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TAKE HOME EXAMINATION

MAY 2023

ABPG 2203

INTRODUCTION TO COUNSELING

NO. MATRIKULASI : 890929055180001

NO. KAD PENGNEALAN : 890929-05-5180
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PART A

QUESTION 1A

there are many reasons on why most married couples will need or look forward to meet a
marriage counselor in their married life. it is mostly all because of minor reasons like lack of
trust and so on. to be more specific the first reason or more common reason is trust is broken
within the couple. the couples usually look for the help of a counselor when there is a major
breach of trust. At times it is also about the cause of infidelity that was interfering in between
the couples, and furthermore it is also about emotional affairs that was lacking in between the
couple. Besides, there was a reason about the cash flow getting involved that made them feel
the urge to look for the marriage counselor. The counselor plays a role in bringing harmony
by getting the both parties to talk to each other and solve the issues that is in between them.
The role of the counselor is said to be complicated at times but it is also very easy when the
counselor gets to the core of the issues faced by the couple. Besides, the next reason is the
more often the couple is seen fighting with each other. Even the smallest arguments make the
couple feel like giving up on the relationship or marriage. When this kind of fights or
arguments comes in between, they look out for counselors to help out with settling the issues
without causing a bigger damage that may cause their marriage life to end drastically. The
most next common reason is the lessen communication that is between the couples. It is said
that the lesser the communication is there the lesser the happiness will be there. The most
conflicts happens because the communication which is never settled in between the both of
them and because of the miscommunication also does cause the issues too, all these will
make the fights worse and create an easy way to reach the counselors. A marriage counselor
will create a situation for the couples to talk their heart out and make them listen to each
other’s feelings without having any ego. Next, they feel stuck in a pattern that repeats itself
that causes them to feel angered and not feel comfortable being around each other. The
pattern such as only one partner in the marriage does all the house chores which makes
another one feel treated in an unfair way. All these ways would make the need of a marriage
counselor in the life of the couple. Lastly, the reason behind the need of a marriage counselor
would be lacking of the emotional intimacy. It is not a very uncommon thing that the spark in
between the two of them gets lost in a couple of years being married to each other. That is all

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because of them start being more like a roommate rather than a couple. A marriage counselor
would guide them in understanding the importance of a marriage life and how to handle
everything.

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QUESTION 1B

For many married individuals, the ups and downs of daily life are connected such that
stressors impacting one person also impact the other person. For example, stress experienced
by one individual may “spill over” to negatively impact marital functioning. This study used
both partners’ daily diary data to examine same-day and cross-day links between stress and
marital conflict and tested several factors that make couples vulnerable to spillover.
Assessment of 25 wide-ranging sources of daily stress included both paid and unpaid work,
health issues, financial concerns, and having to make difficult decisions. Results showed that
both husbands and wives’ experience of total daily stress were associated with greater same-
day marital conflict and that conflict was greater on days both spouses experienced high
levels of stress. Evidence of cross-day spillover was found only in those couples with high
concurrent marital aggression and in couples where wives reported high family-of-origin
aggression. These results highlight both the common, anticipated nature of same-day
spillover and the potentially problematic aspects of more prolonged patterns representing
failure to recover from stressors that occurred the previous day. The discussion focuses on
how reactivity in one life domain puts that individual at risk for generating stress in another
life domain and how current marital aggression and family-of-origin aggression are
associated with difficulty recovering from stressful events. Families and couples make up
interconnected systems where events affecting one person can reverberate across the system
and impact other family members (Cox & Paley, 1997). Such interdependence among people
in close relationships can be both beneficial and detrimental to individual functioning. For
example, social bonds appear to buffer stress responding in humans and animals (Cohen &
Wills, 1985; Hostinar, Sullivan, & Gunnar, 2014) and protect against the development of
various mental and physical health problems (Uchino, 2006; Robles, Slatcher, Trombello, &
McGuinn, 2014). At the same time, this connectedness may put couples at risk if stress
experienced by one individual spills over and adversely affects marital functioning. This
process, known as “spillover,” refers to the transmission of problems across domains
(Almeida, Wethington, & Chandler, 1999; Bolger, DeLongis, Kessler, & Wethington,
1989; Repetti, 1994). Most commonly, studies on spillover in couples have investigated how
stress at work relates to marital behavior at home the same evening. In contrast, the current

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study examines same-day and bidirectional, cross-day links between stress and conflict and
assesses spillover originating in a variety of life domains. We also test the interactive effect
of wives and husbands’ daily stress to determine if high levels of stress in both spouses
overload the system, resulting in heightened conflict. Moreover, it is unclear why some
couples are more susceptible to spillover than others. To address this, the current study tests
marital aggression and family-of-origin aggression (FOA) as risk-factors for daily spillover
between stress and conflict. Stressors are common occurrences in married couples’ lives
where couples must deal with various day-to-day hassles or problems, such as the car
breaking down, traffic, or looming work deadlines. Chronic stress activation is thought to
negatively impact physical and mental health (e.g., Juster, McEwen, & Lupien, 2010), with
models of stress typically emphasizing its toll on the individual. However, stress is a highly
dyadic process (Randall & Bodenmann, 2009), with connections between stress and
relationship functioning unfolding in complex ways. For example, spouses can bring home
stress experienced in outside domains (e.g., at work) to “share” with their partners
(e.g., Repetti, 1989). Alternatively, couples can experience the same stressful event (e.g.,
child getting in trouble), which can have individual effects on each spouse. Marital problems
can also spill outward to affect functioning in other areas (e.g., being irritable at work).
Understanding the complex and dynamic links between individual and dyadic functioning
can provide important information about how stress responses evolve and contribute to
relationship problems or impaired individual functioning. Another important next-step is to
determine what factors make the boundaries between individual functioning and dyadic
functioning more or less permeable. In particular, certain ongoing or prior relationship
experiences might increase the risk for experiencing stress spillover. Past research indicates
that distressed couples have greater connectivity in their daily negative experiences. For
example, stress spillover is stronger in high-conflict couples and those with less marital
satisfaction (e.g., Story & Repetti, 2006). Another important risk factor for stress spillover
might be aggression; both marital aggression and FOA have been linked to behavioral,
emotional, and physiological regulatory problems. In particular, aggressive people or those
exposed to FOA may be sensitized to stress or may interpret events in a more negative
fashion (Cummings, El-Sheikh, Kouros, & Buckhalt, 2009; Davies, Sturge-Apple, Cicchetti,
Manning, & Zale, 2009; Ford, 2005; Roberton, Daffurn, & Bucks, 2011). Such individuals
may have more difficulty compartmentalizing or turning off responses to stress and may
experience prolonged or heightened stress reactions that set the stage for spillover.

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Specifically, spillover may occur when spouses have difficulty recovering from stressful
events or when high reactivity in one life domain puts that person at risk for generating stress
in another domain. Here, we test the idea that stress spillover is characteristic of relationships
in which there is high aggression or when spouses were exposed to high aggression in their
family-of-origin.

Gender differences in marital tension and marital well-being are not well understood. The
research to date is inconclusive regarding whether husbands or wives are more negatively
affected by marital tension. One body of literature suggests that wives are more affected by
their husbands’ stress (Almeida & Kessler, 1998), emotions (Larson & Almeida, 1999), and
opinions of the relationship (Acitelli & Antonucci, 1994) than the reverse. However, a recent
meta-analysis showed no evidence of gender differences in the effects of negative quality
spousal ties on physical health (Robles, Slatcher, Trombello, & McGinn, 2014), and other
studies suggest that husbands are more affected by the negative aspects of their relationships
than wives (Birditt, Newton, Cranford, & Ryan, 2016; Boerner, Jopp, Carr, Sosinsky, & Kim,
2014). We also consider sociodemographic characteristics and life course variables that can
contribute to evaluations of marital well-being and include them as covariates. Studies of
marital well-being have found that Black individuals report lower levels of marital happiness
(Birditt, Hope, Brown, & Orbuch, 2012; Broman, 2005) and higher rates of divorce (Orbuch,
Veroff, Hassan, & Horrocks, 2002). Crohan and Veroff (1989) found that higher income and
higher educational attainment were both linked to increased marital well-being.
Similarly, Orbuch et al. (2002) found that higher education was protective against divorce,
indicating that educational attainment is linked to marital stability. Cohabitation before
marriage and presence of premarital children have been found to be associated with lower
levels of marital happiness, marital quality, and higher likelihood of divorce (Crohan &
Veroff, 1989; Timmer & Orbuch, 2001).

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QUESTION 3

Career development is the proactive, lifelong process of finding your footing and
advancing your career path. It’s an intentional approach to creating a meaningful career
that includes setting long-term goals, exploring professional development opportunities,
and gaining new work experience.

In today’s job market, career development is increasingly important. With changes in

technology and the global economy, professionals must adapt to stay competitive. A
strategic career development plan helps make this possible.

Career development can take different forms, but people generally take two paths:
through an organization or independently.

Professionals who develop their careers through an organization tend to have more
resources available. Their company may offer development programs, as well as a
support network of employees.

Independent professionals often must look for career development opportunities on their
own. They might use online resources like social media and online classes, attend
conferences or networking events, meet with a career counsellor, or join professional
organizations and read trade publications.

Because independent professionals don’t have the same resources as those who work
within organizations, they may need to be more proactive in their career growth.

Two types of career development are:

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 Formal career development. This includes short-term training programs,
education, certifications, workshops, or seminars that can help build skill sets
for a particular job or industry.

 Informal career development. This includes mentorship opportunities,

networking events, online courses, internships, and volunteering experiences.

1. Self-assessment

A self-assessment evaluates your strengths, weaknesses, skills, personality type,

interests, and values to help you understand your fit with various career paths.

Self-assessment examples include:

 Skills assessment. This type of self-assessment helps identify your strengths

and determine skills gaps where you need development. Consider taking
a leadership self-assessment for a specific evaluation of your management
skills.

 Interest inventory. This assessment helps you understand your passions to help
you explore potential career paths.

 Values assessment. This identifies your values and priorities, which can affect
your career satisfaction.

By completing a self-assessment, you can better understand your personal career needs
and successfully guide your career development.

2. Goal setting

Using your self-assessment to set career goals is a critical step in career development.
Explore these career goal examples based on a self-assessment:

 Skills development. If you find a gap in your skills, you might set a goal to get
professional training or enroll in college courses.

 Career advancement. You may set a goal to move up the career ladder based
on your interests and values.

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 Career change. If your current career doesn’t align with your interests and
values, you may set a goal to transition to a different field.

Setting achievable goals allows you to focus and progress toward your objectives.

3. Action planning

Action planning involves breaking down your career aspirations into manageable,
achievable tasks and developing a timeline for completing them.

Three examples of what your action plan can look like:

 Skills development. If you want to acquire a new skill, your action plan may
include researching training programs over the next week, enrolling in courses
by the end of the month, and implementing the new skill in your career within
the next quarter.

 Career advancement. Your plan may include networking at the next business
event, volunteering for a specific upcoming leadership opportunity, hiring a
business coach next month, or seeking feedback from leadership once a week
over the next quarter.

 Career change. Your plan could include taking a month to research careers that
align with your values, enrolling in certification courses or classes to gain
skills in the new field over the next several months, networking with
businesses, applying for positions in the new field over the next six to nine
months, and transitioning to the new career field by next year.

By breaking down your aspirations into small tasks, you can stay focused, track
milestones, and increase your chances of success.

4. Implementation

Implementing your action plan is next. Discover three ways you can do this:

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 Schedule time. Set aside time to focus on your goals. You might use this time
to develop new skills, network, or research career paths.

 Track progress. Record your progress in a journal, spreadsheet, or to-do list. If

you need to catch up on the timeline of your initial action plan, strategize ways
to invest more time and effort into your development to get back on track.

 Celebrate wins. Celebrate your accomplishments, whether landing a new job,

completing a certification, or making connections.

Taking action and regularly monitoring your progress can help you make meaningful
strides toward your career goals.

5. Refinement

Refining the career development process to go more smoothly over time involves
regularly reassessing your goals, plans, and progress. You can do this in a few ways:

 Regularly reflect. Set aside time each month, quarter, or year to reflect on your
career development process. Review your career goals, assess your progress,
and identify areas for improvement.

 Seek feedback. Seek feedback from others with experience in your desired
career. This feedback can provide valuable insights and help you refine your
action plan.

 Stay adaptable. Be open to changing your goals and strategies. This may
involve changing your timeline, pivoting to a new career path, or acquiring
new skills.

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QUESTION 2

A Counselling is a process between a client and therapist to explore difficulties, learn to see
things clearly, and facilitate positive change (Sexton, 1996).

The process is built on a relationship of trust, confidentiality, and mutual respect. The
practice of counselling has roots in humanistic, behavioural, and cognitive traditions. There
are six personal characteristics that are critical for good counsellors and should be improved
upon continually.

These include having good interpersonal skills and being trustworthy, flexible,
hopeful/optimistic, culturally sensitive, and self-aware.

1. Interpersonal skills
Counsellors must be able to express themselves clearly and effectively. It is important not
only to be able to educate clients about therapeutic topics, but also to gauge the client’s
understanding at any given time.

Being able to sense what clients are thinking and feeling and relate to them by showing
warmth, acceptance, and empathy are cornerstones of effective therapy. You can learn about
and improve interpersonal skills and empathy by downloading our Emotional Intelligence
Exercises.

2. Trust

According to Hill and Knox (2001), most people determine whether they can trust someone
within 50 milliseconds of meeting them. Counsellors must be able to communicate verbally
and nonverbally that they are trustworthy.

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Clients need to feel comfortable sharing private, confidential information and parts of
themselves that are often entirely unknown by others. Having faith in the quality of the
relationship and the confidentiality of what is disclosed leads to a deeper connection with the
therapist.

3. Flexibility

A good counsellor will create a meaningful treatment plan that is individualized for each
client. This means the counsellor shouldn’t follow a rigid schedule of treatment or have a
“one size fits all” approach.

Prochaska and Norcross (2001) found that some treatments are better than others for specific
types of disorders. Matching the treatment to the client’s stage of readiness is the most
effective way to implement therapeutic techniques. Additionally, counsellors need to be able
to adapt and change course if treatment is not working for the client.

4. Hope and optimism

Hope is a wonderful motivator. Effective counsellors can find a balance between realism and
hope.

A good counsellor will set realistic goals that engage the client and inspire a more optimistic
outlook.

As attainable goals are reached, clients will develop a sense of resilience and confidence that
can help in all areas of life. These traits are why positive psychology is such an effective
method of improving emotional health.

5. Multicultural sensitivity

The American Psychological Association recommends that therapists adapt treatment to a

client’s cultural values and show respect for differences, beliefs, and attitudes.

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When working with clients, it is important to be educated and sensitive to issues of race,
gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, and cultural background.

6. Self-awareness

An effective counsellor can separate personal issues from those of the client.
Countertransference is a phenomenon described by Freud where issues expressed by a client
lead to an emotional reaction of the therapist.

When counsellors can identify and manage responses to their own issues, they will be less
likely to react to them during sessions, and it will eliminate any detrimental effects on
therapy.

B Communication skills will play a key role in your relationship with your clients. You need
to know how to confidently set boundaries, communicate ideas, and provide guidance to the
person before you without harshness or condemnation. Your communication should help
patients understand they can trust you to listen and provide expert advice.
Patience
Patience will become a critical trait as a counsellor. You will encounter clients who struggle
to make progress or who make decisions that do not benefit them. As a counsellor, you must
have the patience to walk them through their struggles so that they can find their way to a
healthier life.
Confidence
Counsellors must be confident in the services they provide and how they help clients. When
someone comes to you for help with a particular issue, you are there to provide them with
clear guidance and assistance. As a professional, you should always look for ways to improve
your skills and learn about some of the latest breakthroughs in the field. After all, confidence
does not mean knowing everything there is to know. It does mean,
however, understanding how to help your clients and coming to each session with a plan and
confidence in your understanding.
Non-judgmental
Counsellors also regularly meet with clients who have made choices that they do not agree
with. The counselling session, however, is not about letting the client know what they have

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done wrong. Instead, you want to focus on leading the client towards a future where they feel
confident and empowered enough to make positive changes for themselves. If the client feels
judged, it can put a major obstacle to the progress you can make together as a counsellor and
client. Instead, you want to nurture a relationship where the client feels comfortable being
open.
Observant
Sometimes, as a counsellor, you will encounter situations where people might not tell you the
entire truth. Your powers of observation, however, can help you fill in the gaps and find ways
to better help your clients. Learning how to read body language—such as signs of struggles
with substance abuse and indications of domestic abuse—can also provide you with valuable
insight into your client. It will help you guide conversations and treatment plans so that you
can help them in the most effective way possible.
Listening Skills
Knowing how to sit and really listen to what your client has to say can help to establish trust
and understanding between you and the client. The patient will feel relaxed and able to share
their thoughts, emotions, and experiences. The information you gain as a listener can help
you better understand your client and what has brought them to your office, so that you can
start to determine their treatment path and how to help them.

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QUESTION 2

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Bestowing to theorists in the ground of counselling and psychotherapy, there been no consent
on the stages to be left through in a counselling process or the

typical behaviour for respectively stage. What remainders definite among them is the
circumstance

that the development of counselling moves according to the orderly sequence at each

stage. They also feel that the characteristic of building relationships is constantly present

through the process at each stage.

The stages in the process of counselling are not limited, but rather nonstop

and sometimes overlay with each other. When a counsellor reaches a stage and

starts to handle the theme of discussion for that precise stage, numerous elements

from different stages are also present.

At this level, importance is given to the various questions that should be discussed

in a certain stage. However, this is not supposed to happen since the issue that

needs attention is linked to the first stage about getting to know the client. The

time factor should also be considered in handling each stage according to whether

the counsellor thinks he should move on to the next stage or not.

Other reimbursements that the counsellor may get by altering the focus of conversation to

positive stages:

(a) Increasing the counsellor’s understanding;

(b) Dodging dead-ends

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(c) Refining connection

(d) Reviewing clients’ problems more broadly

(e) Option to change approaches and

(f) Altering the topic of discussion.

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