Psychotherapy (Counseling) PDF

Psychotherapy (Counseling) Counseling is a professional helping relationship between the client and the counselor. How can counseling help a person: Reduce emotional pain Give hope Raise self esteem Give new ideas and skills TECHNIQUES The major techniques that a counselor uses in communicating wit...

Psychotherapy (Counseling) Counseling is a professional helping relationship between the client and the counselor. How can counseling help a person: Reduce emotional pain Give hope Raise self esteem Give new ideas and skills TECHNIQUES The major techniques that a counselor uses in communicating with a client have been divided into two groups 1)Reflective Techniques. 2) Directive Techniques. Reflective Techniques a) Active Listening. Attending or listening is the most fundamental and important skill in communication. Listening means that the counselor should be fully alert to what the client is saying. Communicating the client requires both verbal and nonverbal techniques, Use of minimal response: a good way of letting the client know that the counselor is fully attentive is by the use of minimal responses for instance “nodding” using words like “yes” “ok” “right” etc. Eye contact: It is important to establish rapport. Eye contact should be used in accordance with the cultural norms. For instance, starring may be embarrassing for the client. Posture: Posture involves the distance between the client and the counselor and the angle at which the counselor is sitting b) Reflection of Content or paraphrasing. Paraphrasing means restoring the verbal content of the client’s communication. The counselor reflects back the essence of what the client said in her/his statement. c) Reflection of Feeling. In reflection of feeling the focus is on feeling or emotions expressed in the tone of the client, the rate and volume of speech, his posture and other verbal and non-verbal behavior. Reflection of feeling communicates acceptance and encourages the client to bring his emotions. d) Summarizing.: is bringing together all the points discussed in a counseling session. It includes the verbal contents of client’s communication as well as feelings expressed by him/her. Directive Techniques: a) Asking Questions or Probing. Through probing the counselor asks the client to explore his situation in great depth. Use of probing is particularly helpful in focusing the client’s attention on a particular area for elaboration and clarification what the client has been saying. Goals that can be achieved by asking questions  To encourage the client to open up and disclose  To help the client to be specific  To help the counselor reach a clearer understanding of the client statement. b) Interpretation: It is a skill used for exploring the alternative ways of looking at a problematic situation. Helps the client realize that there is more than one way to look at most situations.  Teaches the client to become more flexible and to explore new point of view.  Helps the client to understand his problem more clearly  Helps the client generate new and distinctive solutions to problems. c) Confrontation In confrontation client’s awareness is increased by giving him information which he is overlooking or failing to identify for himself. The counselor points out the discrepancies in what the client is presenting. For instance, the way a client says he is feeling and the way he is behaving. Situation in which confrontation is appropriate  The client is excessively or inappropriately locked into talking about the past and future.  The client’s non verbal behavior doesn't match his verbal behavior. Confrontation should only be used after the use of other skills have failed to sufficiently increase the client’s awareness.