The Process of Counselling

Dr Sonia Khodabakhsh

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Counselling Process

“Counseling can be conceptualized as a series of

stages/steps that lead one through the counseling
process.” (Nystul, 2011)

• Duration of a counselling session = 45 – 60 minutes

• Client’s needs
• Approaches used by counsellor

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Overview
• Early phase
• Stage 1: Relationship building
• Stage 2: Assessment and diagnosis
• Stage 3: Formulation of counseling goals
Cormier
&
• Later phase Hackney
(1993)
• Stage 4: Intervention and problem solving
• Stage 5: Termination and follow up
• Stage 6: Research and evaluation

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Stage 1: Relationship Building

• Important stage in counseling process

• Significant predictor to successful outcomes
• Welcoming clients – “Hi… please have a sit…”
• Sending regards – “How are you?”
• Showing the willingness to provide help

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Relationship Building (continue)
• Core conditions:
• Empathy
• Unconditional positive regard

Rogers s
’
• Congruence

Carkhuff s (1969, 1971)

• Respect
• Immediacy
• Confrontation
• Concreteness
• Self-disclosure ’

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Skills Applied in Stage 1

• Attending behaviors
• Culturally and individually appropriate visuals, vocal
qualities, verbal tracking skills, body language

• Structuring skills
• Informed consent and confidentiality

• Observational skills
• Verbal and nonverbal behaviors, discrepancies and
conflicts

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Stage 2: Assessment and Diagnosis

• Information/data collection (story & strength)

• Use of exploration
• Allow clients to tell their stories without interruption
• Respond to clients to show that you are listening
• Use of active and empathic listening
• Identify clients’ strengths from their stories

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Assessment and Diagnosis (continue)

• Able to get in-depth understanding of clients

• To identify mental disorders
• Assessment procedures:
• Standardized measures (psych tests)
• Non-standardized measures (clinical/life history interview)
• Diagnosis:
• Facilitate communication shorthand
• Indicate possible treatment strategies
• Identify etiology
• Useful for scientific investigation

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Examples of Standardized Measures
- Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory – 2

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Examples of Standardized Measures
- 16 Personality Factors by Raymond Cattell (16PF)

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Examples of Standardized Measures
- Major Depression Inventory (MDI)

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Skills Applied in Stage 2

• Attending behaviors

• Observational skills

• The most important is the listening skills

• Open and closed questions
• Encouraging, paraphrasing, summarizing
• Reflection of feelings
• Facilitative questioning

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Stage 3: Formulation of Counseling Goals
• Identify clients’ needs/ what they want to achieve
• Possible questions:
• “What do you wish to change?”
• “What is the right thing to do to achieve it?”
• “What should happen for you to reach out to your
goal?”
• “What is the effects/consequences of your actions?”
• Provide direction and purpose of the following
session

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Formulation of Counseling Goals (continue)

• Functions of goals:
• Motivational – especially when the clients are involved in goal-setting,
and the goals are specific and concrete (achievable).

• Educational – learn new skills and behaviors

• Evaluative – especially goals that are used to evaluate progress

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Formulation of Counseling Goals (continue)
• Outcome goals
• Process goals
• Form the conditions necessary to
make the counseling process work
• To formulate positive relationship
• Counselor’s responsibility
• What the client hopes to
achieve in counseling
• The result of discussion
between client and counselor
• Types:
• Facilitate behavior change;
enhance coping skills;
promote decision making;
improve relationships;
facilitate client’s potential
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Skills Applied in Stage 3

• Attending behaviors

• Listening skills

• Confrontation
• Confront clients’ discrepancies, mixed messages and conflicts skilfully and
nonjudgmentally

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 Stage 4: Intervention and Problem Solving
• Working stage
• Think of the alternatives that can help in achieving goals
(treatment approaches)
• Evaluate each alternatives
• Consequences/ effects (risks/ benefits)
• Abilities/ capabilities (e.g. strengths/ weaknesses)
• Clients’ characteristics (e.g. personality strength, multicultural
issues)
• Time and cost
• Choose the most suitable alternatives
• Let clients make the final decisions

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Intervention and Problem Solving (continue)

• Implement what have decided (alternatives)

• Discuss with clients on the progress, improvements,
outcomes
• Identify significant people who can help in
implementing/ achieving the goals
• Discuss with clients about the possible challenges
• With the use of various interventions:
• E.g. individual; group; couple; family counselling
• E.g. techniques/ theories/ approaches

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Skills Applied in Stage 4

• Summarization

• Confrontation

• All the basic counseling skills

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Stage 5: Termination and Follow Up

• To make sure clients can move forward and continue

implement the strategies even after termination of
sessions (without counselor’s assistance).
• Avoid premature termination or feelings of
ambivalence*
• Discuss about the end of counseling
• Revise the course of counseling
• End the counselor-client relationship
• Discuss about client’s future post-counseling plans

*the state of having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or

someone

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Termination and Follow Up (continue)

• Homeworks

• Role-play

• Follow-up actions
• Normally several weeks after the last formal session
• Purpose: to check on client’s progress after termination of session

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Stage 6: Research & Evaluation

• Can happen at any time

• Essential part in counselling process
• Function:
• To evaluate counselling
• To attain counsellor’s accountability
• Types of research procedures:
• Direct – face-to-face interaction
• Indirect – e.g. empirical research

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 Counselling Process (Summary)

Termination and
Start a session End of session
follow-up

Intervention and
Research and
Rapport building problem solving
evaluation
(Working)

Assessment and
Formulation of
Diagnosis (Problem
counseling goals
Identification)

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 Reflective Question

A friend who is addicted to online gaming, seeking your help to

manage the addiction. His goal is to quit online gaming totally.
Identify three process goals that you can think of to assist him
possibly.

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