Counselling in Social Work - Introduction PDF

Chapter One Introduction to Counselling in Social work COUNSELING IN Lidia A SOCIAL WORK  Have you ever visited counselor ?  When you hear about counseling; what comes to your mind?  Could every one be a counselor?  Definition of Counseling  Counselling is a face to f...

Chapter One Introduction to Counselling in Social work COUNSELING IN Lidia A SOCIAL WORK  Have you ever visited counselor ?  When you hear about counseling; what comes to your mind?  Could every one be a counselor?  Definition of Counseling  Counselling is a face to face communication by which you help the person to make decisions or solve a problem and act upon them.  It is a helping process aimed at problem solving  Personal and interpersonal functioning across the lifespan  A holistic view of emotional, social, vocational, educational, health- related, developmental and organisational concerns  The delivery of evidence-based psychological therapy  A principled relationship characterized by the application of one or more psychological theories and a recognized set of communication skills, modified by experience, insight and other interpersonal factors, to clients' concerns, problems or aspirations. (Feltham and Dryden, 1993)  Counseling is a method of identifying practical solution to an identified problem(Family conflicts, Personal problems Difficulty to adjust with others)  Practical Definition of Counseling  A helping profession that involves one person (the counselor) helping another person (the client) to work through some difficult or painful emotional, behavioral or relationship problem or difficulty  It Requires an understanding and acceptance of one’s personal history, combined with an explicit use of psychological theories, to analyse the process of a particular therapy, or counselling situation.  The American Counseling Association (ACA), defines counseling “a professional relationship that empowers diverse individuals, families, and groups to accomplish mental health, wellness, education, and career goals. Brief History and trends of Counseling Counseling in the 19th century:  The most basic form of counseling ==taking place as a form of treatment for emotional problems. ------was practiced in the form of advice and information in the 19th century.  Early counseling professionals called themselves teachers and social advocates.  Their areas of focus involved child welfare , education , employment guidance and legal reform Early counseling pioneers  In the 1900s three pioneers stood out in the advancement of counseling.  Frank parson , regarded as a father of the vocational guidance movement, founded Boston's vocational bureau in 1908. which was a major step in the institutionalizations of guidance.  Jesse B. Devis created the first systematized guidance program in public schools and paved the way for school guidance counseling.  Clifford Beers: Founded the Mental Hygiene Movement in the early 1900’s after his own experiences within a mental hospital.  With his own battle with mental illness and depression exposed the poor condition of mental institutions in his book ‘ A mind that found itself ``in 1908. 1908—Clifford Beers Mental Hygiene Movement—purpose was to educate general public to appreciate the treatment of disturbed persons. Community Mental Health Center began as response to this movement. Other results: Psychopathic hospitals Community aftercare services Local hospitals developed diagnostic and outpatient clinics Standards were raised for treatment and prevention. Preventive and early treatment  Rapid growth in solid scientific research in many different areas (1904-1929): Statistical analysis Test theory Human and animal learning Social and abnormal psychology Empirical bases of psychology as a science 1930’s--Alfred Adler, student of Freud, pioneered family counseling and treatment of children.  He was one of the first practitioners to provide family and group counseling and  to use public education as a way to address community health.  He was among the first to write about the social Setting the counseling ground  The development of vocational guidance began to take root in early 1900s , two important benchmarks helped spread its practice and legitimacy.  First , in 1913 the national vocational guidance association (NVGA) The forerunner of todays American counseling Association, was founded , in Michigan  Second, in 1917, Smith Hughes Act was passed  Smith-Hughes Act, formally National Vocational Education Act, U.S. legislation, adopted in 1917, that provided federal aid to the states for the purpose of promoting vocational education in agricultural and industrial trades and in home economics.  Vocational counseling evolves with the Great Depression  In 1929 , Abrham and Hannah stone established the first marriage and family counseling center in New York.  This marked the beginning of broader approach to counseling during the 1930s while the great depression sparked a change in the counseling methods related to employment.  E,G Williamson developed the first theory of counseling what was considered to be the first comprehensive theory of counseling.  This theory was known as the trait and factor theory: states that: Every person has a unique pattern of traits made up of their interests, values, abilities & personality characteristics.  The trait and factor approach uses a lot of measuring tools on the counselee's attributes such as talents, abilities, interests, behavior and personality.  From the measurement results, it can be predicted and directed to what education and position is suitable for the counselee so that he can make his life happy  Emergency of ACA 1952-1983: It was known as the American Personnel and Guidance Association. 1983-1992: It was called the American Association for Counseling and Development. 1992 to present: It is called the American Counseling Association.  The American Counseling Association (ACA) is a membership organization representing licensed professional counselors, counseling students, and other counseling professionals in the United States.  Its mission is to "enhance the quality of life in society by promoting the development of professional counselors,  advancing the counseling profession, and using the profession and practice of counseling to promote respect for human dignity and diversity Cont … Today’s counselors work with clients to help them:  Adjust to major life changes such as divorce, loss of a loved one, unemployment, or return from military deployment.  Develop skills and strategies for addressing personal or interpersonal challenges at home, work, or in social settings.  Recognize and modify behaviors that reduce from their well-being or quality of life.  Overcome and manage anxiety, substance abuse, depression, and other mental health disorders.  Define career, life, or personal goals and the strategies required to meet those goals. Cont  In 1986 neurologist Sigmund Freud finished the development of ‘psychoanalysis ‘ as a form of therapy for those with serious internal emotional conflict.  Psycho therapy focuses on a persons unconscious and belief that mental illness is the result of repressed memory and emotions,  Treatment uses interpretations to bring such memory into the forefront.  SESSION TWO Types of counseling Lidia A Types of counseling One-to-one/ Individual Counseling  Is where core helping activities and all other activities become meaningful b/n the counselor and the client  One-to-one helping relationship focusing on: Personal growth and adjustment, Problem-solving, and Decision-making needs Benefits of individual counseling : Individuals gain more empathy , It helps to talk about hard things  Family counseling Family counseling is where counselor-social workers are working with family members to head off anticipated stresses, as well as work with other stress-prone groups, such as  Communication: Family counseling can help improve communication between family members.  Relationships: Family counseling can help improve interpersonal relationships and build a more cohesive family unit.  Divorce issues,  single parents,  poverty and low-income,  widows and widowers, and so forth. Family counseling is a process in which 1. One or more person deal with personal and interpersonal issues related with marriage, … 2. one or more persons including children affected by divorce or separation 3. Issues related to care of children. Group Counseling Group Counseling  A treatment modality for 2 or more individuals who meet on a predetermined basis, with 1 or more therapists,  one of the goals of group therapy is to bring people who share similar experiences together.  Listento each other and offer support and feedback  Learn new ways to interact with others  Gain a better understanding of themselves and others Group Counseling ….  Three or more individuals who are to the same degree interdependent come together to accomplish a task or a common goal  To explore psychiatric and emotional difficulties  To bring relief  To increase self-esteem and insight  To improve behavior and social relationships Can be:  Prevention oriented Individuals can function in society, but can experience some “rough/irregular spots.” If “rough spots” can be smoothed through successful group counseling, no serious personality defects are incurred in the society  Growth /change stimulation Provides participants with incentive and motivation to make changes that are in their best interest Makes direct attempt to modify attitudes and behaviors; Depend upon group cohesiveness and sharing personal concerns, which are most applicable to small, intimate groups Topics to Discuss in Group Therapy Substance Abuse.... Mental Health Conditions.... Emotional Wellness.... Grief.... Criminal Behavior.... Divorce.... Trauma.  Group Counseling Advantages of Groups It provides a social atmosphere that is similar to the real world. Members can test out and practice new behaviors. Members can practice new interpersonal skills. They are cost effective. Groups help members see that they are not the only one who has that particular problem or issue. Groups provide members with support. Disadvantages of Groups Less individualized attention from the counselor. Confidentiality is more difficult to maintain. There are concerns with conformity and peer pressure. Not everyone can be in a group (e.g. those with issues too severe or those with poor interpersonal skills.) Irvin Yalom’s Therapeutic Factors of Groups I. Instillation of HOPE  People have similar problems, gain confidence that problems can be solved  Members are inspired by the success of others and develop optimism for their own improvement. II. Universality  They are not alone and their problems are not unique  This can help members learn new coping methods and express difficult emotions in a safe environment III. Imparting Information  Formal and informal learning occurs with sharing of information IV. Altruism/unselfishness  Through helping others, members experience therapeutic benefits  Members help other group members, which can boost their self-esteem and sense of value.  Yalom’s Therapeutic Factors… V. Corrective Recapitualization of the Family Group  Behavior is influenced by past family experiences  Interactions frequently resemble patterns of communication with significant others VI. Socialization Techniques  Production of social learning  encourages and advances relating and social skills such as tolerance, boundaries, empathy, and conflict resolution. This helps reduce isolation and promotes connection with others in more meaningful ways, which is generalized over time into one's life outside of the group. VII. Imitative Behavior  Interpersonal Learning, one imitate the others behavior VIII. Group Cohesiveness  Sense of belonging that separates the individual from the group. Members are of value to each other  providing both a nurturing and empowering experience IX. Catharsis  Release of intense emotions with a safe group members  releases strong or long-suppressed emotions associated with past psychological woundings, bringing a sense of relief and allowing for significant shifts in one's internal framework.  Yalom’s Therapeutic Factors… X. Existential Factors  involves one’s individual quest to find meaning in their life. Includes the process of understanding and accepting the reality of the human condition, with all its frustrations and limitations.  With each other's support, group members learn to accept life on life's terms without seeking escape or denial, without fighting it, and without being paralyzed by it. Instead, they learn how to live with them and through them, seeing that obstacles are not in the way of the path but in fact are the path.  Loneliness, death, meaning of human existence are issues common to all. Learn to accept responsibility, and provide their own direction XI. The Group Contract  Goals and purpose of the group  Location, time, and frequency  Statement regarding addition of number  Attendance expectations  Roles and responsibilities of group members  Confidentiality Group Counseling Group Leadership Techniques Facilitating communication: Giving constructive feedback, preventing members from engaging in negative behaviors (gossiping, storytelling etc.) Group Processing: Making comments on group process to keep the group therapeutic and attending to group dynamics. Directing the Focus on the Here and Now: Keeping the focus on right now and not going back to dwell on the past. Experimentation: Helping members try out new attitudes and behaviors. Universalizing: Helping members realize they are not alone in their problem(s). Linking: Connecting various feelings and concerns expressed by group members to present a common theme or universalizing aspect. Group Leadership Tasks and Responsibilities  Maintaining Discipline  Keeping the group on task  Establishing and Enforcing group Rules  Protecting group members  Encouraging full group participation  Moving the group in the direction of stated objectives  Communicating  Active Listening  Questioning  Leadership Tasks cont…  Interpretation  Modeling appropriate Behavior  Assigning Homework  Encouraging members to help others  Emotional Stimulation: Challenging, confronting, modeling self-disclosure etc.  Caring: Showing support, praise, warmth, acceptance etc.  Meaning Attribution: Explaining, clarifying, interpreting etc.  Executive Function: Setting limits, providing rules, managing time etc. Group Counseling Concerns in Group Work Group Size: Varies from 3-4 members to several hundred depending upon the group (e.g. task group). Group counseling and psychotherapy generally work best with 6-8 members. Participant Selection: Screening is needed with counseling and psychotherapy groups. Some people are not well suited for group work.  Group Counseling Concerns in Group Work (continued) Length and Duration of Sessions: Individual sessions are usually 50 minutes, group sessions range from 1-2 hours. Session duration can be only once per week or twice a week and it lasts for a year or two or in some cases might last for years (e.g. open-ended psychotherapy group). Ethics: Confidentiality is hard to guarantee due to the number of participants. Group Evaluation: Outcome measurements are difficult to obtain. ………………………………. It can make people uncomfortable: Clashes between personalities: Limitations regarding privacy: Social Phobia and speaking in front of a group: Group Counseling Types of Groups Task Groups: A group that comes together to perform a task that has a concrete goal (e.g.community organizations, task forces and social action groups, study circles and learning groups, planning and discussion groups,).  for instance, a group of mental health professionals may come together to devise an awareness or prevention campaign, such as with topics of suicide or substance use. Guidance/Psycho-educational Group: Preventative and educational groups that help group members learn information about a particular topic or issue and might also help group members cope with that same issue (e.g. support group for a suicide prevention, transition group to prepare students to enter high school etc.) Counseling/Interpersonal Problem-Solving Groups: These groups help participants resolve  Psychotherapy Groups: These groups focus on personality reconstruction or remediation of deep-seated psychological problems.  offered at hospitals, residential and outpatient treatment centers, group recovery environments, and community mental and behavioral health clinics.  Support Groups: These deal with special populations and deal with specific issues and offer support, comfort, and connectedness to others.  A support group provides an opportunity for people to share personal experiences and feelings, coping strategies, or firsthand information about diseases or treatments.  For example, this common ground might be cancer, chronic medical conditions, addiction, bereavement or caregiving.  Self-help Groups: These have no formal or trained group leader.  Self-help groups are self-governing and are run by member volunteers who have demonstrated maintained recovery.  E.g. Alcoholics Session Three Where does Counselling work?  Primary care, Community Mental Health Teams, tertiary settings for psychiatric in-patients, specialist services for older adults, those with eating disorders, personality disorders, learning difficulties, and in general health care settings where psychological services are offered.  Prison and probation services  Social services  Voluntary/charitable organisations  Employee assistance programmes  Occupational health departments  Student counselling departments  Private practice  Nature of Problems Handled by Counsellors Counsellors work therapeutically with clients with a variety of problems like:  Relationship breakdown,  Domestic violence,  major trauma  Symptoms of psychological disorder (such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, and psychosis) and  The effects of childhood sexual abuse and Drug Addiction School Dropout Problems Homeless In general they offer an active collaborative relationship that can both facilitate the exploration of underlying issues and can empower people to confront change. What do Counsellors do?  Help people with physical, emotional, behavioural and psychological ‘disorders’  Help people improve their well-being  Alleviate distress and maladjustment  Resolve crises  Increase clients’ abilities to live more highly functioning lives Counsellors can work with  Individuals,  couples,  Families  Groups of all ages across the lifespan. Basic Principles of Counseling o The Counseling Program must recognize the right and capability of the individual to make decisions and plans. The Counseling Program must respect the worth and dignity of the individual--every individual. The Counseling Program must recognize the uniqueness of the individual and the individual’s right to that uniqueness. The social worker-counselor should be a role model of positive human relations--unbiased, equal treatment. Results of counseling Results of counseling can include:  Insight and understanding of oneself, with greater self-awareness.  Changing of one's beliefs and mental models.  Increased acceptance and appreciation of oneself.  Increased ability to control oneself and one's urges.  Development of skills and abilities that require self- management.  Improved motivation towards actions that are good for one's self..  Improvement in relationships with others.  Making amends for past negative actions.  In summary, counseling typically leads to resolution of a living problem, learning of some kind and/or improvements in social inclusion. Goals of Counseling Four basic goal areas: 1-Changes in behavior and lifestyle, 2-Increased awareness or insight and understanding, 3-Relief from suffering, and 4-Changes in thoughts and self-perceptions Counseling aims to help people:  Understand their situation more clearly.  Identify options for improving the situation.  Make choices that fit their values, feelings and needs.  Make their own decisions and act on them.  Cope better with their problem/issues.  Provide support for others while preserving their own strength.  Develop life skills. Don’ts of Counseling  Giving advice / Telling someone what to do  Making decisions or actions on behalf of clients  Interfering  Blaming  Preaching or lecturing  Imposing your own beliefs on clients  Arguing with clients  Judging  Elements of Counseling Elements needed for an effective therapeutic relationship include: Congruence:  Emphasized the importance of being genuine and real in the relationship.  Congruence between what they are feeling on the inside and what they are outwardly communicating.  When a counselor is congruent, interactions with the client are characterized by honesty, transparency, and openness Warm, Unconditional positive regard for the individual:  Accepting the client without evaluation or judgment  Giving warmth and safety of being liked and prized as a person  Elements of Counseling… Respect  A helping attitude that communicates acceptance of the client as a person of worth and dignity  Demonstrates a belief in the client’s ability to deal with his or her problems in the presence of a facilitative person.  Actualize the power, ability, and skills the client already possesses.  Believing in the client’s problem-solving ability  Shows willingness to work with the client and an interest and belief in the client as a person of worth Trust  Essential in a healthy, productive counseling relationship  Established by being genuine and by expressing respect and positive regard for the client’s individual worth  Maintained by consistently following ethical standards and always remembering to put the needs of the client first and foremost  Elements of Counseling… Confidentiality  Assures clients that whatever they tell will remain private  Allows the client to feel safe and promotes telling information that would otherwise remain hidden. Use of benevolent power  Using the interpersonal influence one has as a counselor in a careful manner.  Counselors are influential because of their perceived levels of expertness, attractiveness, and trustworthiness and must use this power responsibly in facilitating change for the client. Commitment  Carry out respective responsibilities in the helping relationship  Roles of Counselors and Clients  Counselor responsibilities include delivering specified services and following ethical guidelines;  The counselor is designated as the helper and is assumed to have the knowledge and training to assist the client in an intentional and systematic way.  Obligation to respect the confidentiality of a client and  Obligation to protect clients from self-harm or from harming others Client responsibilities include a commitment toward working on his or her problems and investing energy in the counseling process.  provide complete information about one's illness/problem,  to enable proper evaluation and treatment. ask questions to ensure an understanding of the condition or problem.  General Characteristics of Counseling relationship:  It provides a safe and protective environment for clients  It encourages collaboration, with both clients and counselors playing an active role in the counseling process  It has mutuality or a feeling of shared warmth, caring, affirmation, and respect  Clients can identify with their counselors and perhaps use them as role models  Client and counselor have an agreement on goals and procedures; sessions are structured in such a way as to clearly move toward accomplishment of these goals  Client and counselor view themselves as engaged in a shared endeavor that seems likely to succeed