Why Is the Initial Consultation so Important? What Factors Will an Ethical Therapist Cover at This Time?

therapist 's role is to listen, teach, and encourage, while the client 's roles is to express concerns,

The beginning of the counselling process starts when the client first meets the counsellor, the saying “first impressions count” is absolutely true for both the client and counsellor, the client will be very nervous and unsure what is about to take place.

The nature of therapist-client relationship and understanding the therapist’s role is vital in making sure that the client’s rights are not jeopardized. The client must be willing to trust the therapist. The therapist can earn the trust of the client will confidentiality guidelines that are established by requiring informed consent. The therapist-client relationship is based on counseling approach as well as relationship with the client. The therapist’s role is to understand the client’s needs, help them get their needs met mentally, and to develop the proper plan that fits the client’s needs. The therapist must fully

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 –

Allowing for our ethical codes of conduct, if the client is someone we feel we can proceed with, then as always, the first stage would be to develop a good rapport and gain the clients trust to develop an honest and open relationship with them. The client centred approach as always is the best method for this – to put the client at ease in a non-judgemental space where they can express their emotions and explore what it is they want to achieve with therapy. In giving the therapist an

Listening is a vital component of "joining" as we will be attending to clients who expect solutions from their counsellor. The primary role of a counsellor is to deliberately and intentionally listen to our client. Before expecting solutions, they will unload what is troubling them. If the counsellor talk and input alot into

From the moment the client meets the therapist opinions are formed and assumptions are fashioned so first impressions are key. Appearance, speech pattern and body language are all areas to consider.

The relationship with the therapist then can become something like a ‘re-parenting’ or a re-learning of how a trusting relationship should/could have been with one’s parents. Most people will agree that parents should (in a perfect world) give their children unconditional positive regard, empathy and be relatively non-judgemental with them, also show them respect and allow them to keep their dignity. Unfortunately this is not always the case. It is therefore even more important that the therapeutic relationship between counsellor and client show all these things to the highest of degrees.

In this essay I am going to look at the importance and purpose of the initial consultation between the client and the therapist and what happens during this preliminary session. I will also cover the ethical definitions that will need to be explored and established, to ensure the safety and wellbeing of both the client and therapist.

With these attributes, they will have the fundamentals of creating a strong therapeutic alliance with their clients. The therapists should be encouraged in “treating new cases as unique and constructing new theories to fit them, rather than depending on categories of established theory and technique” (Safran & Muran, 2000). Although this does not mean that standard techniques are useless, flexibility and creativity in application of these theories is considered the most important skill of a good therapist.

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).

An important question to ask when meeting with a couple for the first time is if the couple had ever been to therapy before? The couple’s response will provide Dr. Heitler with an understanding as to why the couple is seeking therapy as well as provide her with a reason(s) why their previous counseling sessions were unsuccessful.

i asked her brief questions about her name and how she was to get acquainted with her and build rapport. Asking questions helps facilitate a dialogue and encourages the client to talk and tell their story Miller (2006). The client seemed tense and uneasy and spoke with a very high tone of voice when she greeted me and introduced herself. When asked about the main reason for turning to therapy, she started fidgeting and looked unsettled; this could be because of the unfamiliar environment or she was not sure if she trusted me enough to tell me her story. Either way, I remained silent whilst maintaining eye contact to give her the space, time she needed in order to settle down and work out what she wanted to bring to the session.

If the client feels “safe” in the session, this can be very powerful for them. As sessions occur, the client will feel more comfortable in trusting the clinician with their feelings, attitudes and emotions. The client is able to present their needs and problems in ways that only they can express. Another factor that may resonate in the sessions may include transference and counter-transference. Transference is when the client’s attitudes, feelings and emotional conflicts from past events begin to be directed to the therapist, while Countertransference is exactly the opposite, when the therapist’s attitudes, feelings, and emotional conflicts from the past are directed towards the client (Transference and Countertransference, 2011). There are not too many positive factors with Countertransference, except being able to recognize it, when it exists, and be able to work out any conflict. A client’s experiences can affect their feelings, emotions, and behaviors towards their therapist. If the therapist remains their professionalism, and sets the proper limits and boundaries, a client can work through past experiences that are affecting their functioning. In a lecture, it is the role of the counselor to recognize the client’s experience; reflect and process the client’s emotional state, as well as process their own emotional reactions to clients and their issues. When clients can work through their problems from past

In addition, the therapist must provide a safe environment for the patient to freely explore and unpack their unresolved issues (Doss, Hawley, & Weisz, 2005). Furthermore, the therapist must oblige to core ethical principles, which apply to patients of all ages. Similarly, when working with children, the psychotherapist must consider a number of additional principles. These include: 1. the therapy will not cause harm to the child; 2. the therapy is in the best interest of the child; 3. what is privately disclosed by