Six Therapeutic Approaches To Counseling

My personal theoretical orientation to counseling is Cognitive-Behavioral therapy. Cognitive-Behavioral therapy helps the client to uncover and alter distortions of thought or perceptions which may be causing or prolonging psychological distress. The theoretical foundations of CBT are essentially those of the behavioral and cognitive approaches. CBT leads to a clear, persuasive, and evidence-based description of how normal and abnormal behavior develops and changes (Kramer 293). The term “cognitive-behavioral therapy” or CBT is a term for therapies with many similarities. CBT is not used as a cure and often times used to help with anxiety or depression the most, and may be single or in group settings. There

The theoretical frameworks I most relate to are Holistic therapy, Cognitive Behavioral therapy, and Gestalt therapy. I intend to blend elements from multiple therapeutic approaches so that I may benefit my clients in the best way possible. Dated back to the era of Hippocrates, the holistic method has focused on improving the wellbeing and mental wellness of individuals. Holistic therapy emphasizes the significance of being balanced and whole. The role of the Holistic counselor is to assist the client in understanding “their emotions, thoughts, physical experiences, and spiritual understandings” (Holistic Psychotherapy, 2016). I intend to use the Holistic approach with my population because it is an alternative perspective for understanding

My personal theoretical orientation to counseling is Cognitive-Behavioral therapy. Cognitive-Behavioral therapy helps the client to uncover and alter distortions of thought or perceptions which may be causing or prolonging psychological distress. The theoretical foundations of CBT are essentially those of the behavioral and cognitive approaches. CBT leads to a clear, persuasive, and evidence-based description of how normal and abnormal behavior develops and changes (Kramer 293). The term “cognitive-behavioral therapy” or CBT is a term for therapies with many similarities. CBT is not used as a cure and often times used to help with anxiety or depression the most, and may be single or in group settings. There are several approaches to this

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.

My preferred theoretical orientation is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). The main assumption of CBT is that events and situations in life do not cause emotional problems (e.g., guilt or depression); rather problems are due to irrational beliefs and perceptions about the situations (Corey, 2009). The goals of CBT focus on correcting the client’s automatic and self-defeating thoughts, which should ultimately help them to develop a more adaptive philosophy of life (Corey, 2009). I like that this approach focuses on challenging and changing the client’s cognitive distortions, core beliefs, automatic thoughts, and schemas. Another positive aspect is that this approach focuses on the cognitive triad,

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a short-term, problem-centered therapy that is used to address psychopathology within the individual (Beck, 1995). This model of therapy is used to address issues of depression, anxiety, eating disorders, relational problems, and drug abuse, and can be utilized when working with individuals, as well as within group and family modalities. The core aspects of this therapy include collaboration and participation by the client, a strong alliance between therapist and client, and an initial focus on current problems and functioning (Beck, 1995). The theory of CBT emphasizes the relationship between the individual’s thoughts feelings and behaviors, which is seen as being the underlying cause of

The American Counseling Association defines professional counseling as “a professional relationship that empowers diverse individuals, families, and groups to accomplish mental health, wellness, education, and career goals” (ACA, 2015). Professional counselors work jointly with clients to help them identify goals and create a plan to reach those goals. Through sessions with a client, a counselor will help the individual(s) to work through solutions to problems that are causing disorder, learn effective communication skills to cope with those problems, and to increase self-esteem that will foster a healthier lifestyle. Counselors provide their clients with support and encouragement through an approachable and

The foundation of cognitive therapy is that thoughts have the ability to influence individual's feelings. One's emotional

Professional experience in my career so far as well as personal experience receiving therapeutic counseling have given me a broad-based set of beliefs about what motivates individuals. I have determined that each individual comes with a unique context and narrative and that my role is to facilitate a client’s self-determination and decision-making by developing a positive relationship that allows the client freedom to take risks or make informed choices. Also I believe that the counselor creates the trusting relationship where poor choices and failed attempts to meet goals can be explored and utilized by the client to move forward with lessons learned.

Kottler (2017) suggests that counseling is a creative process. However, every individual is different. Therefore, the application of integrated therapy strategies for doing therapy also delves into science. According to AccessScience, the definition of science is“the study of nature and natural phenomena in which facts are observed and classified, and, often, quantitative laws are formulated and verified; involves the application of logical reasoning and data analysis to natural phenomena” (McGraw-Hill Education, 2017). Therefore, the art of counseling interacts with the subjective component of counseling and the science of counseling associates to the objective aspect. Interestingly, scientific methodologies and theories, studies in the field are measurable to include mental capabilities, and by and through such processes, they include psychological tests, psychometric statistics, research and so forth, for instance.

George is a 40 year old senior executive in a large company, a position he has only recently taken up. He was referred to counseling by his general practitioner to explore his mood swings. He has been married for nearly 5 years to a ‘warm and wonderful person’. There were no children yet, and the couple was wondering about the right time for having children. This has been an area of disagreement between George and his wife and has led to a number of heated arguments between the two of them.

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.

The integrative approach to counseling is the blending of various perspectives in which a skilled counselor draws upon various theoretical perspectives, modalities, and interventions that are most useful in addressing a presenting issue. Whereas the Holistic approach, a type of integrative approach to counseling, take on the point of view of the entirety of the whole rather than the individual aspects of the dysfunction. A holistic approach is a form of the integrative approach focusing primarily on the relationship between mind, body, and spirit and attempts to explain and address the way dysfunction or stress in one aspect of a person’s life can lead to distress in other areas as well.

“Oh, so you’re gonna be a counselor then,” is often the question I hear after telling people I am majoring in psychology. This used to bother me. It bothered me because it comes off as people not being aware of all the other career paths a person can pursue with a psychology major. That is, until Theories and Techniques of Counseling…

As a potential counselor, one must commit 700 hours of practicum/internship hours in order to complete the Counseling Psychology M.A program. During this internship process, a counselor will have to cultivate many case conceptualization to help their clients. By creating case conceptualizations, not only will it be the foundation for a treatment plan for the client, but it will encourage self-growth for the counselor as well. As each therapist has their own preference of conceptualizations, this specific case conceptualization will focus on the client’s identifying information, counselor’s choice of evidence-based practice, health symptoms and signs of psychopathology, interventions, level of attachment style, and the main role of the therapist.