Clinical Psychology Notes
Characteristics of an Effective Counselor
 Effective Therapists must have an Identity - You should be
able to know who you are.
Example: Other Psychologists focused on solution-focused therapy,
others are behavioral therapy, CBT, Gestalt, Existential, and
humanistic therapy.
 Effective therapists respect and appreciate themselves. -
“There is no perfect therapy.” It’s about handling the client
because there are clients who lack commitment
Example: A mother referred her child to a psychologist and the child
does not want to cooperate with the psychologist. To solve this we
should ask the “What do you want” type of question and then follow
up with the trap question “If you want to end this therapy you should
answer my questions we end this and you are free to go.” Then ask
the client “What is the reason because someone brought you here.”
Do not give advice or relate the experience of your client to yourself.
The Client must be the one who will say the solution to their
problem. As a therapist, you should know the art of questioning.
 Effective therapists are open to change. – Exhibit
willingness to encourage to leave the security of the known.
Example: If the therapy is not effective you can tweak the therapy
you are using. Maybe, gestalt to solution-focused therapy.
 Effective therapists make choices that are life-oriented. =
Aware of past decisions, revised the mistakes then
committed in the mere fully than the bare minimum.
Example: I drank a lot last night, and then I realized that I would
minimize my alcoholic intake.
 Effective therapists are authentic sincere and honest.
- Be genuine, be honest with yourself be open to change with
the therapy itself
Example: show empathy with your client wholeheartedly.
 Effective therapists must have a sense of humor
- Simply means you can put events of life into perspective so
that you have not forgotten how to laugh.
Example: Treat your client just like a friend where you can laugh and
smile so both of you can be comfortable. Some clients are talkative
and sometimes the client asks for your opinion, but make sure you do
not give advice. You can say “You know what based on what you say
could be truly true, you can relate or mirror out but not most of the
time.
 Effective therapists make mistakes and are willing to admit
them - Do not dismiss errors lightly and do not dwell on
the mistakes.
Example: you made a mistake just move on and make sure next time
you should not make the same mistake again.
 Effective therapists generally live in the present. - Carl
Rogers TOP The Ideal self and actual self should have
interconnection. Able to experience the present with
yourself and others.
Example: Just live in the present do not live in the past and future.
 Effective therapists appreciate the influence of cultures -
Must be aware of the ways of their own cultures that may
affect the client also their diversity. Because sometimes
others are not comfortable handling LGBT, Rape cases just
refer to another counselor
Example: Be sensitive to the way you talk. Ask the client politely
“What do you want me to address you?”
 Effective therapists have a sincere interest in the welfare of
others
- Help the client, what if you do not have the energy to face
the client? Take a pause.
- Take care of yourself, and value yourself.
 Effective therapists possess effective interpersonal skills
- Carry on the conversation, have healthy coping
mechanism,
Example: Do not jump to a conclusion. Be more emphatic than being
a rationale.
 Effective therapists become deeply involved in their work
and derived meaning from it
- Accept the rewards, yet you are not a slave of your work,
you are intrinsically happy from your work.
 Effective therapists are passionate.
- Work-life balance,
Example: be passionate about the life of your family, and self-love.
 Effective therapists can maintain health boundaries
- Do not bring the problems of your client with your
personal life.
Challenges Faced by the Beginning Therapist
 Dealing with our Anxieties.
 Being ourselves and disclosing our experience -Too often
fail to value just being themselves.
 Avoid Perfectionism - The conversation should be free
flowing you should know how to manage the therapy
without losing your identity.
 Being honest about our limitation
- If you cannot handle a client refer.
 Understanding Silence
- We should be comfortable with silence.
 Dealing with demands from clients.
- Should tend to say no.
 Dealing with clients who lack commitment.
- Be prepared, so they will less their resistant
 Tolerating Ambiguity
- Either we can break or make our clients. We should their
growth or change, should have fruitful effects.
 Avoiding Losing ourselves in our client
- Do not think about your client all the time.
 Developing a sense of humor
 Sharing Responsibility with the client
- Journal, self-care checklist
 Declining giving advice - Just do not give advice
 Defining your role as a counselor
- Function as a therapist, recognize your strength
 Learning to use techniques appropriately
- Do not be mechanical.
 Developing your own counseling style
- Wide approach that can be effective because our main goal
is to help the client.
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Clinical Psychology Notes
 Staying vital as a person and as a professional
- Do not involve your work to your personal life.
ADLERIAN THERAPY NOTES
Sigmund Freud
- SEX AND AGGRESSION, UNCONSCIOUS- MAKING
THE UNCONSCIOUS CONSCIOUS
Psychoanalytic therapy of psychoanalytic more on making the
conscious conscious.
Free association – by saying something without censorship. It needs
more time no direction and more on anything and words.
Adlerian therapy
- Focuses on minor adjustment in life and minor adjustment
of an individual.
- Growth or wellness model It is a matter of responsibility
because we are making the clients responsible for
themselves, and encouragement solutions to their minor
problems. They are creative enough to think for the
solution unique, creative, capable, and responsible.
- Optimistic perspective. – Thinks the best possible thing will
happen
- Is a holistic, phenomenological, socially-oriented, and
teleological approach to understanding and work with
people.
Key Concepts in Adlerian Therapy
- Emphasis on client’s subjective experience – “Erase the
been there than that” phrase
- Teleology (Goal-oriented)
- Holistic
- Interpersonal/Social
- Gemeinschaftsgefuhl (community feeling/social interest)
and self-realization (completion)
- People are neither “good” nor “bad.” Optimistic. Do not
judge the person, but the action itself.
- Developmental perspective based on observation and
direct study of children.
- Emphasizes the primacy of the client-counselor
relationship.
- Holds a non-pathological view of maladjustment
- Stresses an encouragement-focused processing facilitating
change “asking the right questions”
Adlerian Encouragement
- Clients present for counseling because they are
discouraged and lack of confidence and “courage” to
engage successfully in the tasks or problems of living.
- Encouragement is not a technique, but rather an attitude
and a way of being with clients “after the session the client
should have the encouragement to deal problems in life”
Adlerian Encouragement: Factors and Skills
The common Factors of Successful outcome
- Extra-therapeutic (Client) Factors (40%)
- Therapeutic Relationships Factors (30%)
- Hope and Expectancy Factors (15%)
- Theoretical and technique Factors (15%)
(Scott Miller – based on Lambert’s research)
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Individual Psychology
- Individuum meaning indivisible – unable to be divided or
separated.
- Persons cannot be properly understood as collection of
parts but rather should be viewed as a unity, as a whole.
4 Phases of Adlerian Therapy
1. Forming a Relationship - Bulding Rapport
- Caring Interest/Listening with the eyes
- Informed consent “this therapy is sharing between you and
me.” I am just here directing towards our goal. You must
know how to free-flow
- Hearing the story
2. Psychological Investigation (Assessment) – Integrate the
story of the client
- Lifestyle Assessment – What are the types of questioning
- Conceptualization – based on the problem of the client,
what do you think is the main problem of the client? Listen
on the meaning of it.
- Listening for Meaning
3. Psychological Disclosure/Interpretation (Insight) – asking
questions
- Tentative suggestion (Hypothesis Interpretation) If the
client comes up with a solution example: Client said; I will
do my household chores so my mom won’t be agree.
As a counselor: “Oh really do you think if you finish the
household chores your mom would not be angry? How sure
are you? and you will not come back here in the clinic?
- Collaboration and challenge. Example: Yeah I am sure I
won’t be coming back here. Therapist: okay, how can you
be sure, when are you going to start to start your
household chores? Client may say; maybe tomorrow I still
have work to do. Therapist: okay very good, are you going
to do it everyday or other day?
4. Re-orientation and Re-education – Ask them the right
question, do not ask the problem, specific actions towards
well-being.
- Refraining old experiences, Patterns, and messages “how
are you going to make it a pattern?” “just to make sure
that we are on the same page you will be going to do
household chores.” Counselor: Once you are doing your
household chores, your mom will no longer bring you here
in the clinic correct? so what will you do? Client: I can
watch Netflix, Counselor: then so what will you feel and
thoughts about it? Oh I can manage my time.
- Creating new experiences
Adlerian therapist focus on mild adjustment of problems of the client.
Therapeutic Chameleon
- Encouragement is not a technique, but rather an attitude
and a way of being with clients.
Forming relationship – Key takeaways
- Mirror the emotion of the client (alive, sad, happy)
- Based your questions on the answer of the client
How to address the inform consent effectively.
- Confidentiality, On setting the right condition here, now
you have understood you get what I mean? Is everything is
clear? Client: yes, Therapist: Going back, yes you have
mention about let’s continue.
Hearing the story
Clinical Psychology Notes
- Ask for a general question first before going to specific
type of question. If the client said general answers the
therapist should ask general questions too.
Psychological Disclosure/Interpretation (Insight)
- Always show empathy towards your client then ask
questions.
For tentative Suggestions
- Start with asking the first step to achieve goal, and the
power of what else
Re-orientation and re-education
- If the problem is one “that to make sure I got it right you
make sure to?”
- If many “Just to make sure I got everything cover I will
recap you have decided to?”
To end the session:
- I appreciate your effort and coming to the office it really
takes a lot of bravery and courage to come here and I can
see that to yourself that knowing in your experiences that
you have shared don’t worry my line is always open. So
you can just call me if you are experiences minor problem?
So, do you have any questions for me?
Build rapport is not necessary for Rape cases, VAWC, Divorce cases.
Existential Therapy and Person-Center
- Therapeutic Goal to assist clients in moving toward
authentic and learning to recognize when they deceiving
themselves.
Example: causes abnormality incase a person ideal self is way
to far to his/her ideal self.
- Help clients face anxiety and engage in activity that is
based on the authentic purpose creating a worthy
existence.
Key concepts:
- The capacity of self-awareness
- Freedom and responsibility about being authentic
- Striving for identity and relationships to others (Affective,
Behavioral, Cognitive)
- The search for meaning (purpose and meaning of life)
- Anxiety as a condition of living
- Awareness of death and non-being
Phases of Existential Counseling
- Initial phase: Identifying and clarifying their assumptions
about the world
Example: client might say “I see the world poor people are not
welcome” so clarify this ask the client if where the client belong
poor or rich?
- Middle phase: self-exploration
Example: Explore the clients self about life.
- Final phase: transformation – Connected to tentative
suggestion.
- Ask questions that may lead to positive answers or
authentic for the client. Like what will you do while having
a break? Anything else?
- Self improvement
- Alright do you think by doing those new activites? Would
help you to bring back your motivation and
competitiveness?
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Adlerian therapy – Discourage clients
Existential therapy - are clients who are deceiving themselves.
Guide questions:
What is the meaning or purpose of your life?
What do you want from life?
Where is the source of meaning for your life?
How do you work through a sense of “no self” or feeling alone?
What are the possible reasons that people tend to blame others
for their problems?
Person-Centered Therapy
A humanistic theory – each of us has a natural potential that we
can actualize and through which we can find meaning.
Shares with existentialism a focus on respect and trust for the
client.
Humanism and existentialism both respect client’s experiences
and trust in client ability to change believe in freedom, choice,
values, personal, responsibility, autonomy, meaning
Difference of existentialism and humanism
Existentialism clients come into counseling because they are
facing anxiety in trying to construct an identity in a world
without intrinsic meaning.
Humanism – Clients do not suffers from anxiety in creating an
identity, Clients need to believe that they have the natural
potential to actualize.
The role of the therapist
Necessary and Sufficient conditions for change
- Congruence, one’s behavior congruent with emotions
- Empathy accurate ability to view the world from clients
perspective
- Unconditional positive Regard acceptance caring
Growth experience
- Therapy is only one relationship that can foster growth
- Growth occurs naturally when one is in a situation with the
proper conditions to encourage that growth
- The therapist job is to set the stage, and then the client is
able to do what is necessary for positive growth and
change.
Gestalt Therapy
To make whole
- Mind and body
- Emotional, behavioral, and cognitive
- Past and present
Theoretical Assumptions
Humans perceive things as wholes and the whole is more than the
sum of its parts (i.e. holistic)
Life is best understood by knowing the subjective internal rather than
the objective, external (phenomenological)
Awareness is ever-changing and each moment one of choice based
on evolving awareness. Where are the creators of our own destiny
(existentialism)
Clinical Psychology Notes

The path to wholeness (contanct

People are manipulative are not willing to accept their own
perceptions

Change happens in the present, if you want to go Alaska, where do

you start?

Goals of therapy

To become fully capable of organismic self-regulation

To have direct, immediate awareness of the total perceptual field
To establish contact with the world