The Counseling Relationship With A Qualified Therapist Or Counselor

The process involved in establishing a counselling relationships includes many factors to ensure that a client feels safe and comfortable with a counsellor to explore his or her feelings with them.

I realize that without these conditions whatever time I spend with clients will be of little use or benefit to them. If I can establish a relationship based around these three values, or even just one, my clients should make progress. Understanding this concept has taken my vision of myself as a therapist far from the problem solver and advice giver I first had and much closer to a counsellor I’d like to be. Realising that just one of these values adhered to can in time achieve progress, has gone a long way to allaying some fears I have of not being able to help.

Is Empathy a prerequisite for a good Therapeutic relationship? If so, what is the optimal degree of Empathy required for a positive Therapeutic outcome? In the recent years, much emphasis is placed on understanding what "ingredients" in Therapeutic relationship contribute to a positive outcome. Many researchers have attempted to separate essential aspects of the Therapeutic relationship. Rogers (1957) quoted three essential aspects that were vital to attain a "psychological climate" in where a client could reorganize himself. These aspects were characterized as genuineness in the relationship, acceptance of the client (warmth), and accurate empathic understanding of the clients’ phenomenal world. Findings of previous studies shows that these three aspects are separate and can be measured independently (Bergin, 1967; Truax, Wargo, Frank, Imbe, Battle, Hoehn-Saric, & Stone 1966).

The aim of this essay is to discuss some elements of Ethics and Human Rights that grounds the counsellor’s role in a therapeutic relationship. There is a broad range of aspects to consider when regarding the Ethics and Human Rights applicable to a counsellor-client relationship. However, given the word limitation, this essay will employ Anna’s scenario to provide a more detailed insight into some aspects of Ethics and Human Rights to consider in her situation (See Appendix 1). There are some major concerns raised in Anna’s situation which generates the dilemma; concerns like, confidentiality, trust, Anna’s rights, the potential risk to the children, the company’s policy, the counsellor’s legal and ethical responsibility. This essay will explain

To answer any of these questions, one must first understand what the question is actually asking. To do that a workable definition must be used as a measurement tool and way of interpreting how one is able to understand and reflect on where the personal make-up of the individual comes from. Everyone is affected to different levels by the values that our family, culture, religion, training and social gathering. Recognizing ones own values can help direct a counselor's work to adequately and effectively resolve challenges as well as offer support to and with clients. All the values someone has learned while maturing and growing are pieces of a bigger tool one can use to better serve a client or clients.

One of the first key components of creating the therapeutic relationship with a client, is expressing and maintaining empathy. Empathy, according to Cochran and Cochran

As a counselor, I need to be aware of my values and beliefs. This is important so I can prevent my values from influencing my clients, their views, and my own views of my clients. Essentially, values are what is important to us in life, and they influence how we act in both our personal and professional lives. Part of my job as a counselor will be to assist my clients in finding answers that are congruent with their values, not the values that I hold. To identify my values and beliefs, I participated in many self-reflective exercises. These exercises not only helped me identify my values and beliefs, but they also enlightened me on how I view people and the world as a whole.

Some of the characteristics that I have that can consider as therapeutic characteristics are compassion, empathy, patience, flexibility, and self-awareness. In my opinion, it is very important for any healthcare providers, in general, to show compassion to their clients. Especially in occupational therapy, it is crucial for practitioners to understand the clients’ health condition and address the condition with a relational understanding. Empathy is the ability to place oneself in another person’s position and understand the other’s experience (Hussey, O’Brien,

Shulman defined empathy as “helping the client share the affective part of the message; a social worker’s effort to feel, as best as possible, the emotions of the client” (2009, p.815). My understanding of empathy is the emotional ability to understand the client’s current situation, and the ability to understand what the client’s situation is without actually experiencing it. It is about having the ability to listen and hear what the client is saying. Being able to understand where the client is coming from, having the ability to engage and to have a sense of warmth towards the client.

Empathy is a complex concept encompassing behavioural, moral, cognitive and emotive behaviours (Mercer & Reynolds, 2002). Clinical empathy is “the ability to understand the patient’s situation, perspective and feelings and to communicate that understanding to the patient” (Coulehan, 2000, p. 221). Being empathetic helps to build the relationship with the client, where they feel they are being listened to and understood. When a client feels understood and validated they are more likely to disclose more relevant information about their situation or issue, providing the practitioner with a much better foundation to develop a good quality treatment plan. This increases the perceived quality of the care provided to the client and can improve the outcome of the care (Mercer & Reynolds).

There are times a counselor might need to decline to provide counseling services to some clients/students who request them. a) In what circumstances might this be appropriate and ethical and how should that process be handled by the counselor? b) When would it be unethical for a counselor to decline to provide services? Support each response with a minimum of 3 relevant ACA and/or ASCA codes and the textbook.

It is important within counselling that there be an effective therapeutic relationship between the counsellor and the patient. It is vital for success that the patient feels at ease and therefore it comfortable and willing to talk about their experiences and any potential struggles that they are facing. Within counselling there is a promise of a safe space which is constant throughout the counselling process. This space alone could affect the effectiveness of the relationship as any change in the room could trigger the patient and make them feel uncomfortable.

According to the client, she has share a bond with her great aunt. She stated that her aunt understands her situation and is very supportive. She feels that her aunt keeps her family’s relationship strong.

Focus on present and future except for the past in terms of exceptions; not focused on the past in terms of cause of changing the past

Empathy is a feeling that everyone has experienced at least once in their life, like when you see that a house in your neighborhood burned down and you feel bad. However, studies have shown that if feeling empathy can if it costed you time or money. Like if the family from that burned down house was asking for donations to help re-furnish their house, you would be less likely to feel empathy. Studies from Daniel Bastion suggested that “if people expected their empathy to