Joining in Counselling

I understand counselling to be a helping practice that differs from other helping activities, such as teaching for example. Counselling requires professional training and is specifically contracted or explicitly agreed. It has a theoretical base and uses specific methods within an ethical framework. The relationship between the counsellor and the client is built upon mutual expectation and is central to the process of the client under-going significant change in their lives.

Another important factor in the opening stage is to draw up a contract and discuss the content with the client, this will demonstrate it’s a working relationship and both the client and counsellor will know their barriers, it also gives structure and prevents any misunderstanding in the relationship. By having a contract it demonstrates to the client they are safe and able to speak freely also it shows the client that each session if totally confidential, there are exceptions to the rule and these will be included in the contract and what the process will be if they disclose anything that is unlawful.

The term counselling facilitates personal and interpersonal functioning across the lifespan with the main focus on emotional, vocational, social, educational, health related and developmental concerns this encompasses a broad range of practices that help people to improve their well being, alleviate stress and maladjustment, reslove crisis and increases their ability to live more fully functioning lives. Counselling is unique in its attention to both normal developmental issues as well as the problems associated with physical, emotional and mental disorders. The BACP states that “counselling takes place when a counsellor see a client in a private and confidential

A counselling relationship is likened to being on a journey - a beginning, middle and end (Smallwood, 2013). During the beginning phase the client develops sufficient trust in the counsellor and the relationship ‘to explore the previously feared edges of his awareness’ (Mearns and Thorne, 1988, p.126).

Once a rapport has been built, the counselors will be able to confront or address conflict with

The counsellor must offer a clean, uncluttered, protected environment with no distractions and is safe from others hearing the conversations, and greet the client in a friendly welcoming manner. The room which the counselling takes place can have a great influence on the relationship so make sure it is welcoming and relaxing. The counsellor must build rapport with the client for the client to trust them and allow free flow of information. Rapport is the sense of connecting with someone. It is something that builds up over time by showing the client they can trust the counsellor and made to feel comfortable. As a counsellor/client relationship, although not friends it is important to highlight common interests between them, be empathetic and develop understanding. The client will unconsciously notice similarities and start to feel in tune with the counsellor. To build rapport with a client a counsellor can –

The 'counsellor-client work alliance' (Burwell & Chen, 2006) is essential for a productive and active client as it ensures motivation and empowerment through the collaborative identification of strengths, progress and development in relation to achieving their preferred future and to identify strengths to accomplish this outcome, also known as co-constructing solutions (O'Connelle 2005)

At the start of each new counselling session it is important that a contract is set out between the client and counsellor. The BACP states 'good practice involves clarfiying and agreeing to the rights and responsibilities of both the counsellor and the client at appropriate points in their working relationship'.

The counselling process is based on the exchange of emotions between the client and the counsellor which aims to form an alliance (Hough, 1998). It involves the counsellor using skills in which they possess in order to communicate effectively with clients (Hough, 1998). This reflective essay clearly articulates my application of counselling skills used in this practice session and suggestions for improvement. It will provide a summary of the session, identification of a range of skills used and a brief explanation of the reasons for using the skill. It will also provide an evaluation of my application of the skills chosen, including verbatim examples, suggestions for improvement, also including verbatim examples to demonstrate what could

The counseling session goes through various characteristics. At the very earliest stage, the participants test the new relationship with the leader and with each other, and the leader, in a way, experiments too with the new relationship with the participators assessing which techniques would be best to employ with them and whether or not there is a match. As with all acquaintances, some work and some do not, and the earliest stages of the group session are a prelude to the future of the success of the group. Exploration is tentative, members learn the rules of this new game and the leader, in turn, learns how to act with participators.

can show a changing dynamic within the group. It is important that the counsellor looks for clues as

I may not have had other people in the session with me, but I did have the therapist-client relationship. I personally think having this alliance should be a goal in any type of therapy because I doubt someone wants to work with somebody they do not see eye-to-eye with or just cannot get along with. I knew personally that if I got a bad vibe with them, my whole experience was going to be horrible. My therapist was actually not going to be my therapist, he was just doing the intake, and I asked him if I could have him as a therapist because I knew I could get along with him. Luckily, I was able to work with his schedule which is why I think an alliance is so important. An alliance for the therapist would be helpful because it just makes the atmosphere so much better and it allows the client/s to cooperate better, and they could work together to solve whatever issue is at hand. It is also helpful because the client can start trusting the therapist and see them as someone who can actually help them out without having their time wasted. The better the relationship, the better the progress will go. If there isn’t an alliance, it is possible that they would not be good for each other and getting the client to do homework and following what the therapist says can become extremely

I am in agreement with this approach not simply because many research studies indicate that the therapeutic alliance predicts successful outcomes and a higher rate of client retention (Eyrich-Garg, 2008;

To be able to help a client to access their deepest thoughts and open up for discussion that is both helpful and meaningful, there are several specific microskills to know about to enhance the communication with the client (Australian Institute of Professional Counsellors, 2009). These communication skills are built through different stages and may feel a little unnatural at the beginning. However, counselling is not about giving advice, but about supporting and helping the client to find his/her own solutions. This makes counselling challenging on many levels as you need to be aware of your own behaviour (Perinatal Mental Health Project, n.d.).

After I left the counselling session, I felt relieved as though I had a load off my chest. I realised the counsellor let me express what I wanted to but used history as a guise. I spoke freely about all aspects of my life and the counsellor didn’t need to say too much. She quietly, but professionally took notes when a point of interest arose but didn’t let the note-taking affect the flow of talk. I noted that expressions on people’s faces can greatly determine the nature of the conversation. If someone looks easy to talk to, then they probably are as their body language can emphasise and express feelings (Egan, 2007, p .84). I noticed the importance of simple and respectful questioning and how it promotes more talking. If the question requires the client to think and reflect on the situation at hand then I believe it is a worthy question to ask (Egan, 2007, p. 95). Open questions that my counsellor asked such as “how do you think you will react when your wife comes back to Australia?” challenged the way I was thinking at the time and promoted reflection (Egan,