COUNSELING

AND SOCIAL
WORK
MEANING AND INTRODUCTION TO
COUNSELLING
 The term ‘counselling’ is used in a number of ways. Very often the term counselling and
psychotherapy are synonymously used. In the current usage also, counselling and
psychotherapy are used interchangeably. F.P. Robinson describes counselling as aiding
normal, people to achieve higher level adjustment skills which manifest themselves as
increased maturity, independence, personal integration and responsibility. The phrase
“increasing human effectiveness” is used frequently to describe the goal of counselling.
 G.W. Gustad has defined counselling as a learning-oriented process, carried on in a simple
one-to-one social environment, in which a counsellor, professionally competent in
relevant psychological skills and knowledge, seeks to assist the client by methods
appropriate to the latter’s needs and within the context of the total personnel programme,
to learn more about himself, to learn to put such understanding into effect in relation to
more clearly perceived, realistically defined goals to the end that the client may become a
happier and more productive member of his society” (Journal of Vocational Psychology,
No.36).
 In short, counselling is an interpersonal process through which guidance and
support is provided to persons with psychological problems. These problems may be
personal or interpersonal in nature. Thus Counselling seeks to resolve personal and
interpersonal problems through a variety of approaches, and in a way that
is consistent with the values and goals of society in general, and that of the client in
particular.
 Counselling in this sense is not absolutely distinct from guidance and education that the
social workers often give through various programmes. Rather, it is an additional skill and
understanding of common, yet complex emotional and personality problems. Through
counselling, the counsellor helps the person to develop self-awareness and explore the
possibilities to develop his/her latent capacities. Thus the scope of counselling is
to increase both self-awareness and self-management.
 Counselling initiates a process of self transformation in the person. The counsellor
through their skills help the client to assess his/her own life, strength and limitation. Thus
counselling is the process by which a skilled person aids another person in the total
development of his/her personality.
COUNSELLING IN SOCIAL WORK VS
COUNSELLING IN PSYCHOLOGIST
 counselling psychologists tend to focus on helping individuals work through their emotions
and develop strategies that improve their functioning in their environment, social
workers focus on making the clients identify the problems themselves and adapting the
environment. They try to make a difference in the social functioning of the client by
suggesting meaningful interventions so they are able to create their betterment themselves.
 For example, if a client comes to a counselling psychologist because her unemployment is
causing stress in her life, the psychologist might work with her to identify the emotions she
feels about being unemployed and help her develop healthy coping strategies for dealing with
her emotions and stress. If that same client visited a social worker, although work would
still be done with regard to the source of the stress and dealing with it in a healthy manner, the
social worker’s primary focus would be to help the client make modifications to her
environment to ameliorate that stress. Specifically, the social worker might put the client in
contact with an employment agency or job coach who can provide direct services to address
her specific problem.
 Another primary difference between counselling psychology and social work is
the perspective from which they operate. Many counselling psychologists will deal with past
events and examine how those events influence current behaviour. In that regard,
counselling psychology has a much more specific focus – it operates on a micro level.
 Social workers, however, deal less with how clients got to be in their present situation, and
focus more on how to resolve current issues in order to ensure future success. It is a more
systemic and macro approach to resolving client issues.
 Using the example from above, a
counselling psychologist might want to identify the specific reasons for the client’s
unemployment and work on any issues that prevent her from keeping a job. A social worker,
on the other hand, would take a future-based approach and be interested in providing specific
supports that make employment more likely.
 DIMENSIONS OF
COUNSELLING
 First of all, counselling is viewed as a relationship. There is consensus among all the
counsellors that a good counselling relationship is prerequisite to be
effective with clients. Some counsellors regard the counselling relationship as not only
necessary, but sufficient for constructive changes to occur in clients (Rogers,
1957).One way to define counselling involves stipulating central qualities of good
counselling called the ‘core conditions', are empathic understanding, respect for clients’
potentials to lead their own lives and congruence or genuineness. Those who view
counselling predominantly as a helping relationship tend to be adherents of the theory
and practice of person-centred counselling(Rogers, 1961; Raskin and Rogers, 1995).
 Secondly, counselling is viewed as a therapeutic intervention. It is believed that a set of
interventions are required in addition to the relationship to bring constructive changes in
the person. These interventions are counselling methods or helping strategies.
Counsellors, who have a repertoire of skills, assess and decide of which intervention to
use, with which client, when and with what probability of success. These interventions
are based on the theoretical orientations of the counsellors. For example, psychoanalytic
counsellors use psychoanalytic interventions, rational emotive theory counsellors use
rational emotive theory related interventions and Gestalt counsellors use Gestalt
interventions. Some counsellors are eclectic and use interventions derived from a variety
of theoretical positions.
 Another dimension of counselling is that it is viewed as a psychological
process. Counselling is fundamentally associated with psychology. There are number of
reasons for this association. First, the goals of counselling have a mind component in
them. In varying degrees, all counselling approaches focus on altering how people feel,
think and act so that they may live their lives more effectively. Counselling is not static,
but involves movement between and within the minds of both counsellors and clients.
Further, the underlying theories from which counselling goals and interventions are
derived are psychological (Nelson-Jones, 1995). Many of the leading counselling theorists
have been psychologists: Rogers and Ellis are important examples. Most of the other
leading theorists have been psychiatrists: Beck and Berne.
 COUNSELLING AND PSYCHOTHERAPY
COUNSELLING
-counselling has been characterized by words like
educational, vocational, supportive, situational,
problem solving, conscious awareness, emphasis on
‘normals’ and short term.
-counselling focuses on helping people to use
existing resources for coping with life better (Tyler,
1961).
PSYCHOTHERAPY
-has been described with terms like supportive,
reconstructive, depth emphasis, analytical, focus
on the unconscious, emphasis on neurotics or
other sever emotional and long term problems.
-psychotherapy focuses on personality change of
some sort.
-Psychotherapy deals with more severe
disturbance and is a more medical term than
Counselling.
 COUNSELLING AND PSYCHOTHERAPY
COUNSELLING
-counselling does not depend on psychological
means alone to provide benefits to the client.
Counselling may utilize processes such
as restructuring the client’s environment or
recommending leisure pursuits.
-Counselling is not based upon any specific
psychological theory; rather, it uses practical
techniques derived from different forms of
psychotherapy, as appropriate to the situation.
-Finally, counselling is far less formal and
structured than psychotherapy. It is more flexible.
PSYCHOTHERAPY
-psychotherapy is the treatment of psychological
disorders by psychological means within the
framework of existing psychological theories. It is
conducted by psychologist, psychiatrists, or other
mental health professional who are highly trained
in the field.
-Psychotherapy is a formal and structured
process.
NEED OF COUNSELLING
 Counselling is considered beneficial to the persons with stress-related mood disturbances
and adjustment problems. These disturbances and adjustment problems are sometimes
expressed and shared as concerns by the affected individual.
 The need for counselling may be understood when someone raises concerns like: ‘I am
feeling lonely.’ ‘I have lost my job and feel hopeless.’ ‘I find it difficult to make up my
mind about my career.’ “I fell tensed all the time.’ ‘I wish I were better at controlling my
anger’. ‘I find that my life is becoming meaningless.’ In these and such other cases, the
person is expressing the need for help from others. Such help is extended by providing
counselling services
 PEOPLE WITH THE FOLLOWING MAIN CRITERIA INDICATE THE NEED FOR COUNSELLING:

 1. The symptoms are related to stress, but are out of proportion to the stress in duration or
severity. For instance, a person disturbed after the sudden death of a loved one, is unable to
adjust after several weeks. When the degree of emotional disturbance in such a case is so
great that the individual is unable to attend to his or her regular work. Then the
individual would probably benefit from counselling.
 2. The symptoms interfere with psychological,
cognitive, biological, social, personal, and/or occupational functioning. Sometimes physical
symptoms may also be present. Interference with psychological functioning means that
depression, anxiety, fear, anger or other dysfunctional emotional states are
present. Interference with cognitive functioning means that attention and concentration are
poor. Mental slowness and mind blocks may become common. Interference with biological
functioning means that the person will have disturbance of sleep, appetite and sexual
functioning. Interference with social functioning means that there is impairment in the ability
and desire to interact normally in social situations. Interference with occupational functioning
means decreased work efficiency, making errors at work, avoidance of responsibilities, and/or
absenteeism. Interference with personal functioning means decreased involvement in the
usual recreational and leisure time activities. This may be associated with physical symptoms
like fatigue, lethargy, aches and psychosomatic problems.
 GOALS OF COUNSELLING
 1. Counselling for healthy development of personality-Counselling goal can be for the
nourishment of a natural tendency toward psychological maturation which presumably exists in
every individual. According to psychologists like Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow, everyone
has a natural tendency towards “self-actualization”. The counsellors, through their skills and by
providing a conductive emotional atmosphere, help the clients to promote this innate positive
orientation.
 2. Counselling as providing support and
guidance- While working with people as social worker there are many occasions where
individuals seek crisis intervention and short-term support from the social worker. A young man
frustrated after completing higher education and not getting suitable employment,
a woman severely depressed after the sudden death of her husband, a youth confused and
finding it difficult to make choice about career are some of the examples of this. Anyone under
acute stress or depression might benefit from this kind of temporary assistance.
 3. Counselling as emotional release-Suppression of thoughts, feelings and emotions often lead to
physical or mental problem. The counsellors in such cases help the client to deal with their
unexpressed feelings and emotions. The client usually benefit from learning to let them go in a way
that is not damaging to themselves or to others. A person who has just lost a loved one but is unable to
grieve or a person who is furious with his/her boss but holds it in, for these and such other cases
counselling is given as emotional release. Venting of emotions can be a great relief to these persons
and freedom for such expressions is important aspects of social workers.
 4. Counselling for awareness-Carl Rogers has pointed out that self-awareness, self-acceptance and
self-direction are the most important aspects of personality development. Through counselling, the
client can be helped to become aware and understand his/her own strengths, potentials, weaknesses and
overall personality. The client can gain insight into his/her own thinking, feeling and behaviour. Self
awareness helps them to accept themselves and also work to overcome their weakness.
 5. Counselling for value clarification and change-Counselling aims at developing a healthy value
system in the clients’ personality. The socialization process and internalization of values shape the
personality of the individual. The value system directs ones thinking, feeling and accordingly the
action. Sometimes people are involved in activities which are anti social and/or harmful to themselves
or to others. In such a situation, counselling helps as a remedial measure. The counsellor helps the
clients to clarify their values and if needed bring about appropriate changes in the value system of the
clients.
 SCOPE OF COUNSELLING IN SOCIAL WORK PROFESSION

 Social workers are one among the many professionals engaged in counselling individuals with
emotional and other problems. Besides social workers, other professionals providing counselling
services include the psychiatrists, psychologists, psychoanalysts, nursing personnel, religious
leaders, teachers and other volunteers.
 Counselling is one of the major tasks of social workers engaged in helping people. Through direct
counselling or referral to other services, social workers help people solve a range of personal
problems.
 Social workers help people by counselling them to
cope with issues in their everyday lives, deal with their relationships, and solve personal and
family problems.
 Some social workers provide counselling to clients who face a disability or a life-threatening
disease or a social problem, such as unemployment, cancer, HIV/AIDS or substance abuse.
 Social workers also counsel families that have serious domestic conflicts, sometimes involving
child or spousal abuse. Many social workers specialize in serving a particular population or work
in a specific setting. They get many opportunities for engaging in their field of practice.
 SOME OF THE AGENCIES WHERE SOCIAL
WORKERS ENGAGE THEMSELVES IN
COUNSELLING CAN BE LISTED AS FOLLOWS:
 1. Social welfare departments – family counselling centers, children’s home.
 2. Family and child welfare agencies
 3. Schools and colleges – government and private
 4. Child and adolescent guidance centers
 5.Hospitals and health services – government, private and voluntary organizations
 6.Home for the aged
 7. Agencies for the physically and mentally challenged
 8.Home for the terminally ill – hospice
 9. Agencies working for HIV/AIDS prevention and rehabilitation
 10. Drug de-addiction and rehabilitation centers
 11. Mental health projects and rehabilitation centers
 12. Youth welfare agencies
 13. Centers for suicide prevention
 SCOPE OF COUNSELLING IN SOME OF
THE FIELDS OF PRACTICE BY
SOCIAL WORKERS
 1. Family and child welfare: Social workers provide social services and counselling to improve
the social and psychological functioning of children and their families. Further they work to
maximize the well- being of families and the academic functioning of children. They may assist
single parents, prepare parents for adoptions, or help in finding foster homes for neglected,
abandoned, or abused children. Some social workers specialize in services for the
aged. These social workers may run support groups; counsel elderly people or family
members about their living, health care, and other services.
 2. School social work: In schools, social workers often serve as the link between students,
parents and the school. They work with students, parents, guardians, teachers, and other school
officials to ensure students reach their academic and personal potential. In addition, they address
problems such as misbehavior, truancy, absenteeism, late coming, under achievement, etc. and
provide counselling services to students, parents and teachers on how to cope with difficult
situations.
 3. Medical and public health :Social workers working in medical and public health areas,
provide psychosocial support to patients, families, or relatives. Counselling is given so that
they can cope with chronic, acute, or terminal illnesses, such as cancer, or AIDS. The role of
social worker in the field of medical and public health is as important as that of a physician.
While the medical practitioner’s role is concerned with the treatment of a patient, social
worker deals with the social, physical and psychological aspects of the patient undertreatment.
The role of social workers in the medical and public health in India has become more
important with the fast spread of HIV/AIDS. This is one area where counselling is provided
for prevention as well as rehabilitation of affected persons.
 4. Mental health and substance abuse: Social Workers help the individuals with mental
illness or the problem of substance abuse, including abuse of alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs.
The social workers in mental health set up provide services along with the psychiatrist and
other professionals. Such services include counselling, individual and group therapy, outreach,
crisis intervention and social rehabilitation. The increasing involvement of young people in
substance abuse in India is also a matter of concern for the involvement of social workers.
THANK YOU!
THEORIES OF
COUNSELLING
 Understanding the theories is important as it is the knowledge base of
counselling.
 Theories are basically conceptual frameworks for understanding parameters of
the counselling process. These parameters can include models for viewing
personality development, explaining past behavior, predicting future behavior,
understanding the current behavior of the client, diagnosing and treatment
planning, assessing client motivations, needs, and unsolved issues, and
identifying strategies and interventions of assistance to the client.
 Theories help organize data and provide guidelines for the prevention and
intervention efforts of counsellors and therapists (Capuzzi & Gross: 1999).
THEORIES OF COUNSELLING
General Approach Theoretical System Theory Base and
Founder or Major
Contributors

Psychodynamic  Psychoanalytic therapy  Psychoanalysis theory by

Sigmund Freud

Social  Adlerian  Individual

Psychological Therapy Psychology by Alfred
Adler

Humanistic,  Person Centered Counselling  Person centered Theory by

Experiential, Carl Rogers
Existential  Gestalt Therapy  Gestalt Therapy Theory by
Frederick Perls
Cognitive,  Transactional Analysis (TA)  Transactional
Behavioural,  Behavioural Counseling, Therapy, Analysis Therapy by
Action and modification Eric Berne
Oriented  Rational  Behavior Theory and Conditioning
Emotive Behavior Therapy theory by B.F. Skinner, J. Wolpe
(RET)  Rational-Emotive Behavior
 Reality Therapy Theory by Albert
 Cognitive Ellis
Behaviour Therapy  Reality Theory by
William Glasser
 Cognitive Theory by A. Beck, A. Ellis,
D. Meichenbaum, A.
Lazarus, J. Wolpe

Trait, Factor, Decisional  Trait-Factor Counselling  Trait Factor Theory by E.G.

Williamson, D. Paterson, J.
Darley, D. Biggs

Integrative  Eclectic  Eclecticism by F.C.

Counselling and Psychotherapy Thorne, S. Garfield,
J. Palmer, A. Ivey,
R. Carkhuff
 PSYCHOANALYTIC THERAPY (SIGMUND FREUD)
View of Human Nature

 Maintains that an individual’s personality is fixed largely by the

age of 6.
 People do not have free will, their behavior is determined by
innate drives that have to do with sex and aggression or love and
death

 KEY CONCEPTS- Normal personality development is based on

successful resolution and integration of psychosexual stages of
development. Faulty personality development is the result of
inadequate resolution of some specific stage. Anxiety is a result of
repression of basic conflicts. Unconscious processes are centrally
related to current behavior.
PSYCHOANALYTIC THERAPY (SIGMUND FREUD)
 Goals of Therapy
o To bring about changes in an individual’s personality and character structure
 o Helping those who are willing and able to participate in a lengthy and often painful process to
achieve a resolution of some intrapsychic conflicts so that they might experience life in a mature
manner.
o To help clients achieve self-awareness, honesty , and more effective interpersonal relationships and gain
better control over their irrational and id impulses.
o Ultimate goal: reorganization that promotes the integration of dissociated psychic material and results
in a fundamentally changed, firmly established new structure of personality

 THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP- The classical analyst remains anonymous, and clients

develop projections toward him or her. Focus is on reducing the resistances that develop in
working with transference and on establishing more rational control. Clients undergo long-term
analysis, engage in free association to uncover conflicts, and gain insight by talking. The analyst
makes interpretations to teach clients the meaning of current behavior as it relates to the past.
In contemporary relational psychoanalytic therapy, the relationship is central and emphasis is
given to here-and- now dimensions of this relationship.
 TECHNIQUES OF THERAPHY- The key techniques are interpretation, dream analysis, free
association, analysis of resistance, analysis of transference, and countertransference.
Techniques are designed to help clients gain access to their unconscious conflicts, which leads
to insight and eventual assimilation of new material by the ego.

• 1. Free Association: the client is encouraged for free expression of thoughts even if it is still
very silly or irrational, while the counselor maintains an empathetic neutrality, non judgmental
behavior.

• 2. Dream Analysis: In the view of Sigmund Freud’s concern, it is believed that dreams are made of the
repressed wish that can be the main avenues to understand the unconscious psyche. The analyst/
counselor find the clue to work on the unconscious mind.

• 3. Transference: Transference is the release of feeling whereby emotions are released from
one person to another. The counselor interprets the emotions being expressed as positive or
negative. The release of emotions has therapeutic implications
• 4. Analysis of Resistance: Resistant is reported when client refuses to express the
unconscious state of mind. The counselor has to deal immediately with the resistance to gain
insights into the behavior of the client.

• 5. Interpretation: Counselor helps the clients’ with the interpretation that was neither
understood nor previously meaningful. It encompasses meaningful statements of present
conflict, thoughts, feelings and actions.

 APPLICATIONS OF THE APPROACHES-Candidates for analytic therapy include professionals

who want to become therapists, people who have had intensive therapy and want to go further,
and those who are in Psychological pain. Analytic therapy is not recommended for self-centered
and impulsive individuals or for people with psychotic disorders. Techniques can be applied to
individual and group therapy.
 ADLERIAN THERAPY (ALDFRED ADLER)
View of Human Nature
 People are basically self-determined and that they forge their personalities from the
meaning they give to their life experiences.
 People create their own lives by using their creative power
 It is the individual who must ultimately be responsible for making good use of his
abilities
 People are motivated by their present perceptions and by their present expectations of
the future.
 People do not determine meanings by situations, but they determine themselves by the
meanings they give to situations.
 People create their own personalities, and they can change their personality by
developing new attitudes
 His view is essentially optimistic, holistic, and phenomenological in orientation.
 KEY CONCEPTS- Key concepts include the unity of personality, the need to view people from their subjective
perspective, and the importance of life goals that give direction to behavior. People are motivated by social interest
and by finding goals to give life meaning. Other key concepts are striving for significance and superiority,
developing a unique lifestyle, and understanding the family constellation. Therapy is a matter of providing
encouragement and assisting clients in changing their cognitive perspective and behavior.
 GOALS OF THERAPHY-To challenge clients' basic premises and life goals. To offer encouragement so individuals
can develop socially useful goals and increase social interest. To develop the client's sense of belonging.
 THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP- The emphasis is on joint responsibility, on mutually
determining goals, on mutual trust and respect, and on equality. Focus is on
identifying, exploring, and disclosing mistaken goals and faulty assumptions within the
person's lifestyle.
 TECHNIQUES OF THERAPHY- Adlerians pay more attention to the subjective
experiences of clients than to using techniques. Some techniques include gathering
life-history data (family constellation, early recollections, personal priorities), sharing
interpretations with clients, offering encouragement, and assisting clients in searching
for new possibilities.
 APPLICATIONS OF THE APPROACHES- Because the approach is based on a
growth model, it is applicable to such varied spheres of life as child guidance, parent-
child counseling, marital and family therapy, individual counseling with all age groups,
correctional and rehabilitation counseling, group counseling, substance abuse
programs, and brief counseling. It is ideally suited to preventive care and alleviating a
broad range of conditions that interfere with growth.
 EXISTENTIAL THERAPY ( VICTOR FRANKL/ROLLO MAY/IRVIN
YALLOM)

View of Human Nature

 Main focus deals with human existence and what it means to be alive
 To be human means asking questions about our very existence
 Searching for meaning in life is a distinctly human characteristic
 Our validation must come from within rather than from others
 People create their own values. People are free when they choose freely and when
they accept the consequences of their actions.
 KEY CONCEPTS- Essentially an experiential approach to counseling rather than a
firm theoretical model, it stresses core human conditions. Interest is on the present
and on what one is becoming. The approach has a future orientation and stresses self-
awareness before action.
 Goals of Therapy
 Finding personal meaning: the client is encouraged to find his or her own personal
meanings and truths about life.
 Taking responsibility for one’s decisions about living.
 Living in the present so that the client experiences life more fully each moment.
 Increasing self-awareness and authentic living
 Role of the Therapist
 Facilitate client’s encounters with themselves
 Focus on the issue of client responsibility
 Assist clients in learning how to embrace responsibility rather than
avoid it
 Assists clients in making choices, removing the obstacles that block
their decision-making ability, and understanding the methods they
use in arriving at decisions

THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP- The therapist's main tasks are to

accurately grasp clients' being in the world and to establish a personal
and authentic encounter with them. The immediacy of the client-
therapist relationship and the authenticity of the here-and-now
encounter are stressed. Both client and therapist can be changed by
the encounter.
 Therapy Techniques
Free to use techniques across the broad schools of thought, including diverse
techniques such as desensitization and free association
Primary guideline: address the uniqueness of each person
Initial Phase: help clients identify and clarify their beliefs about their worlds. Clients
are encouraged to explore the ways in which they make sense of their being
Middle Phase: examines clients’ values and their sources
Final Phase: focuses on helping clients take action regarding the kind of life they want.

 APPLICATIONS OF THE APPROACHES- This approach is especially suited to people

facing a developmental crisis or a transition in life and for those with existential concerns
(making choices, dealing with freedom and responsibility, coping with guilt and anxiety,
making sense of life, and finding values) or those seeking personal enhancement. The
approach can be applied to both individual and group counseling, and to couples and
family therapy, crisis intervention, and community mental health work.
 PERSON-CENTERED THERAPY (CARL ROGERS)

 BASIC PHILOSPY- Positive view of people; we have an inclination toward becoming fully
functioning. In the context of the therapeutic relationship, the client experiences feelings
that were previously denied to awareness. The client moves toward increased awareness,
spontaneity, trust in self, and inner- directedness.

 -KEY CONCEPTS- Person-centered therapy The client has the potential to become aware
of problems and the means to resolve them. Faith is placed in the client's capacity for self-
direction. Mental health is a congruence of ideal self and real self. Maladjustment is the
result of a discrepancy between what one wants to be and what one is. In therapy attention
is given to the present moment and on experiencing and expressing feelings.
The Therapeutic Process
•Each person has the capacity to understand the circumstances that cause unhappiness
and to reorganize his or her life accordingly
•A person’s ability to deal with these circumstances is enhanced if the therapist establishes a
warm, accepting, and understanding relationship
 Techniques
1. Rogerian Active Listening
“We listen for meaning”. The listener says very little but conveys empathy, acceptance, and genuineness
Counselor silence helps focus therapeutic responsibility on the client
Nonverbal dimensions: counselor’s eye contact, body language, vocal tone, speech rate, physical space

2. Reflection of Feeling
Provides a mirroring of the feeling or emotion present in a client’s statements
Place the emphasis on feelings rather than on content and to help clients own their feelings
E.g.
 “You really hate her guts”
 “it really hurts when those you love most reject you”
 “You are uncomfortable being around him because he makes you feel guilty about your
achievements”

3. Paraphrasing
Restating the client’s fundamental message in similar but fewer words
Objectives: for therapists to test their understanding of what the client has said; to communicate to your
clients that you understand their basic message
Therapist should do the ff:
 Listen for the client’s basic message
 Restate to the client a concise and simple summary of his of her basic message
 Observe a client cue, or ask for a client response that confirms or denies the accuracy and
helpfulness of the paraphrase for promoting client understanding
 -GOALS OF THERAPHY- To provide a safe climate conducive to clients' self-exploration, so that they
can recognize blocks to growth and can experience aspects of self that were formerly denied or
distorted. To enable them to move toward openness, greater trust in self, willingness to be a process,
and increased spontaneity and aliveness. To find meaning in life and to experience life fully. To
become more self-directed.
 THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP- The relationship is of primary importance. The qualities of the
therapist, including genuiheness, warmth, accurate empathy, respect, and nonjudgmentalness- and
communication of these attitudes to clients--are stressed. Clients use this genuine relationship with
the therapist to help them transfer what they learn to other relationships.
 APPLICATIONS OF THE APPROACHES- Has wide applicability to individual and group counseling. It
is especially well suited for the initial phases of crisis intervention work. Its principles have been
applied to couples and family therapy, community programs, administration and management, and
human relations training. It is a useful approach for teaching, parent-child relations, and for working
with groups of people from diverse cultural backgrounds.
 GESTALT THERAPY ( FRITZ PERLS/LAUARA PERLS)

 Contributions of Gestalt Psychology to Gestalt Therapy

 An individual’s behavior is a Gestalt, a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.
 An individual experiences the world according to the principles of a figure-ground
relationship.
 An individual will seek closure of an incomplete gestalt. An incomplete gestalt draws
an individual attention until it is unified and stabilized
 An individual will complete gestalts on the basis of his or her most prevalent need
 A person’s behavior can be most meaningfully understood only in its immediate context.
 Gestalt Counseling
 A therapeutic approach in which the therapist assist the client toward self-
integration and toward learning to utilize his energy in appropriate ways to grow,
develop, and actualize
 Primary focus: here and now
 Major objective: integration of the person/ “getting it all together”
 Therapist seeks to increase the client’s awareness
 Client must also learn to take responsibility for themselves
 -KEY CONCEPTS- Emphasis is on the "what" and "how" of experiencing in the here and
now to help clients accept all aspects of themselves. Key concepts include holism,
figure-formation process, awareness, unfinished business and avoidance, contact, and
energy.
 GOALS OF THERAPHY- Gestalt therapy To assist clients in gaining awareness of
moment-to-moment experiencing and to expand the capacity to make choices. To foster
integration of the self.
 -THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP- Gestalt therapy Central importance is given to the
I/Thou relationship and the quality of the therapist's presence. The therapist's attitudes
and behavior count more than the techniques used. The therapist does not interpret for
clients but assists them in developing the means to make their own interpretations.
Clients identify and work on unfinished business from the past that interferes with
current functioning.
TECHNIQUES OF THERAPHY- Gestalt therapy A wide range of experiments are
designed to intensity experiencing and to integrate conflicting feelings. Experiments are
co-created by therapist and client through an I/Thou dialogue. Therapists have latitude to
creatively invent their own experiments. Formal diagnosis and testing are not a required
part of therapy.

-APPLICATIONS OF THE APPROACHES- Gestalt therapy Addresses a wide range of

problems and populations: crisis intervention, treatment of a range of psychosomatic
disorders, couples and family therapy, awareness training of mental health professionals,
behavior problems in children, and teaching and learning. It is well suited to both
individual and group counseling. The methods are powerful catalysts for opening up
feelings and getting clients into contact with their present-centered experience.
BEHAVIOR THERAPY (B.F SKINNER/ALBERT BANDURA/ARNOLD LAZARUS)

 BASIC PHILOSOPHY- Behavior is the product of learning. We are both

the product and the producer of the environment. Traditional behavior
therapy is based on classical and operant principles. Contemporary
behavior therapy has branched out in many directions.

 -KEY CONCEPTS- Focus is on overt behavior, precision in specifying

goals of treatment, development of specific treatment plans, and
objective evaluation of therapy outcomes. Present behavior is given
attention, Therapy is based on the principles of learning theory. Normal
behavior is learned through reinforcement and imitation. Abnormal
behavior is the result of faulty learning.
 Goals of Therapy
 The counselor informs the client about the need for goals, the role that they play in
therapy, and the client’s involvement in the goal-setting process.

The client indicates the positive changes he or she desires from therapy. Emphasis is
placed on what the client wants rather than what he or she does not want.
 The therapist highlights that change can only come from the client and the fact that
the client must accept responsibility for the desired change in behavior.
 Throughout the therapy process, the client and therapist work on identified goals,
revising them as the need arises. A plan of action is developed to achieve the
identified goals.

THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP- Behavior therapy The therapist is active and directive and
functions as a teacher or mentor in helping clients learn more effective behavior. Clients must be active in
the process and experiment with new behaviors. Although a quality client-therapist relationship is not
viewed as sufficient to bring about change, it is considered essential for implementing behavioral
procedures.
 THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP- The therapist is active and directive and functions
as a teacher or mentor in helping clients learn more effective behavior. Clients must
be active in the process and experiment with new behaviors. Although a quality client-
therapist relationship is not viewed as sufficient to bring about change, it is considered
essential for implementing behavioral procedures.
 TECHNIQUES OF THERAPHY- Behavior therapy The main techniques are
reinforcement, shaping, modeling, systematic desensitization, relaxation methods,
flooding, eye movement and desensitization reprocessing, cognitive restructuring,
assertion and social skills training, self-management programs, mindfulness and
acceptance methods, behavioral rehearsal, coaching, and various multimodal therapy
techniques. Diagnosis or assessment is done at the outset to determine a treatment
plan. Questions concentrate on "what," "how," and "when" (but not "why"). Contracts
and homework assignments are also typically used.

APPLICATIONS OF THE APPROACHES -A pragmatic approach based on empirical

validation of results. Enjoys wide applicability to individual, group, couples, and family
counseling. Some problems to which the approach is well suited are phobic disorders,
depression, trauma, sexual disorders, children's behavioral disorders, stuttering, and
prevention of cardiovascular disease. Beyond clinical practice, its principles are applied
in fields such as pediatrics, stress management, behavioral medicine, education, and
geriatrics.

  RATIONAL EMOTIVE BEHAVIOR THERAPY (Albert Ellis)

View of Human Nature

 People are born with a potential for irrational or rational thinking
 Human beings have predispositions for self-preservation, happiness, and growth actualization
 People are constructivists and have a great deal of resources for human growth.
 Theory of Personality
 ABC Model of personality
 A: activating event or experiences, such as family problems or early childhood trauma,
that trigger stress or worry
 B: belief system—the cognitive component in our reaction to events. Especially
important are irrational, self-defeating beliefs that form the source of our
unhappiness
 C: consequences (the neurotic symptoms and negative emotions, such as depression,
anger, and rage) that come from our beliefs
 D: Disputing Irrational Thoughts and beliefs
o Detecting
o Debating
o discriminating
 E: Cognitive and Emotional effects of revised beliefs

 The Therapeutic Process
 Designed to help clients gain a more realistic, rational philosophy of life
 Therapist does not devote much time to examining the morbid details of the client’s life
 Challenges clients’ irrational beliefs in the first few sessions
 Intended to be a brief therapy (1-10 sessions)
 Clients with severe disturbances are encouraged to come to individual and/or group sessions for at
least 6 months
 2 techniques:
 Tape the entire session. Clients then listen to the recordings several times so they can ascertain
their problems and the REBT way of handling them
 To give REBT Self-Help Form to teach clients how to use the method when they experience
emotional problems between therapeutic sessions

 The Therapeutic Relationship


 General REBT: similar to CBT
 Preferential REBT, which stresses a deep philosophical change in the client’s life and way of relating to
people
 3 powerful insights:
o Person’s self-defeating behavior usually stems from the interaction of A and B; such that A+B=C
o People have made themselves emotionally disturbed because they keep indoctrinating themselves
with similar irrational beliefs
o Clients recognize that only hard work and practice will correct irrational beliefs. Clients must
commit themselves to repeated challenging of irrational thoughts until they are fully extinguished.
Counseling Techniques

 Uses a variety of therapeutic techniques: didactic discussion,

bibliotherapy, role playing, assertion training, operant
conditioning, activity-oriented homework assignments
 Changing one’s language
-Imprecise language contributes to distorted thinking
-Clients learn how to change their “musts” to “preferences”
 Humor: emotional disturbance comes from taking oneself too
seriously
 Shame-attacking exercises:
-to help clients reduce shame over how they behaved. Such
exercises are designed for increasing client self- acceptance.
  Disputing
o -Detailed examination sentence by sentence of any irrational belief that the
client states during therapy
o -Using three forms of disputation:
1. Cognitive: attempts to persuade the client by asking direct questions; e.g. “Can u
prove it?”; “How do u
know”?
2. Imaginal: ask client to imagine themselves in the situation about which they feel
uncomfortable
3. Behavioral: if clients continue practicing rational emotive imagery, they can reach
the point where they no
longer feel upset over negative events

 Emotional Control Card
-Wallet sized and contains four emotionally debilitating categories: anger,
self-criticism, anxiety and depression; a list of inappropriate feelings, and a
parallel list of appropriate feelings

- The goal is to get clients to become aware of the feelings that they are using
and to encourage them to rationally choose the emotions they display.
 REALITY THERAPY (WILLIAM GLASSER)

 BASIC PHILOSOPHY-Based on choice theory, this approach assumes that we need

quality relationships to be happy. Psychological problems are the result of our
resisting the control by others or of our attempt to control others. choice theory is an
explanation of human nature and how to best achieve satisfying interpersonal
relationships.
 KEY CONCEPTS- The basic focus is on what clients are doing and how to get them
to evaluate whether their present actions are working for them. People are mainly
motivated to satisfy their needs, especially the need for significant relationships. The
approach rejects the medical model, the notion of transference, the unconscious, and
dwelling on one's past.
 GOALS OF THERAPHY- To help people become more effective in meeting all of their
Psychological needs. To enable clients to get reconnected with the people they have
chosen to put into their quality worlds and teach clients choice theory.
 THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIP- A fundamental task is for the therapist to create a good
relationship with the client. Therapists are then able to engage clients in an evaluation of all
their relationships with respect to what they want and how effective they are in getting this.
Therapists find out what clients want, ask what they are choosing to do, invite them to
evaluate present behavior, help them make plans for change, and get them to make a
commitment. The therapist is a client's advocate, as long as the client is willing to attempt to
behave responsibly.

TECHNIQUES OF THERAPHY- This is an active, directive, and didactic therapy. Skillful

questioning is a central technique used for the duration of the therapy process. Various
techniques may be used to get clients to evaluate what they are presently doing to see if they
are willing to change. if clients decide that their present behavior is not effective, they develop
a specific plan for change and make a commitment to follow through.

-APPLICATIONS OF THE APPROACHES- Geared to teaching people ways of using choice

theory in everyday living to increase effective behaviors. It has been applied to individual
counseling with a wide range of clients, Group counseling, working with youthful law
offenders, and couples and family therapy. In some instances it is well suited to brief therapy
and crisis intervention.
THANK YOU!!