful way”. The pervasive feeling that one’s abilities and characteristics are inferior to those of other people can take many forms. Individuals may feel less intelligent than others, less attractive, less athletic, or inferior in many other ways. Adler found that neurotic individuals who came to him for psychotherapy often presented an inferiority complex or superiority complex. For Adler, superiority was a means of inflating one’s self-importance in order to overcome inferiority feelings. People may try to present themselves as strong and capable to maintain their mistaken feelings of superiority, when actually they are feeling less capable than others. The striving for superiority or competence is a natural and fundamental motivation of individuals, whereas the superiority complex is not. However, in striving for superiority or competence, an individual can do so in a negative or positive direction. Trying to achieve superiority in a negative direction might include trying to achieve wealth or fame through unethical business or political practices. Seeking the goal of superiority in a positive sense might mean helping others through business, social dealings, education, or similar methods. A positive striving for superiority implies a strong social interest. Birth Order In many ways the family is a microcosm of society. For Adler, birth order could have an impact on how a child relates to society and the development of her style of life. Oldest: This child may be initially spoiled and later dethroned. She may be bossy, strict, and authoritarian; it’s as if she has a right to power. She also may feel exceptionally responsible for others. The oldest child may strongly identify with father because she turns to him for support after the birth of the second child. Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 Second: He always has an older rival, and this may make him competitive. The challenge is for him to develop a unique identity, so he may end up being a rebel. There is often an unfulfilled wish to be bigger, stronger, smarter, and more capable. Middle: She is likely to be even-tempered, developing a sort of “take it or leave it” attitude. She may become overly sensitive to the plights of others who are overlooked or underprivileged. She can feel cheated out of her position of privilege and harbour resentments, sometimes quietly manipulating others to achieve her ends. She also may have trouble finding her niche in life. Youngest: He is never dethroned, and so he may feel he should be treated like royalty. He’s likely to have unrealistic aspirations. He dreams of being bigger and more powerful than everyone else, but usually doesn’t have the follow-through to achieve these dreams. This may make him chronically frustrated, and consequently he could choose to stay the baby. Only: This child has plenty of attention from both parents and therefore feels special, especially liking attention from adults. There may be problems with peer relationships due to lack of experience with give and take and tolerance. May believe she should be “taken care of.” Only Boy: He may need to prove he’s a man, but he is also likely to be sensitive to among girls feminine issues. He may be treated like a hero and therefore hold high expectations of himself. He also may have strong expectations that everyone will immediately recognise his special qualities and feel deep disappointment when he’s treated just like everyone else. Only Girl: She may become either overly feminine or a tomboy, trying to compete among boys with her brothers. She also may feel she has a special designation and, depending upon her relations with her brothers, may expect abuse from males or may expect them to be her protectors. Theoretical Principles of Individual Psychology The Whole Person: Adler did not believe in dichotomies or in breaking the individual into different functional parts. Instead, he emphasised unity of thinking, feeling, acting, attitudes, values, the conscious mind, the unconscious mind, and more. His entire theoretical system, individual psychology, was named after the Latin word individuum, meaning “complete, whole, indivisible”. Striving with Purpose: A central proposition of individual psychology is that humans actively shape themselves and their environments. We are not merely passive recipients of our biological traits or simply reactors to our external environment. There is a third element—beyond biology and the environment—that influences and directs human behaviour; Adler referred to this third force as “attitude toward life” (Adler, Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 1935). Attitude toward life is composed of a delightful combination of individual human choice and individual sense of purpose. Striving for Superiority: Adler’s most basic human motive, for children and adults, has been identified in the literature as striving for superiority. This doesn’t mean Adler believed humans inherently try to demonstrate their interpersonal superiority by dominating one another. Instead, his emphasis was that individuals strive for a perceived plus in themselves and their lives. Community Feeling: In addition to striving for completion and excellence (also called superiority), humans also strive to connect socially, both with individuals and with the community in general. The speciﬁc manifestation of this motivating factor is referred to as social interest. If humans strive for superiority without a community-feeling motive, they are likely to become driven, selﬁsh, and arrogant in pursuit of their goals. Idiography: Although general information about humans can be helpful, every individual is unique. Therefore, to really understand an individual, a couple, or a family, you must work with that individual, couple, or family. Phenomenology: Individual experience is a subjective ﬁction based on each individual’s perception. The individual actively creates and adapts his or her own personal reality. Soft Determinism: Adlerians believe in the power of biology and the environment to inﬂuence human behaviour. However, biology, environment, and other signiﬁcant factors do not directly cause speciﬁc behaviours to occur; instead, behaviour is determined by a myriad of inﬂuencing factors. Freedom to Choose: Humans are free to choose their behaviour from a limited set of options. Humans are also fully responsible for their choices, although they may make uneducated choices due to bad information or a lack of information. Therefore, education can help facilitate healthy, free choice and personal responsibility. Early Cognitive Map: The individual map each of us uses to navigate through life is established in childhood. This map, referred to as lifestyle, is our personality: It gives us our continuity and tells us about ourselves, others, and how the world works. The map can be deﬁcient in some ways, but it can be modiﬁed through therapeutic, educational experiences, including counselling or psychotherapy. Optimism: Adler was an optimist. Although he believed that basic human nature was neutral, he was hopeful that the pull toward community feeling and the drive toward completeness would help individuals live together peacefully and happily. Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 Role of Counsellor 1) Adlerian counsellors function primarily as diagnosticians, teachers, and models in the equalitarian relationships they establish with their clients. 2) The counsellors makes an assessment by gathering information on the family constellation and a client’s earliest memories. 3) The counsellor then shares impressions, opinions, and feelings with the client and concentrates on promoting the therapeutic relationship. 4) The client is encouraged to examine and change a faulty lifestyle by developing social interest. 5) Adlerians are frequently active in sharing hunches or guesses with clients and are often directive when assigning clients homework, such as to act “as if” the client were the person he or she wants to be. 6) Adlerian counsellors employ a variety of techniques, some of which are borrowed from other approaches. Goals of Adlerian Therapy 1) The goals of Adlerian counselling revolve around helping people develop healthy, holistic lifestyles. This may mean educating or reeducating clients about what such lifestyles are as well as helping them overcome feelings of inferiority. 2) One of the major goals of Adlerian counselling is to help clients overcome a faulty style of life- that is, a life that is self-centered and based on mistaken goals and incorrect assumptions associated with feelings of inferiority. 3) The feelings must be corrected , and inappropriate form of behaviour must be stopped. 4) In order to do so, the counsellor assumes the role of teacher and interpreter of events. 5) Adlerian counselling deal with the whole person. 6) In this type of counselling the client is ultimately in charge of deciding whether to pursue social or self- interest. Techniques of Adlerian Therapy 1) Confrontation: the counsellor challenges clients to change their own private logic. When clients examine this logic, they often realise they can change it and their behaviour. Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 2) Asking “the question”: the counsellor asks, “what would be different if you were well?” Clients often asked the question during the initial interview, but it is appropriate at any time. 3) Encouragement: it implies faith in a person. Counsellors encourage their client to feel good about themselves and others. They state belief that behaviour change is possible for clients. Encouragement is key to making healthy lifestyle choices in learning and living. 4) Acting “as if”: clients are instructed to act “as if ” they are the persons they want to be- for instance the ideal persons. 5) Spitting in the Client’s Soup: counsellor points out certain behaviours to clients and thus ruins the payoff for the behaviour. For eg, a mother who always acts superior to her daughter by showing her up may continue to do so after the behaviour has been pointed out, but the reward for doing so is now gone. 6) Catching oneself: clients learn to be aware of self-destructive behaviours or thoughts. At first, the counsellor may help in process, but eventually this responsibility is taken over by clients. 7) Task Setting: clients initially set short-range, attainable goals and eventually work up to long-term, realistic objectives. Once client make behavioural changes and realise some control over their lives, counselling ends. 8) Push Button: clients are encouraged to realise they have choices about the stimuli in their lives they pay attention to. They are taught to create the feelings they want by concentrating on their thoughts. The technique is like pushing a button because clients can choose to remember negative or positive experiences. Strengths of Adlerian Counselling The approach fosters an equalitarian atmosphere through the positive techniques that counsellors promote. Rapport and commitment are enhanced by its processes, and the chances of for change are increased. Counsellor encouragement and support are valued commodities. Adlerian counsellors approach their clients with an educational orientation and take an optimistic outlook on life. This approach is versatile over the life span. This approach is useful in treatment of a variety of disorders, including conduct disorder, antisocial disorder, anxiety disorder of childhood and adolescence, some affective disorders, and personality disorders. Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 This approach has also contributed to other helping theories and to the public’s knowledge and understanding of human interactions. Many Adler’s ideas have been integrated into other counselling approaches. This approach can be employed selectively in different cultural contexts. Limitations of Adlerian Counselling This approach lacks a firm, supportive research base. Relatively few empirical studies clearly outline Adlerian’s counselling. The approach is vague in regard to some its terms and concepts. The approach may be too optimistic about human nature, especially social cooperation and interest. Some critics consider this view neglectful of other life dimensions, such as the power and place of unconscious. The approach’s basic principles, such as democratic family structure, may not fit well in working with client whose cultural context stresses the idea of a lineal social relationship, such as with traditional India. The approach, which relies heavily on verbal erudition, logic, and insight, may be limited in the applicability to clients who are not intellectually bright. Humanistic Therapy The term humanistic, as a descriptor of counselling, focuses on the potential of individuals to actively choose and purposefully decide about matters related to themselves and their environments. Professionals who embrace humanistic counselling approaches help people increase self understanding through experiencing their feelings. The term is broad and encompasses counselling theories that are focused on people as decision maker and initiators of their own growth and development. Three of these theories are given below: 1) Person-Centered 2) Existential 3) Gestalt Person-Centred Therapy Developed by Carl Rogers, it was first called non-directive therapy, later client-centred therapy, and currently person-centred therapy. This therapeutic approach takes a positive view of individuals, believing Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 that they tend to move toward becoming fully functioning. Rogers’s work represents a way of being rather than a set of techniques for doing therapy. Emphasising understanding and caring rather than diagnosis, advice, and persuasion, Rogers believed that therapeutic change could take place if only a few conditions were met. The client must be anxious or incongruent and in contact with the therapist. Therapists must be genuine, in that their words, nonverbal behaviour, and feelings agree with each other. They must also accept the client and care unconditionally for the client. Furthermore, they must understand the client’s thoughts, ideas, experiences, and feelings and communicate this empathic understanding to the client. If clients are able to perceive these conditions as offered by the therapist, Rogers believed that therapeutic change will take place. A concept that has been important to the development of person-centred therapy has been that of self- actualisation. Originated by Kurt Goldstein (1959), self-actualisation implies that individuals seek and are capable of healthy development, which leads to full expression of themselves. Goldstein’s writings were furthered by Maslow (1968, 1987), who developed humanistic psychology. For Maslow, self-actualisation meant to become all that one can be and thus to live a life that brings meaning and accomplishment. Maslow’s positive view of humanity is congruent with Rogers’s in that both take a positive and optimistic view of humanity, called humanism. Theoretical Principles of Person-Centred Therapy Psychological Development From birth onward, individuals experience reality in terms of internal and external experiences. Each person is biologically and psychologically unique, experiencing different social, cultural, and physical aspects of the environment. As infants develop, they monitor their environment in terms of degrees of pleasantness and unpleasantness. Differentiation is made between a variety of bodily senses, such as warmth and hunger. If parents interfere with this process, such as urging children to eat when they are not hungry, children can have a difficult time in developing “organismic sensing” or trusting in their reactions to the environment. As children develop an awareness of themselves, their need for positive regard from those around them develops. As they grow older, they manage their own physical needs more effectively, and the need for positive regard from others in- creases. Such needs include being loved by others, being emotionally and/or physically touched, and being valued or cared for. Individuals’ perceptions of the positive regard they receive from others have a direct impact on their own self-regard. If children believe that others (parents, teachers, friends) value them, they are likely to develop a sense of self-worth or self-regard. Additionally, children, in interaction with others, experience satisfaction from meeting the needs of others as well as their Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 own needs. Although needs for positive regard and self-regard are essential, individuals have many experiences that do not foster these conditions. Development and Conditionality Throughout their lives, individuals experience conditions of worth, the process of evaluating one’s own experience based on the beliefs or values of others that may limit the development of the individual. For Rogers, conditions of worth led to an incongruence between a person’s experience of self and interactions with others. To get the conditional positive regard of others, individuals may discount their own experience and accept the values or beliefs of others. People who do not listen to their own beliefs and values but act to please others so that they may feel loved are operating under conditions of worth and are likely to experience anxiety as a result. When there is conditional regard, individuals may lose touch with them- selves and feel alienated from themselves. In order to deal with conditional regard, they can develop defences that result in inaccurate and rigid perceptions of the world, for example, “I must be kind to all others, regardless of what they do to me, so that they will care for me.” Such an individual is likely to experience anxiety because of the conflict between the need to have a positive self-concept and the need to please others. The greater the incongruence between an individual’s experiences and their self-concept, the more disorganised their behaviour is likely to be. To counter the conditions of worth that an individual experiences, Rogers believed that there must be unconditional positive regard from some others so that a person’s self-regard can be increased. Although individuals may not experience unconditional positive regard with their family or friends, it is essential that the therapist provide these conditions. Self-Regard and Relationships An important part of Rogers’s (1959) personality theory is the nature of personal relationships. In describing the process of an improving relationship, Rogers emphasises congruence, the process of the therapist or listener in accurately experiencing and being aware of the communication of another person. Relation- ships improve when the person being listened to feels understood, empathically listened to, and not judged. The individual feels a sense of unconditional positive regard and a feeling of being heard by the other person. This relationship can be called congruent because the therapist or listener is able to understand and communicate the psychological experience of the other, being “in tune” with the other person. Sometimes individuals are incongruent within themselves, such as when one’s facial expression or voice tone does not match one’s words. The listener who perceives incongruence in the behaviour of the speaker may choose to Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 communicate this perception by saying, “You say that you are glad that your parents got a divorce, yet you sound sad.” Thus, relationships improve to the extent that the listener perceives and communicates the other’s present experience. The Fully Functioning Person To become fully functioning, individuals must meet their need for positive regard from others and have positive regard for themselves. With these needs met, an individual can then experience an optimal level of psychological functioning. Rogers’s view of what constitutes congruence and psychological maturity includes openness, creativity, and responsibility. According to Rogers (1969), a fully functioning person is not defensive but open to new experiences without controlling them. This openness to congruent relationships with others and self allows an individual to handle new and old situations creatively. With this adaptability, individuals experience an inner freedom to make decisions and to be responsible for their own lives. As part of being fully functioning, they be- come aware of social responsibilities and the need for fully congruent relation- ships with others. Rather than being self-absorbed, such individuals have needs to communicate empathically. Their sense of what is right includes an under- standing of the needs of others as well as of themselves. To summarise, Person-centred counselling is effective when therapists help clients recapture their natural propensity for growth by establishing a therapy relationship characterised by therapist congruence or genuineness, unconditional positive regard or prizing of the client, and accurate empathy. View of Human Nature in Person Centred Therapy 1) People are essentially good ( Rogers). Human are characteristically “positive, forward-moving, constructive, realistic, and trust worthy” (Rogers, 1957). Each person is aware, inner directed, and moving towards self actualisation from infancy on. 2) According to Rogers self actualisation is the most prevalent and motivating drive of existence and encompasses actions that influences the total person. “The organism has one basic tendency and striving- to actualise, maintain, enhance and the experiencing organism”. 3) Person-Centred counselling believes that each person is capable of finding personal meaning and purpose in life. 4) Dysfunctionality is really a failure to learn and change. Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 5) For a healthy self to emerge, a person needs positive regard- love, warmth, care, respect, and acceptance. But in childhood ,as well as in later life a person often receives conditional regards from parents and others. in certain situation the person starts behaving in way which is acceptable but it’s not actual or real. In long run this difference in ideal self and real self can cause psychopathology. 6) According to Rogers, unconditional positive regards, empathy and genuineness is required to develop a healthy self, and most of the issues can be resolved by providing these three conditions. Role of the Counsellor 1) The role of the counsellor is holistic (encourage the client towards full functioning). 2) Counsellors set up and promote a climate that is free and encouraging for the client to explore all aspects of self. 3) This atmosphere focuses on counsellor-client relationship, which Rogers described as one with a special “I-thou” personal quality. The counsellor is aware of client’s verbal and non verbal language and the counsellor reflects back what he /she is observing, making the client feel heard and understood. 4) The client is a person in process who is, “entitled to direct his/her own counselling”. Goals of Person-Centred Therapy The goal in this therapy is around the client as a person, not his or her problems. Rogers emphasises that people need to be assisted in learning how to cope with situations. One of main ways to accomplish this is by helping a client to become a full functioning person, who has no need to apply defence mechanism to everyday experiences. Such an individual becomes increasingly willing to change and grow. Techniques of Person-Centred Therapy 1) In this approach, the quality of counselling relationship is much more important than techniques. 2) Rogers believed there are three necessary and sufficient condition of counselling: Empathy, UPR (acceptance and Prizing) and Congruence (Genuineness, openness, authenticity and transparency). Strengths of Person-Centred Therapy This approach revolutionised the counselling with psycho-therapy and demystifying it by making audiotapes of actual sessions. Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 This approach to counselling is applicable to a wide range of human problems, including institutional changes, labor-management relationships, leadership development, decision making, and international diplomacy. Lemoire and Chen (2005) have argued that “the person-centred approach seems to have the potential to create the necessary conditions that counteract stigmatisation, allowing adolescents who are associated with a stigmatised sexual minority group to cope with their sexual identity in a manner that is more constructive for them”. The approach has generated extensive research. It Initially set the standard for doing research on counselling variables, especially those that Rogers deemed “necessary and sufficient” to bring about therapeutic change. This approach is effective in a number of settings. Person-centred counselling helps improve psychological adjustment, learning, and frustration tolerance and decrease defensiveness. This approach has a positive view of human nature and it continues to evolve. This approach may be especially helpful in working with clients who have experienced tragedies since it allows them “to struggle through emotions and actually become less affected in time by fully realising feelings related to the tragedies”. This approach focuses on the open and accepting relationship established by counsellors and clients and the short-term nature of the helping process. This type of counselling is less time consuming. Limitations of Person-Centred Approach This approach may be too simplistic, optimistic, leisurely, and unfocused for clients in crisis or who need more structure and direction. This approach depend on bright, insightful, hardworking clients for best results. It has limited applicability and is seldom employed with the severely disabled or young children. This approach ignores diagnosis, the unconscious, developmental theories, and innately generated sexual and aggressive drives. Many critics think that it is overly optimistic. This approach deal only with surface issues and does not challenge the client to explore deeper areas. Because person-centred counselling is short term, it may not make the permanent impact on the person. The approach is more attitudinal than technique based. It is void of specific techniques to bring client changes. Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 Existential Counselling Rather than prescribing techniques and methods, existential psychotherapy is an attitudinal approach to issues of living. Themes include living and dying, freedom, responsibility to self and others, finding meaning in life, and dealing with a sense of meaninglessness. More than other therapies, existential psychotherapy examines individuals’ awareness of themselves and their ability to look beyond their immediate problems and daily events to problems of human existence. Existential therapy developed from the early work of European philosophers. Perhaps the first was Kierkegaard, who wrote of the anxiety and uncertainties in life. Emphasising subjectivity and the will to power, Nietzsche popularised existential thought in 19th-century Europe. Developing existential- ism further, Heidegger and Jaspers worked out sophisticated systems of existential philosophy. A more pessimistic view of existentialism was put forth by the French philosopher Sartre. Additionally, theologians have made important statements that combine elements of their particular beliefs and existentialist philosophy. Also, writers such as Dostoyevski, Camus, and Kafka have dealt with existential themes in their plays, novels, and other writings. Rollo May (1909-1994) and Viktor Frankl (1905-1997) are two of the most influential professionals of existential counselling. Rollo May dealt extensively with anxiety, especially in regard to his life and death struggle with tuberculosis , whereas Frankl, who was captured in the Nazi concentration camps in World War II, focused on the meaning of life even under the most horrendous death camp conditions. Existential approaches to counselling are derived primarily from existential philosophy. Overall, existentialists have a wide range of different views of the nature of humans and the nature of reality. Some existentialists are optimistic, whereas others focus on nihilism and meaninglessness. Some are very religious, and others are atheists. The existential approach emphasises that individuals must grapple with core life issues such as death, freedom, isolation, and meaninglessness. Anxiety is viewed as a part of normal human experience. Psychopathology arises when the individual avoids, rather than confronting and coping with, life’s core issues. Existential counsellor can be alternatively gentle and confrontational as they strive to develop a deep and authentic relationship with clients. Existential interventions emerge in the relational space between client and therapist; prescriptive pre- planned techniques are generally not used. Counseling is effective because, within the context of an authentic relationship, clients are able to begin facing their ultimate concerns and constructively embrace anxiety in ways that enhance personal meaning. According to Frankl (1962) the “meaning of life always Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 changes but it never ceases to be”. His theory, known as Logotherapy, states that “meaning goes beyond self-actualisation” and exists at three levels: a) Ultimate meanings (e.g., there is an order to the universe) b) Meaning of the movement; c) Common, day-to-day meaning We can discover life’s meaning in three ways: 1) By doing a deed, that is, by achieving or accomplishing something, 2) By experiencing a value, such as a work of nature, culture, or love, and 3) By suffering, that is, by finding a proper attitude toward unalterable fate. Theoretical Approach of Existential Therapy Existential psychology deals with the dynamic or ever-changing transitions that individuals encounter as they emerge, evolve, and become. To be truly human, individuals must be aware of their own being-in-the- world, asking, “Who will I be? Who am I? Where do I come from?” Human beings are responsible for their own plans and destinies. 1) Being in the world- The ability to be consciously aware of themselves and others separates human beings from other species. Being in the world refers to the ability of individuals to be able to think about and reflect on events and to attribute meaning to them this gives people to decide and make choices about many events. 2) Four ways of being- Existentialists identify four ways of being-in-the-world. Human beings exist in the Umwelt, Mitwelt, Eigenwelt, and Überwelt simultaneously. The Umwelt refers to the biological world or the environment. The Mitwelt means “with- world” and concerns the area of human relationships. The Eigenwelt is the “own-world” and refers to the relationship that individuals have to themselves. The Überwelt refers to one’s relationship with spiritual or religious values. 3) Anxiety- two major types, normal and neurotic anxiety. A significant subset of normal anxiety—and the focus of attention by existential psychotherapists—is existential anxiety. For May and Yalom (2005), normal anxiety has three features that differentiate it from neurotic anxiety. First, it is appropriate to the situation that the individual deals with in his life. Second, normal anxiety is not usually repressed. Third, normal anxiety can provide an opportunity to confront existential dilemmas, such as dying, responsibility, and choices. Lucas (2004) sees existential anxiety as deriving from regret for not having made a choice in one’s past. This regret may lead one to have a sense of existential guilt for betraying oneself. In contrast, Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 neurotic anxiety is a reaction that is blown out of proportion or inappropriate for the particular event. For example, the man who is so afraid of disease that he washes his hands several times before and during a meal is experiencing neurotic anxiety. The anxiety is out of proportion to the situation, destructive, and of little value to the patient. Furthermore, the patient may have repressed fears that may be a source of this anxiety. 4) Living and dying- A certainty about living is its termination. We do not know how we will die or how long we will live, but awareness of death is inescapable. Individuals may find that close relationships buffer their anxiety about death. Although the awareness of death can create dread in individuals, it can also lead toward the development of a creative life. Frankl, through his experience saw death not as a threat but as an urging for individuals to live their lives fully and to take advantage of each opportunity to do something meaningful. 5) Freedom, responsibility, choice- Existentialists believe that individuals do not enter or leave a structured universe that has a coherent design. Rather, in their pursuit of freedom, individuals are responsible for their own world, their life plans, and their choices. Although the terms freedom, responsibility, and choice may first appear unrelated, they are integrally related, as we are free to choose in what ways we will be responsible for leading our lives and, implicitly, what values are significant to us. 6) Isolation and Loving- In discussing isolation, Yalom (1980) differentiates three types of isolation: interpersonal, intrapersonal, and existential. Interpersonal isolation refers to distance from others— geographical, psychological, or social. For example, a person with schizophrenia is isolated personally from other individuals due to lack of ability to develop a relationship. Intrapersonal isolation occurs when one separates parts of oneself by using defence mechanisms or other methods to be unaware of one’s own wishes. The person who focuses on what she should do may be distrusting of her judgment and unaware of her abilities and internal resources. Existential isolation is even more basic than either personal or intrapersonal isolation. It refers to being separated from the world. There is a sense of aloneness and isolation that is profound. Loving relationships are a means of bridging a sense of existential isolation. Buber (1970) emphasises the importance of the “I–thou” relationship in which two people fully experience the other. Yalom (1980) cautions that such a relationship should be need free. Caring should be reciprocal, active, and a way of fully experiencing the other person. 7) Meaning and Meaninglessness- human beings need a sense of meaningfulness in their lives. A sense of meaning provides a way of interpreting events that occur to the individual and in the world, and it furnishes a means for the development of values as to how people live and wish to live. Sartre, Camus, Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 and others have written about the absurdity of life and have dealt fully with the question of meaninglessness. Others, such as Frankl, have focused on the importance of the development and search for meaning in one’s life. 8) Self-Transcendence- It is the existential nature of human beings to transcend their immediate situation and their self-interest to strive toward something above themselves. Individuals have the capacity for transcending their immediate situation because they have the ability to understand their own being and to take responsibility for being. By using imagination and creativity, individuals transcend their own needs so that they may be aware of others and act responsibly toward them. 9) Striving for authenticity- Authenticity refers to a “central genuineness and awareness of being” that includes a willingness to face up to the limitations of human existence. Issues related to being authentic relate to moral choices, the meaning of life, and being human. Authentic individuals are concerned about their society and social institutions such as schools and charities, whereas inauthentic individuals are less concerned with them. Authentic individuals, being aware of themselves, are more flexible and open to change than individuals who are inauthentic. The authentic person experiences existential anxiety over issues related to freedom, responsibility, death, isolation, and meaning. Role of Counsellor in Existential Therapy There is no uniform roles hat existential counsellors follow. Every client is considered unique. Counsellors are sensitive to all aspects of their clients’ character, “such as posture, voice, facial expression, even dress and apparently accidental movements of the body”(May, 1939). Counsellors concentrate on being authentic with their clients and entering into deep and personal relationships with them. “the counsellor strives to be with the client in here-and-now, and to understand and experience the ongoing emotional and mental state of the client. In order to do this, the counsellor needs to express his or her own feelings” (Fernando, 2007). Existential counsellors focus on person-to-person relationships that emphasise mutuality, wholeness, and growth. Counsellors who practice from Frankl’s logotherapy perspective are Socratic in engaging their clients in dialogue. All existential counsellors serve as a model of how to achieve individual potential and make decisions. The focus is living productively in the present, not recovering a personal past. Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 They help client experience subjective feeling, gain clearer self-understanding, and move toward the establishment of a new way to being in the world. They also focus on ultimate human concerns such as death, freedom, isolation, and meaninglessness. Goals of Existential Therapy Helping clients. realise the importance of meaning, responsibility, awareness, and freedom, and potential. Existentialists hope that during the course of counselling, clients will take responsibility for their lives. “The aim of the counselling is that the patient experiences his existence is real” (may, Angel, & Ellenberger, 1985). In the process, the client is freed from being an observer of events and becomes a sharper of meaningful personal activity and an embracer of personal values that lead to a meaningful lifestyle. Techniques of Existential Therapy “Existential counselling does not limit counsellor to specific techniques and intervention” (Fernando, 2007). According to Frankl (1967), “Approaching human beings merely in terms of techniques necessarily implies manipulating them”, and manipulation is opposed to what existentialists espouse. Thus, existentialists are free to use techniques as widely diversified as desensitisation and free association or to disassociate themselves from these practices entirely. The most effective and powerful technique existentialists have is the relationship with the client. They also use confrontation. They borrow some techniques from other models of counselling such as employment of awareness exercises, imagery, paradox, deflection, and goal-setting activities. Strengths of Existential Therapy It emphasises the uniqueness of each individual and the importance of meaningfulness in their lives. The approach recognises that anxiety is not necessarily a negative condition. Anxiety is a part of human life and can motivate some individuals to make healthy and productive decisions (Fernando, 2007). The approach gives counsellor the tremendous amount of philosophy and literature that is both informative and enlightening about human nature. The approach stresses continued human growth and development and offers hope to clients through directed readings and therapeutic encounters with counsellors. Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 The approach is effective in multi-cultural counselling situations. The approach helps connect individual to universal problems faced by humankind, such as the search for peace and the absence of caring (Baldwin, 1989). This approach can be combined with other perspectives and method to treat extremely difficult problems, such as addiction (Fernando, 2007). Limitations of Existential Therapy The approach has not produced a fully developed model of counselling. Professional who stress developmental stages of counselling are particularly vehement in this criticism. The approach lacks educational and training programs. It is difficult to implement beyond an individual level because of its subjective nature. It lacks the type of methodology and validation processes prevalent in most other approaches. It lacks the uniformity that beginning counsellors can readily understand. This approach is closer to existential philosophy than to other theories of counselling. This distinction limits its usefulness in some cases. Gestalt Therapy Gestalt therapy, was developed by Fritz and Laura Perls. It is the most popular and well-known experiential therapy, focuses on making change as a result of growing awareness of self and others. Gestalt therapy is concerned with the whole individual, who is viewed as more than the sum of her behaviours. The term gestalt refers to the dynamic organisation of a whole that comprises two or more related parts. A phenomenological method that values human experience as the source of data, gestalt therapy emphasises the patient’s and the therapist’s experience of reality. It is an existential approach in that it stresses the responsibility of individuals for themselves and their ability to determine their own present experience. In gestalt therapy, as in other experiential therapies, issues dealing with the past or future are brought into the present. The general goal of gestalt therapy is awareness of self, others, and the environment that brings about growth and integration of the individual. Gestalt therapy emphasises having an appropriate boundary between self and others. The boundary must be flexible enough for meaningful contact with others but firm enough for the individual to experience a sense of autonomy. When an individual is not clear about the boundary between self and others, a disturbance of contact and awareness can occur, which may result in psychopathology. Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 Theoretical Approaches to Gestalt Counselling Gestalt Psychology and Gestalt Therapy Gestalt psychology was first developed by Max Wertheimer and later by Wolfgang Kohler and Kurt Koffka. Essentially, gestalt psychology is based on the view that psychological phenomena are organised wholes rather than specific parts. Some properties of a phenomenon cannot be observed by looking at its parts but occur only when individuals view the entirety. In gestalt psychology, the “field” can be viewed in terms of “figure” and “ground.” The figure is what stands out, and the ground is the background. Although therapists have applied these concepts to feelings and bodily sensations, gestalt psychologists did not. In fact, gestalt psychologists have been quite critical of the loose and inaccurate ways in which Perls applied gestalt psychology to gestalt psychotherapy. Sherrill (1986, p. 54) states: “Gestalt therapists see close kinship between the two gestalt systems; gestalt psychologists deny any meaningful similarity.” Despite the criticisms of gestalt psychologists about the applications of gestalt psychological concepts to gestalt therapy, concepts of figure and ground are important in understanding the theoretical rationale of gestalt therapy. When figures are incomplete or unclear, they are forced into a background that may be distracting for the individual. Three kinds of interferences are found in developing a complete Gestalt: - First, individuals may have poor perceptual contact with others and with themselves. - Second, a complete gestalt is thwarted when expression of needs is blocked. - Third, repressing feelings or perceptions can prevent the formation of a complete gestalt. The therapist then works to assist individuals in becoming aware of their tensions, thus completing the gestalt so that the figure is full and complete. In doing so, the therapist helps the patient develop improved contact with people in his world. Taking risks and removing blocks to experiences help individuals discover their own boundaries. Wholeness and Integration Wholeness refers to the whole person or the individual’s mind and body as a unit rather than as separate parts (Seligman, 2006). Integration refers to how these parts fit together and how the individual integrates into the environment. Often people who come to therapy do not have these parts fitting together in their environment, Gestalt Therapy is about facilitating clients to integrate themselves as whole persons and help restore balance in their environment. Contact “Contact is the lifeblood of growth, means for changing oneself, and one’s experience of the world” (Polster & Polster, 1973, p. 101). Contact differs from fusion, as contact exists when a sense of separateness is Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 maintained. In fusion, there is no separateness. Although contact is a quality that occurs with other persons and objects, rarely are people aware of the contact they have with others. With contact can come a sense of self as well as a sense of impingement on a boundary. Levels of contact have been described by Perls (1969b, 1969c, 1970) as five layers of neuroses. To become psychologically mature, individuals must strip off each of the five layers: phony, phobic, impasse, implosive, and explosive. Each layer’s removal reveals increasingly impactful contact with the environment. 1. The phony layer refers to reacting to others in unauthentic or patterned ways. Examples are “How are you?” and “Have a nice day.” More substantial examples include trying to be nice to someone so they will buy something from you. 2. At the phobic layer is an avoidance of psychological pain. For example, we may not want to admit to ourselves that an important relationship is over. 3. Impasse is the point at which we are afraid to change or move. We may feel very little, only a sense of being stuck. Perls (1970, p. 25) gives an example of a marriage in which the partners are no longer in love; they have ideas of what the other should be but no ideas of what the other is really like. They blame each other and are at an impasse. Individuals feel little internal or external support. This is a particularly significant level for making therapeutic change. 4. At the implosive level we experience our feelings, start to become aware of the real self, but may do little about the feelings. 5. Contact with the explosive layer is authentic and without pretence. For Perls it was necessary to experience the explosive to become truly alive and authentic. Contact Boundaries Contact boundaries are the process of connecting to or separating from other or objects. More specifically, I- boundaries are those that distinguish between one person and another, a person and an object, or the person and a quality of the person. Polster and Polster distinguish vantage points from which I-boundaries can be described: body-boundaries, value-boundaries, familiarity-boundaries, and expressive-boundaries. 1) Body-boundaries are those that may restrict sensations or place them off limits. Polster and Polster (1973, pp. 115–116) describe a man with a complaint of impotence who was at first aware only of head movements and became more and more aware of a trembling sensation in his legs that led to a sense of peacefulness in his body. Thus, his body-boundary was extended. 2) Value-boundaries refer to values we hold that we are resistant to changing. When a man who holds Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 antiabortion values must deal with the unwanted pregnancy of an unmarried 17-year-old daughter, value boundaries may be challenged, possibly changed, or possibly reinforced. 3) Familiarity-boundaries refer to events that are often repeated but may not be thought about or challenged. Examples include going to the same job every day, taking the same route to work every day, or interacting in a stereotyped way with an associate. If an individual loses a job or experiences the rejection of a marriage partner, the challenge to familiarity-boundaries can be devastating. 4) Expressive-boundaries are learned at an early age. We learn not to yell, not to whine, not to touch, and so forth. In the United States, men have often been taught not to cry. For a man to be in contact with important others, it may be necessary to extend his expressive-boundary. Contact Boundary Disturbances Occasionally the boundary between self and others becomes vague, disintegrates, or is otherwise disturbed (Clarkson, 2004). Sometimes an individual keeps out nourishing and helpful aspects of objects or others. In one sense, the individual is out of balance, and needs are not being met. If the contact with objects or others is resisted, the interaction with the object or other may follow one of these five patterns: introjection, projection, retroflection, deflection, and confluence (Polster & Polster, 1973). Introjection refers to swallowing whole or accepting others’ views without reviewing them. For example, children often take their parents’ opinions as fact rather than as values. As children grow older, they introject their parents’ views less frequently. Doing so may be appropriate at some times, but not at others. Introjection can be healthy or pathological, depending on the circumstances. Projection refers to the dismissing or disowning of aspects of ourselves by assigning them to others. Often feelings of guilt or anger may lead individuals to project blame onto someone else. By doing so, the individual may feel better temporarily, but full contact with others is reduced. In projection, aspects of the self are attributed to others, thus extending the boundary between self and others. Blaming a professor for failing an exam for which an individual did not study is an example of projection. Retroflection consists of doing to ourselves what we want to do to someone else, or it can refer to doing things for ourselves that we want others to do for us. The statement “I can do it myself” when we want others to help us is an example of retroflection. Although this behaviour is designed to make us feel self- sufficient, we may feel alone and cut off from others. In retroflection, a function that is originally directed from an individual toward others changes directions and returns to the individual. In an extreme example, suicide becomes a substitute for murder. More symbolically, biting one’s nails can be a substitute for aggression toward others or biting off their heads. In this way, the nail biter symbolically treats himself as he wants to treat others. Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 Deflection refers to varying degrees of avoidance of contact. The person who does not get to the point, who is overly polite, or talks constantly is deflecting— avoiding contact. Other examples include talking about something rather than talking to someone or substituting mild emotions for strong ones. Particularly at the beginning of the therapeutic process, it is common for patients to deflect—to describe their problems abstractly or as if they belong to another person, or to include irrelevant details. Avoiding physical contact is an example of deflecting contact. Confluence occurs when the boundary between one’s self and others becomes muted or lessened. In relationships there may be a perception that both individuals have the same feelings and thoughts, when in fact the individuals have become less aware of their own feelings and values. People who feel a strong need to be accepted may experience confluence; they relinquish their true feelings and opinions for the acceptance of others. Thus, knowing how they truly feel or think is difficult for them. Gestalt therapists assume that contact is healthy and necessary for satisfactory psychological functioning. Introjection, projection, retroflection, deflection, and confluence are ways of diminishing, avoiding, or otherwise resisting contact. Awareness Awareness of oneself is an important part of gestalt personality theory, referring to contact within individuals themselves, as well as with others and objects (Clarkson, 2004). Polster and Polster (1973) identify four types of awareness: (1) Awareness of sensations and actions pertains to sensing through seeing, hearing, touching, or other senses and then expressing oneself through movement or vocal expression; (2) awareness of feelings concerns awareness of both emotional feelings and physical feelings such as sweaty palms or shortness of breath; (3) awareness of wants refers to awareness of desires for future events to take place, such as to graduate from college or to win the lottery; and (4) awareness of values and assessments concerns larger units of experience than those mentioned, including how one values others, social and spiritual issues, and other assessments of events related to these. Awareness refers to what is happening now rather than what is remembered. There are two main causes lacking awareness: Preoccupation with one’s past, fantasies, flaws and strengths that the individual becomes unaware of the whole picture and Low self-esteem. The Present Prior and future events are seen through the present. The present is also important because only here can an individual’s bodily and sensory systems be seen. Yontef (2007) sees many advantages of focusing on the immediate moment so that the patient can experience self-acceptance, feel awareness of the moment, and a commitment to what emerges. When a patient talks about an event, the individual is distanced from the Downloaded by Meemansha Gaur ([email protected]) lOMoARcPSD|29865018 event and is not in the present. Although the present is most important, past history and future plans are also considered. Gestalt therapists often assess ways in which the past and future are stated in the present. One way of examining how the past affects the present is through the concept of unfinished business (Joyce & Sills, 2001). This refers to feelings from the past that have been unexpressed but are dealt with in the present. The feelings may be of anger, hatred, guilt, fear, and so forth, or they may be memories or fantasies that are still within the individual. Sometimes unfinished business may take the form of an obsession with money, sex, or some other issue. By working through unfinished business, individuals are completing a gestalt. When closure has been accomplished, the preoccupation with the past is completed. To summarise Fritz and Laura Perls were the dominant forces in creating Gestalt theory and therapy. Gestalt theory is an amalgamation of psychoanalysis, developmental psychology, existential philosophy, Gestalt psychology, field theory, and Reichian muscular defensiveness, all within an anarchical framework. Humans are viewed as having both natural growth potential and natural defensiveness from experiential contact. Gestalt therapy focuses on developing an I-Thou relationship between client and therapist and then works in the here-and-now to deal with unfinished emotional and behavioural experiences from the past. Intellectualisation is discouraged and action within the session is encouraged. Gestalt therapists don’t engage in authoritative interpretation, but instead stimulate clients to come to their senses and make their own interpretation via Gestalt experiments. Role of Counsellor in Gestalt Therapy “The counsellor’s job is to invite clients into an active partnership where they can learn about themselves by adopting an experiential attitude toward life in which they try out new behaviours and notice what happens” (Perls, Hefferline and Goodman, 1954, in Corey, 2005). Goals of Gestalt Therapy The most important goal of Gestalt Therapy is that Gestalt Therapists do not aim to

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