Non Helpful Behaviors

If they allow their relationships to become too personal this could actually harm the progress of the client. Non- verbal expression is just as important when working with clients. The way one shows their emotions is obvious to many people. If one acts bored a client may feel they are not being heard. Some people suffer from dyssemia which is the inability to read non-verbal messages or even how to send them. This affliction can cause issues and therapists need to be aware of this condition as well.

First, people, including mental health professionals, possess a range of qualities. No one is just warm and accepting or just confrontational. We all possess these qualities to a certain degree. Therefore, to be genuine with our clients it is necessary for us to display these different parts of our personalities at different times. Second, although a client may come to counseling broken and hopeless and require a supportive, accepting, and warm counselor, if this relationship continues the client may never be pushed to make any real change. After the development of a strong working alliance between the therapist and counselor, it may (or may not) be necessary for the counselor to challenge or confront the client in some way to provoke change. It depends on the person. I agree with Lazarus completely when he says that a skilled mental health professional will know when to be warm or tough, when to confront a client or not, and when directive or non-directive (p. 458-459). Clients, because they each have their own unique identity that has been influenced by more factors than one can count or even identify, will respond differently to different relational styles, techniques, and treatments and this may change throughout the counseling process. In my opinion, it is the counselor’s job to know which approach or technique should be used to be the most effective with a particular client.

Being attentive means giving all of your physical attention to another person so that you are fully present for them. This will help you to notice what the client is NOT saying, by noticing their body language, and also their tone and pace of voice. The use of non-verbal cues and the counsellor’s own body language conveys to the client that he is interested in what the client has to say. (Bolton 1979). Managing silences from the client shows

Having been recently introduced this style of therapy, I became curious to apply my newfound knowledge during the first session with my new client. Like most people, I learn best by doing. The literature that I have read describing MI has not been as descriptive of a real-life session as I would like for it to be. So, closely observing how a counselor guides a conversation with a client, paying meticulous attention to body language and nuanced facial expressions, has been tremendously helpful in my understanding of how these kind of interventions can

course of action or prevents a counsellor from recognising a clients feeling as these are very close

Furthermore, Dryden (2008) has shown on interpersonal styles. The idea is that the degrees of interaction between therapist and client can always be modified either when the fit is poor or even when the fit is too abundant and inappropriate. For instance, Dryden has described a dynamic fit when the therapist’s behavior is dominant and friendly while the client’s behavior is submissive and friendly. On the other hand, if the therapist’s behavior is passive and neutral while the client’s behavior is too submissive and hostile, then an unproductive fit is established. Here, the responsibility of the therapist is to be aware of the situation and be able to adjust his own behavior to match with the client’s. The therapist should also be aware of the client’s change in their interactive style to establish a strong and firm therapeutic alliance (Dryden, 2008). In fact, it is significant to know that clients who behave themselves in a

The last technique that is really great with client-centered therapy is the use of active listening. This is when the therapist gives complete and total attention to what a client says or means (Allen 1994). A great way of doing this is by restating or paraphrasing what the client says. By doing this, a client begins to feel that their thoughts and ideas are understood by the therapist. On the flip side of the coin, the therapist can make sure that they understand what the client is trying to say. This definitely helps to make therapy more effective and time efficient by identifying any forms of miscommunication. Not only that, but the client feels like the therapist is invested in their situation. This can help them feel more comfortable with the therapist and therefore more likely to reveal key information.

Counselor facilitated an individual session with the client to address hostile, defiant behavior, and temper tantrums.

This is an instance where counselor’s awareness is implemented in the therapy process. Warren and Mcgee (2013) give an example in the text of a client with an eating disorder who may not want to keep a food journal. They suggest that the counselor does not really understand. The client, in turn, does not show up for the session and leaves a voicemail indicating suicidal thinking. Thus, this is leaving the counselor discouraged about what went wrong (Warren and Mcgee, 2013). By assessing their competence, values, potential impairment issues, and his or her ability to establish a therapeutic relationship counselors can be more aware before taking on referrals of different clients (Warren and Mcgee,

The client and counselor met for his 1x1 session to discuss what progress had been made in regards to his treatment plan. The reported that he needs to continue to work on his attitude & behavior , it not as bad as before the client reported from when first came to the program. The client reported that he learning about relapse prevention, ways of preventing himself from relapsing . the also talked about guilt and being stress out about his girlfriend her house being shot at, things he has no control over while being in the program. The client appears to struggling with things he has no control over. The counselor will meet with the client next week to go over the assignment that was given during his 1x1 session.

effectively work with difficult clients, I believe it is important for counselors to also be patient,

As an effective counselor one of the main qualities needed is patience. Go to the next step of explanation only when the patient has clearly understood the content of the information you have provided. Therefore the counselor needs to have enough sufficient time for the patient, and should also be a good listener. Let the patient express everything he/she has to say, and give your inputs once when the patient has finished talking.

Whether intentional or unintentional, the misdiagnosis of client concerns is a problem that can have implications for counselors and clients. Mead (1997) reported the

Understanding the counseling session from the client’s perspective is a very important aspect in the development of a therapeutic relationship. A clinician must be an excellent listener, while being to pay attention to the client’s body language, affect and tone. The dynamics in the counseling session that is beneficial to the client include the recognition of the pain that the client is feeling. The detrimental part of this includes a misunderstanding of the real issues, a lack of consideration of the cultural aspects of the client, and a lack of clinical experience or listening skills. In this presentation, we will discuss the positive and negative aspects of the counseling session from the client’s perspective which

Counseling skills has provided me with a valuable insight into the helping relationship and how it is both created and maintained in order to encourage growth and development in the client. The factors involved within the helping relationship include considering Roger’s core conditions, congruence, unconditional positive regard and empathy as the three main characteristics necessary in a helping relationship. In order to fully incorporate all three of Roger’s core conditions, I as the counselor must be self-aware, as a lack of self-awareness may inhibit truly listening and understanding the client; self-awareness can be enhanced through exercises such as Johari’s window. Counseling skills such as body language and active listening also