Counselling
WHAT IS COUNSELLING?
Counselling is a process that focuses on enhancing the psychological wellbeing of the client, such that the client is then better able to reach their full potential. This is achieved by the counsellor facilitating the client’s personal growth, self development and self awareness, which in turn empowers the client to adopt more constructive life practices. Clients experience growth through real person to person relationships.
Counselling enables clients to develop a clearer understanding of their concerns, goals and strengths. Counselling helps clients to acquire new skills to better manage life and personal issues.
Counsellors often offer different perspectives and help their clients to think of creative solutions to problems. Sharing thoughts and feelings with someone who is not personally or emotionally involved often facilitates clarity and a feeling of being unburdened.
Counselling is an intimate
form of Learning
COUNSELLING APPROACHES
The counsellor’s central goal is to assist their client in increasing their sense of wellbeing, often via a variety/combination of models and theoretical approaches. Each different counselling model and theoretical approach places more or less emphasis on the areas of thinking or behaviour or on emotional aspects.
Below is a brief, overview of some of the counselling modalities Jacquie combines.
PERSON CENTRED THERAPY
The Person centred approach focuses primarily on the way clients feel, particularly about themselves. It is proposed that if the client’s feelings change, their behaviour will change also. Person Centred Therapy can be less directive than other approaches. Clients are trusted to use their self actualizing tendencies to move them toward their full potential.
Person Centred Therapy emphasizes the importance of the client – therapist relationship and espouses that a therapist must convey genuineness, acceptance and empathy to assist clients in promoting inner growth and broadening their self acceptance and awareness.
Recommended reading:
Counselling and Psychotherapy
C.R. Rogers (1942)
BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY
Behaviour Therapy has its origins in Learning Theory and is based on the scientific principles of cause and effect. Behaviourists state that all behaviours both maladaptive and adaptive are learned and therefore can be unlearned. Behaviour Therapy is based on the assessment of behaviour, and focuses on changing inappropriate behaviour via, systematic desensitisation, behavioural contracts and self management plans.
Behaviour Therapy is rarely practiced as a standalone approach; it is most frequently combined with cognitive therapy, commonly known as Cognitive behaviour Therapy (CBT).
Recommended reading:
Counselling and Psychotherapy
C.R. Rogers (1942)
COGNITIVE BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) has its origin in Behaviour Therapy.
CBT encompasses methodologies and ideologies from many other therapies.
CBT focuses on thoughts, assumptions and beliefs. CBT looks at the here and now, focuses on the present and delves into the thought processes of the client. Clients learn to identify faulty patterns of thinking and are provided with intervention strategies that assist in changing the thought patterns and consequently the behaviour.
"The thing that upsets people is not what happens but what they think it means."
Epictetus
Recommended reading:
Cognitive Therapy:Basics and Beyond
J.S. Beck
GESTALT THERAPY
Gestalt therapists focus primarily on the “what” and “how” clients feel, and aim to increase the client’s awareness of their own experience through confronting and challenging the client in the present moment.
The therapist aims to assist the client to achieve a greater level of personal growth through developing more of an understanding of their own personality and by accepting responsibility for opposing aspects of their personality as well as unresolved issues. Gestalt therapy is more directive than some other therapies.
Recommended reading:
Gestalt Therapy:Excitement and Growth in the Human Personality. Vol 2
F. Perls, R. Hefferline, P. Goodman
(1951)
SOLUTION FOCUSED THERAPY
Solution Focused Therapy is underpinned by the philosophy of Social Constructionism which espouses that there is no universal reality, and that individuals construct reality and meaning through their interactions and relationships with others.
Solution focused Therapy is a collaborative competency based approach to counselling which aims to assist the client in clarifying goals, exploring alternatives and exceptions while maintaining an outcome focus.
Recommended reading:
Becoming Solution Focused in Brief Therapy
J.L.Walter & J.E. Peller (1992)
The Counselling Process
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