The Importance of an Initial Consultation with a Therapist

In counselling and psychotherapy, it is fundamental aspect for practitioners to use theory as a way of informing the way the work with a client.(McLeod). The goal of this essay is to explore the humanistic personality theory of Carl Rogers. The essay will begin by giving a summary

Burger (2008), says that there are many theories of personality and psychologists try to explain it with their own approaches. Discussed here will be the psychoanalytic approach, the trait approach, the biological approach the humanistic approach, the behavioural/social learning approach and the cognitive approach. They were devised to search for specific patterns in behaviour and ways of thinking about these

Over the last 100 years, the underpinning concepts in the fields of psychology and counseling were wrought. Within this period, these concepts have transformed and evolved from somewhat crude conceptions of the psyche toward more holistic interventions and approaches. As the profession continues to move forward, adaptations of the original theorists regarding the nature of man and the development of personality continue to emerge. These adaptations, along with the integration of new concepts and ideas, continue to contribute to the field. The author describes his view of man and human nature, personality development, and explores potential implications for counseling.

Transference is often manifested as an erotic attraction towards a therapist, but can be seen in many other forms such as rage, hatred, mistrust, prettification, extreme dependence, or even placing the therapist in a god-like or guru status. When Freud initially encountered transference in his therapy with clients, he felt it was an obstacle to treatment success. But what he learned was that the analysis of the transference was actually the work that needed to be done. The focus in psychodynamic psychotherapy is, in large part, the therapist and client recognizing the transference relationship and exploring what the meaning of the relationship is. Because the transference between patient and therapist happens on an unconscious level, psychodynamic therapists who are largely concerned with a patient's unconscious material use the transference to reveal unresolved conflicts patients have with figures from their childhoods. Countertransference is defined as redirection of a therapist's feelings toward a client, or more generally as a therapist's emotional entanglement with a client. A therapist's atonement to his own countertransference is nearly as critical as his understanding of the transference. Not only does this help the therapist regulate his or her own emotions in the therapeutic relationship, but it also gives the therapist valuable insight into

There are a multitude of reasons why an individual may need or want therapy; whether it’s due to learning how to cope with a mental disorder or disability, life happenings such as traumas or abuse, addictions, or even PTSD. Anybody can receive it – individual persons, families, or groups. It isn’t hard to argue that most therapists and psychologists will agree that the therapeutic alliance is one of the most beneficial foundations of a therapy session. Also referred to as the working alliance or working relationship, it represents the bond between therapist and

The counsellor must offer a clean, uncluttered, protected environment with no distractions and is safe from others hearing the conversations, and greet the client in a friendly welcoming manner. The room which the counselling takes place can have a great influence on the relationship so make sure it is welcoming and relaxing. The counsellor must build rapport with the client for the client to trust them and allow free flow of information. Rapport is the sense of connecting with someone. It is something that builds up over time by showing the client they can trust the counsellor and made to feel comfortable. As a counsellor/client relationship, although not friends it is important to highlight common interests between them, be empathetic and develop understanding. The client will unconsciously notice similarities and start to feel in tune with the counsellor. To build rapport with a client a counsellor can –

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).

The foundation of therapy starts by building rapport with the client and applying strategies when necessary to overcome a variety of barriers. It is imperative to have rapport with a client and to be aware of barriers to facilitate a good treatment outcome. This will take practice and the use of methods and strategies ready to be implemented when needed. There are many components to building a good client rapport such as: intimacy, vulnerability, exploration of inner challenges, self-awareness, staying present; inner resiliency, empathy, anxiety management, and self-integration, and relationship acceptance. The two types of barriers are internal and external and this is for both the client and the therapist. The common barriers to rapport are countertransference and transference. Strategies for overcoming barriers are: Pause Moment and self-awareness. It also requires skills such as being genuine, sensitive, open, and

Betty presents in therapy that she has not been able to get in together since her and her husband’s home was destroyed by a tornado. She describes the night of the tornado in detail and how she feels responsible for breaking her husband leg when trying to get him down to their cellar. She reports that she is having trouble sleeping and keeps replaying the events of that night. She also shares that she is the president of the local NAACP chapter and usually is involved in organizing relief efforts for the community, but is unable to participate because she is a mess emotionally and mentally.

Therapeutic relationship is defined as the collaboration and attachment between the client and therapist that focuses on meeting the health care needs of the client (Bordin, 1979). In this relationship, the therapist without prejudice shows Empathy, insight, understanding and acceptance of the client. Duan and Hill (1996) defined Empathy as “feeling into” the experience of the client. Over the years, the research evidence keeps piling up, and indicating a high degree of Empathy in a Therapeutic relationship is possibly one of the most potent factors in bringing about positive outcome in the therapy

Research has shown that a strong therapeutic alliance is necessary for establishing a beneficial contact between the therapist and the client. If the therapist does not encourage the creation of a reliable therapeutic alliance from the beginning of the treatment, it will be hard to develop a constructive relationship with the client later. Establishing the therapeutic alliance will increase the chances of achieving the goal of the treatment because the clients will be willing to cooperate if they trust and respect the therapist. Clients are not likely to cooperate with therapists who impose their authority aggressively. Instead of imposing their authority on the patient, therapists should develop work with their patients by

Moreover, Kaslow, Grus, Campbell, & Fouad, et al. (2009) stated that the client/therapist relationship is built on trust and kindness, empathy, and positive regard. Interpersonal and professional relationships are key. Affective skills are based on personal and cultural context (Kaslow, et al. 2009).

Therapy is often said to be just as much of an art as it is a science. Namely because there is so much that goes into it. To create a successful therapeutic relationship, there are some key elements that need to be a part of the formula. Each therapist may end up having a different recipe, but it is important that a therapist knows what ingredients he or she may need and what they can add for it to be successful. Throughout this paper, this writer will discuss characteristics she hopes to embody as a therapist, as well as the values and skills she wishes to bring with her into a therapeutic relationship.

There has been some recent argument against the current understanding of the place of relationships in psychotherapy. While most theories argue that relationships are important or even essential to good mental health, other theorists claim that the way relationships are conceptualized in these theories is insufficient (Slife & Wiggins, 2009). Most of these theories conceptualize the individuals first, and then talk about the way these individuals relate. Relationships are often understood as two or more independent self-contained individuals interacting (Slife & Wiggins, 2009). An alternative way to look at relationships is offered by relational psychoanalysts and other theorists, though again it should be noted that

This paper is a comparison of three different viewpoints on the subject of personality. Carl Jung, B.F. Skinner, and Carl Rogers all had very different outlooks on what defined someone’s personality. As an added feature I have included myself as a theorist because my views are also different from the previous mentioned theorists. This paper will also look briefly into the background of each theorist because their views on life began in their childhood. Amazingly you will notice the all had similar backgrounds, but came up with completely different ways of looking at life.