COUNSELING PROCESS:The Initial Session, Counselor-initiated, Advice Giving

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Theory and Practice of Counseling - PSY632

Lesson 20

COUNSELING PROCESS

Counselor Qualities

· Strong (1968) identifies 3 characteristics of influential counselors:

o Expert: Expertness is the degree to which a counselor is perceived as knowledgeable depending

on culture. Initially nearly all clients like to work with counselors who are perceived as experts.

o Attractive: Attractiveness is a function of perceived similarity between a client and counselor.

Counselors can make themselves attractive by speaking in a clear way by using simple sentences

and offering appropriate disclosure.

o Trustworthy: This quality refers to care, concern, sincerity, and honesty. Many clients test the

trustworthiness of the counselor by requesting information, telling a secret, asking a favour,

inconveniencing the counselor, deprecating themselves, or questioning the motives and

dedication of the counselor.

Okun (1992) lists 5 important characteristics:

o Self-awareness

o Honesty

o Congruence

o Ability to communicate

o Knowledge

5-Stage Structure of Interview

· Rapport & Structure

Example: `Hello, that is what we will be doing today'

· Gathering Data & Identifying Assets

Example: `Tell me about yourself; what is bothering you?'

· Determining Outcomes / Goal Setting

Example: `What you want to achieve?'

· Generating Alternative Solutions

Example: `How can we look at the story differently?'

· Generalizing & Transferring Learning

The learning achieved during counseling sessions is generalized to daily life. Example: `Will you do it?'

The Initial Session

There is always an initial session. It is during this time both the client and the counselor are assessing one

another to see if the relationship will work.

· It is the initial interview when subject of the subsequent sessions will be discussed and determined.

· There are several skills which are useful during this phase of counseling.

Client-versus counselor-initiated Interviews

· Benjamin (1987) distinguishes between these two types of initial interviews:

Theory and Practice of Counseling - PSY632

Client-initiated:

o When the initial interview is requested by a client, the counselor is often unsure of the

client's purpose. This uncertainty may create anxiety in the counselor, especially if

background information is not gathered before the session.

o Benjamin advises the counselor not to inquire initially about any problem the client may

have. The client may not have a problem in the traditional sense of the word and may just

be seeking the information.

Counselor-initiated:

o Counselors should immediately state his/her reason for wanting to see the client. In the

case of a school counselor, for instance, a session might be requested so that the counselor

can introduce himself or herself to the client. If the counselor does not immediately give a

reason for requesting the session, the client is kept guessing and tension is created.

o Manthei (1983) advocates that counselor's presentations about themselves and their

functioning be multimodal: visual, auditory, written, spoken and descriptive.

Information-Oriented First Interview

· Initial interview can fulfill two functions (Hackney & Cormier, 1994):

o It can be intake interview to collect needed information

o It can signal the beginning of a relationship

· The intake interview is usually counselor focused. The counselor will respond to the client

predominantly through the use of probes, accents, closed questions, and requests for clarification.

· Open-- and closed ended questions are asked.

· Probes--refer to questions which begin with who, what, where, how, or when.

o Example: `What do you plan to do to complete your project?'

· Requests for Clarification-- Asking the client for more information.

o Example: `Help me understand what this relationship is for?'

Information Oriented Interview Format

· Identifying data

· Presenting problems: Both primary and secondary

· Client's current life setting

· Family history

· Personal history

· Description of the client during interview: client's readiness, motivation, appearance, behavior, tension,

rate of talking, stream of thought, etc.

· Summary and recommendations

Relationship Oriented First Interview

When you can take the time to build the relationship with the client & gather information, there are other

skills which you must possess and develop. In efforts to build the relationship:

· Focus more on the client's attitudes and emotions.

o Summary of Feelings.

The required skills you need include the following:

o Restatement/Content Paraphrasing

Theory and Practice of Counseling - PSY632

Summary of Feelings: A simple summary paraphrase several feelings which have been

verbalized

Reflection of Feeling: It refers to understanding of both non-verbal and verbal material.

Acknowledgement of nonverbal behavior: You are noting to the client what you are seeing.

You are not interpreting the non-verbal content.

Some Non-Helpful Behaviors

There are several lists of non-helpful behaviors. Most common among them include:

Advice Giving:

o Howevder, Scak (1985) points out that advice giving need not always be destructive.

o For example, 70-90% of all responses on a crisis line are mainly advice giving (Knowles, 1979).

Lecturing:

o Lecturing is a disguised form of advice giving. It sets up a power struggle between counselor

and client that neither individual can win.

Excessive Questioning:

o Excessive questioning is a common mistake of many counselors. Verbal interaction with clients

needs to include statements, observations, and encouragers as well as questions. When

excessive questioning is used, the client feels as though he or she is being interrogated rather

than counseled. The client has little chance to take the initiative and many become guarded.

Counseling relationships are more productive when counselors avoid asking more than two

questions in a row and keep their questions open rather than closed.

Storytelling:

Milton Erickson told stories metaphorically tailored to relate them to the client's life. However,

generally story telling is discouraged as everybody cannot handle it skillfully.

Counseling Goals

· The counselor helps the client explore specific areas and begin to identify goals that the client wants to

achieve. Without goals, the sessions will wander aimlessly.

· Goals within counseling help to set the tone and direction one travels with their client. The counselor

gives the client an opportunity to talk about himself, reinforces the client's focus on self by providing

structure, actively listening, and helping clients identify and clarify goals.

Goals are the energizing fabric of daily living but are often elusive (Rule, 1982), such as:

o Unfocused goals are too broad, or not prioritized.

o Unrealistic goals are happiness, perfection, being number one, and self-actualization. They have

merit but are not easily obtained.

o Uncoordinated ("Really" & "seemingly uncoordinated") are incompatible goals, e.g., a client

who seeks counseling but does not wish to work on changing is an example of an individual

with incompatible and really uncoordinated goals. Seemingly uncoordinated goals are those

which appear to be uncoordinated but in reality are not so. Individuals with these goals don't

want to take responsibility, indulge in "yes but..." dialogue.

Goal Guidelines (Dyer & Vriend, 1977)

· Goals are mutually agreed on by the client and counselor.

Theory and Practice of Counseling - PSY632

Goals are specific.

Goals are relevant to changing self-defeating behavior.

Goals are achievement & success oriented.

Goals are quantifiable & observable

Goals are understandable & can be restated clearly

Goals are achievement & success oriented: Have intrinsic and extrinsic payoff for the client

Middle Phase: Working in a Counseling Relationship

· After relationship building (involvement and exploration phase), counselor moves with the client to

understanding and action phases.

· The informed clients decide how to proceed.

· Johari window is a conceptual device to show that most of the clients enter the counseling relationship

with the problem of self awareness. The clients extend the dimensions of the area of free activity while

shrinking the dimensions of the more restrictive areas.

Wo rking in a Co unse ling Re latio ns hip

Middle Phase

Know n to self

Not know n to self

know n t o self

Not know n to self

Know n to

Area of free

Blind area

Area of free acti vity

Blind

ot hers

activity

area

Avoided/hidd Area of

en area

unknown

Area of

Not know n

activity

A voided/hi dden area unknown

to ot hers

activity

Source: Luft (1969). The Johari window of the client

Counseling Skills in Understanding and Action Phase

Changing Perceptions

Leading: Silence, acceptance, approval paraphrasing, reassurance, interpretation, etc.

Multifocused responding: Affective, cognitive and behavioral

Accurate empathy

Self disclosure (Egan, 1990)

Immediacy (relationship, here and now)

Humour

Confrontation

Theory and Practice of Counseling - PSY632

Changing Perceptions:

There are several ways to "lead" the client forward in a session. They include using silence, acceptance,

paraphrasing, etc. Be aware of how you lead and where you are going. You are working on the client's

issues, not your issues, or what you think the client should be working on.

Leading:

Through the use of appropriate silence, acceptance, approval paraphrasing, reassurance, interpretation, etc.

Multifocused responding: Affective, cognitive and behavioral

Affective Responding: Focusing on feelings.

Behavioral Responses: Focusing on actions and behaviors.

Cognitive Response: Focusing on thoughts and cognitions.

You will balance these throughout the session with a client.

Accurate empathy: The use of empathy is one of the most vital elements in counseling. There

are two types of empathy. The basic type is called primary empathy. The second level is known as

advanced empathy (Carkhuff, 1969).

Accurate empathy on both levels is achieved when counselors see clients' world from the clients' point of

view and are able to communicate this understanding back.

Self disclosure (Egan, 1990)

Self disclosure has generated more than 200 studies. Self-disclosure is making oneself known to another

person (the client) by revealing personal information.

Counselor's self-disclosure is necessary as it relates to the therapeutic process. Too much self-disclosure

hinders the counseling process, while too little of it may inhibit the client from forming a bond with the

counselor. Clients are more likely to trust counselors who disclose personal information. Egan pointed out

two helpful functions of self disclosure: modeling and developing a new perspective.

Immediacy (refers to relationship during current counseling session, here and now):

This involves a counselor's understanding and communicating of what is going on between the counselor

and client within the helping relationship. There are 2 types:

"Relationship immediacy" (Between client & counselor)

"Here & Now" immediacy focuses on some particular event in the session.

Humor:

Humor can have a positive effect on the counseling process when used properly.

Confrontation:

This is not a skill at putting the client down for doing something wrong! This is an invitation to the client to

look more closely at behavior that is not working or interfering with growth, change, or healthy functioning.

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