What Are The Key Counselling Theories

Carl Rogers (1902-87) was the founder of the client-centred or person-centred approach to counselling and therapy. (McLeod 2001)

How does Person-centred counselling, influence the understanding of the development of concept of self? (245 words)

The decision to take this course was rooted in a deepening interest in psychotherapy, self–development, the welfare of other people and in a desire to gain a theoretical base to enrich my current arts and health practice.

Social and emotional development begins by showing affection and becoming attached to parents or carers and becoming what we usually call ‘clingy’. Young children may become distressed when a parent leaves the room or is not in sight. Slightly older children may demand attention and use tantrums to get their own way. They will generally be easily distracted from unwanted behaviour.

Cognitive-behavioural therapy is widely short-term and concentrates on enabling clients to deal with very particular problems. Often six weeks to six months sessions of course depending upon the problem it is pacifically goal directed and places great weight upon self-help as a long term coping tool that the client can take away with them and successfully use. Cognitive-behavioural therapy believes that clients can learn the wrong ways of developing and making sense of information during their cognitive development. This can often lead to distortions in the way they identify reality, it’s the job of the therapist to enable them to work this out.

Psychoanalysis is a therapy of psychological theory that aims to treat mental illnesses based on the concepts of Sigmund Freud, who emphasized the importance of free association and dream analysis. The model of psychoanalysis aim is to release repressed emotion and experiences, by making unconscious thoughts, conscious. The fundamental principles of psychoanalysis are practiced by putting an emphasis on the patient to gain insight into the origins of their respective problems like a patient presenting symptoms of anxiety would be encouraged by a licensed professional to explore their past, in hopes of discovering problems that manifested the anxiety. The anxiety created may be a defense mechanism directed towards displacement in their world.

I believe counseling is a collaborative partnership between client and counselor. Furthermore, this collaborative partnership is built from trust and acceptance of both client and counselor. I hope in conjunction with clients to understand the issues and concerns so to help them tap into their wisdom, creativity, and strengths to meet their current challenges. I believe in a comprehensive perspective through which clients can better comprehend themselves in the framework that our thinking about events can lead to emotional and behavioral upset. Moreover, counselors are to provide a safe environment for clients to explore their challenges and identify ways to move differently in overcoming these challenges.

The British Association for Counselling’s Code of Ethics and Practice for Counsellors states that ‘Counselling may be concerned with developmental issues, addressing and resolving specific problems, making decisions, coping with crisis, developing personal insight and knowledge, working through feelings of inner conflict or improving relationships with others’ (BACP Ethical Framework).

Carl Rogers, Born in Chicago in 1902 as the 4th of 6 children in a strict Fundamentalist Christian household.

The second stage is age’s one through three. Freud called this stage the Anal Stage. The children start to potty training and learn that they control how and when they go. This the only area that they can fully control. This can develop two different personalities. Anal retentive can develop when potty training is done too early or is too harsh. McLeod wrote, “Early or harsh potty training can lead to the child becoming an anal-retentive personality who hates mess, is obsessively tidy, punctual and respectful of authority” (McLeod 14). The second personality is anal expulsive, where the potty training was too lenient. The child shares with everyone around them. This is also where they can develop either a good or bad relationship with authority. Erikson calls this stage Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt. This is where the child will be

The aim of this assignment is to compare and contrast two theories or theorists of counselling from psychodynamic, humanistic or cognitive behavioural traditions and also to assess their strengths and weaknesses. This essay will focus on exploring the contrasting ideas and approaches of Carl Rogers who is a key figure associated with the person-centered approach and Fritz Perls who developed Gestalt therapy. Although they are both regarded as humanistic counsellors, they share a very different approach when working with clients. I have chosen to analyse these two theorists because of their contrasting styles, in particular my curiosity was sparked after viewing both Perls and Rogers sessions with Gloria. I found it fascinating how such different styles could still be successful in therapy. In particular fritz perls style really grabbed my attention as at first, I was really put off by his seemingly rude demeanour. However, after reading information on gestalt therapy and the ideas behind it I started to understand how it works.

Ego: In this second developmental stage, compromises in instinctive responses to environmental circumstances begin to develop. The ego mediates with the id by considering the rules of the real world and the consequences of actions taken in that world.

This quarter’s course of “theories of counseling” felt like a whirlwind of theories, theorist, therapeutic techniques, and proper application of theoretical framework to help counsel students. As the course continued each new theory and therapy style I learned about seemed more appealing and useful than the last. In deciding which therapy styles I would favor using I have to take into account the general demographic of the students and communities I wish to work in. I plan to work with middle school to high school students that are from urban low social economic status and are recent arrivals to the country. Some of the characteristics of obstacles these students and families face daily are, single parent home/income, past/recent trauma, history of low family education level and legal trouble. I am fortunate to live in the community and society I want to help and that I have grown up in. I am equally blessed to be raised and have the opportunity to give back to my community and society the best way I know how by giving back in a positive manner.

Years on, many researches and observations have been undertaken and new psychoanalytical theories started to reject Freud's and Erikson's staged view on child development and replaced it by introducing child emotional development in the context of development of self and attachment with significant others.

The oral stage of development, begins at birth (even prenatally) and ends approximately, when the child is one-year old. The source of libido or pleasure and conflict, is the mouth. The child will enjoy sucking, feeding, and putting things in their mouth. The psychological theme here is dependency. Babies can do very little for themselves, and this would be the time where they are cared for deeply by their mothers and their most intimate bonding time. When a child is deprived of this and his/ her needs are not properly fulfilled it can lead to an oral fixation or overindulgence in their later life. Fixation in this stage could lead to problems such as smoking, nail biting, pen chewing, overeating, alcoholism, sarcasm and verbal hostility. (Sammons,