The readings fir this week in Clara Hill’s “Helping Skills”, particularly chapters 7, 8 and 9, discuss how helpers can authentically attend observe and listen to client’s thoughts and feelings. Hill spends a considerable amount of time exploring verbal and non-verbal feedback the helper gives to the client. This section was of particular interest to me due to a concern to be at a loss of words when a client says something that causes me to be unsure how to continue.
In chapter 7, Hill mentions minimal verbal behaviors that can help to encourage the client to continue with their story and that we are attending and listening. I agree that this can be helpful in encouraging the client to continue with their story, though I am concerned that it would not be enough. The content of these chapters have helped with the realization that although we already know the words, being comfortable and fluent with the phrases and open-ended questions can be similar to learning an entirely new language. To illustrate, in doing the role-play with the intake, I found it most challenging to simultaneously keep to the script and actively listen to the story that was being narrated.
Authenticity in the therapy room has been an ongoing theme through the last few weeks; nevertheless, whenever I get into a role-play I tend to more ridged and soft spoken. Hill mentions we should match our client’s language, with the exception of grammatical errors to name one; yet I still embody a professional
Trust is an essential factor in the helping process. Without it, clients will not feel free to share their most intimate thoughts and feelings. They will not be completely honest or forthcoming in conversations which will hinder the professional’s ability to truly help the client. For this reason, the promise of confidentiality becomes critical to the process. It is the “secret keeping duty” all helping professionals have an ethical obligation to observe (Younggren & Harris, p.589). It protects the client’s right to privacy and fosters an atmosphere in which one feels safe, facilitating trust and allowing one to feel comfortable enough to share their inner most feelings and thoughts. Most helping professionals agree that
By discussing this particular experience in detail, I can begin to understand the specific skills a counsellor may use in many different situations in order to help others (Egan, 2007, p. 13). In this reflective
The speaker must thoroughly think through what he or she is going to say, and the method in which they want to say it. They must evaluate and decide whether to use verbal or nonverbal communication, or a mix of the two. If they have chosen verbal communication, they must figure out a way to communicate in a non-patronising way that will still be as effective. If nonverbal communication is chosen, the correct method of nonverbal communication should be chosen. Effective communication must happen in order to meet Mrs Hedges’ needs, to help her feel re assured, safe and secure.
In everyday life people experience difficulties and problems that they feel they are not able to deal with on their own and need help with. The help that people receive to overcome their problems can be in many different forms. People may receive help in an informal way, such as having a chat to a close friend or relative, who can offer support and advice or they may seek help in a more formal capacity from various helping professionals, such as counsellors, social workers, psychiatrists, doctors, etc. For all of these professionals it is their
In this assignment I intend to define ‘counselling skills and knowledge’ and then show how I actively employ these qualities during my everyday life. These include informal helping interactions with family and friends, in a supervisory capacity at work and during skills practice sessions as part of my counselling course. Finally I’ll analyse the effects that these helping interactions have on me personally and the various ways in which I deal with those effects.
Summarising, paraphrasing and reflection of feelings are all examples of counselling micro-skills that let the client know that the counselor is listening and understanding them correctly. Although it is important to try to respond accurately it is not essential as an incorrect response can encourage the client to re-think what they have said and then clarify it, possibly resulting
From the moment the client meets the therapist opinions are formed and assumptions are fashioned so first impressions are key. Appearance, speech pattern and body language are all areas to consider.
A counselling relationship is likened to being on a journey - a beginning, middle and end (Smallwood, 2013). During the beginning phase the client develops sufficient trust in the counsellor and the relationship ‘to explore the previously feared edges of his awareness’ (Mearns and Thorne, 1988, p.126).
Due to Marks very depressed state, the initial interaction required a great deal of empathy and high degrees of compassion. When first engaging a client, it is important to be compassionate and empathetic and listen without interrupting, prompting or advising (Berg-Weger, 2013). Reflecting and summarizing content delivered in the session is a valuable way to let the client know that you are actively listening to what they are saying
The counselling process is based on the exchange of emotions between the client and the counsellor which aims to form an alliance (Hough, 1998). It involves the counsellor using skills in which they possess in order to communicate effectively with clients (Hough, 1998). This reflective essay clearly articulates my application of counselling skills used in this practice session and suggestions for improvement. It will provide a summary of the session, identification of a range of skills used and a brief explanation of the reasons for using the skill. It will also provide an evaluation of my application of the skills chosen, including verbatim examples, suggestions for improvement, also including verbatim examples to demonstrate what could
Modern day counselling is equipped with a wide variety of therapies, techniques and approaches. The purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast two approaches of therapy. Also in this essay the views of the person and the Therapeutic process will be discussed. The two models that are going to be compared are Gerald Egan’s The Skilled Helper model and Steve De-Shazer’s Solution Focused Brief therapy (SFBT).
Feminist theory is a term that embraces a wide variety of approaches to the questions of a women’s place and power in culture and society. Two of the important practices in feminist critique are raising awareness of the ways in which women are oppressed, demonized, or marginalized, and discovering motifs of female awakenings. The Help is a story about how black females “helped” white women become “progressive” in the 1960’s. In my opinion, “The Help” I must admit that it exposes some of our deepest racial, gender, and class wounds as individuals and social groups, and that the story behind the story is a call to respect our wounds and mutual wounding so that healing may have a chance to begin and bring social
Consultee-centred Case Consultation primary goal is remediating consultees work-related difficulty; client improvement is secondary sources of consultee difficulty: lack of knowledge, skill, confidence, objectivity, due to: direct personal involvement simple identification transference characterological distortion theme interference (Friend, 2016)
The intervention approached should be gentle with caution to translate what the client’s story means to them and guide them towards change in a meaningful and productive way (Phipps & Vorster, 2015). For example, the this particular client may explain their series of events as devastating and life altering. Using a narrative theoretical approach externalizing the words the client uses. The client expresses
Throughout my time at SUNY Buffalo State, I have had the opportunity to work with an array of clients. My clients have ranged from a full of life 6-year-old with cochlear implants, a wise 13-year-old harboring negative feelings toward his stutter, to an inspirational 64-year-old who was 3 years post-stroke. With such a diverse group of clients, I quickly learned the influence I had on improving clients’ lives even as a graduate student, a feeling that continues to grow as I interact with others in need. Since I have started my graduate studies, I have begun to reflect on the extent of my impact on clients and ways to enrich my skill set.