Psychology Overview 460 Counseling & Interviewing
Sheila. K. Grant, Ph.D.
Intro: The Effective Counselor Intro: Counseling for the Counselor Intro: The Counselors Values Intro: Multicultural Counseling Intro: Issues Faced By Beginning Therapists Intro: Staying Alive Personal Characteristics of Effective Counselors Personal Counseling for the Counselor The Counselors Values & Therapeutic Process Becoming an Effective Multicultural Counselor Issues Faced By Beginning Therapists Staying Alive as Person & Professional
The Effective Counselor
The most important instrument you have is YOU
Your living example, of who you are and how you struggle to live up to your potential, is powerful
Counseling for the Counselor
In your experience of being a client you can:
Consider your motivation for wanting to be a counselor Find support as you struggle to be a professional Have help in dealing with personal issues that are opened through your interactions with clients Be assisted in managing your countertransferences
Be authentic
The stereotyped, professional role can be shed If you hide behind your role the client will also hide
Be a therapeutic person and be clear about who you are
Be willing to grow, to risk, to care, and to be involved
Corey believes ...that therapists cannot hope to open doors for clients that they have not opened for themselves.
The Counselors Values
Be aware of how your values influence your interventions Recognize that you are not value-neutral Your job is to assist clients in finding answers that are most congruent with their own values Find ways to manage value conflicts between you and your clients Begin therapy by exploring the clients goals
Multicultural Counseling
Become aware of your biases and values Attempt to understand the world from your clients vantage point Gain a knowledge of the dynamics of oppression, racism, discrimination, and stereotyping Study the historical background, traditions, and values of your client Be open to learning from your client More later on Effective Multicultural Counseling
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Issues Faced by Beginning Therapists
Achieving a sense of balance and wellbeing Managing difficult and unsatisfying relationships with clients Struggling with commitment and personal growth Developing healthy, helping relationships with clients More on Issues Faced by Beginning Therapists Later
Staying Alive Its a Prerequisite
Take care of your single most important instrument YOU Growth in Your own life is crucial Know what causes burnout Know how to recognize and remedy burnout Know how to prevent burnout
Personal Characteristics of Effective Counselors
Personal Characteristics of Effective Counselors
The Authenticity of the Counselor The counselor as a therapeutic person
Most Important:
the ability to look at, understand and accept yourself (as a counselor) and your clients
Personal Characteristics of Effective Counselors
Personal Characteristics of Effective Counselors
The Authenticity of the Counselor
Be a real person in a relationship with appropriate self-disclosure
The counselor as a therapeutic person
1. They have an identity 2. They respect and appreciate themselves 3. They are able to recognize and accept their own power 4. They are open to change 5. They are expanding their awareness of self and others 6. They are willing and able to tolerate ambiguity
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Personal Characteristics of Effective Counselors
Personal Characteristics of Effective Counselors
The counselor as a therapeutic person
13.They generally live in the present 14.They appreciate the influence of culture 15.They are able to reinvent themselves 16.They are making choices that shape their lives 17.They have a sincere interest in the welfare of others 18.They become deeply involved in their work and derive meaning from it 19.They maintain healthy boundaries
The counselor as a therapeutic person
7. They are developing their own counseling style 8. They can experience and know the world of the client 9. They feel alive and their choices are lifeoriented 10.They are authentic, sincere, and honest 11.They have a sense of humor 12.They make mistakes and are willing to admit them
Personal Counseling for the Counselor
The counselor is encouraged to experience being the client before counseling others
The Counselor's Values and the Therapeutic Process
The role of values in counseling
1. Assist individuals in finding answers that are most congruent with their own values 2. Competent perception and expression of feelings 3. A sense of being a free and responsible agent 4. Developing strategies for managing stress 5. Self-awareness and growth 6. Being committed in marriage, family, and other relationships
The Counselor's Values and the Therapeutic Process
The role of values in counseling
7. Self-maintenance and physical fitness 8. Having orienting goals and a meaningful purpose 9. Forgiveness 10. Regulated sexual fulfillment 11. Spirituality/ religiosity
The Counselor's Values and the Therapeutic Process Dealing with value conflicts
The therapist needs to be aware of their own experiences and systems of values and how they can influence in a therapeutic relationship
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The Counselor's Values and the Therapeutic Process The role of values in developing therapeutic goals
It is critical that the general goals of the therapist be congruent with the personal goals of the client The counselors need to be able to understand, respect, and work within the framework of the client's world
Becoming an Effective Multicultural Counselor
Acquiring competencies in multicultural counseling
Beliefs and attitudes of culturally skilled counselor
From culturally unaware to ensuring their personal biases, values, or problems w/n interfere with ability to work w/culturally different clients Cultural self-awareness & sensitivity to own cultural heritage essential Aware of own positive & negative emotional reactions toward other racial/ethnic groups so as not to impede developmental of collaborative relationship w/client Seek to examine & understand clients worldview
Becoming an Effective Multicultural Counselor
Seek to examine & understand clients WORLDVIEW
Becoming an Effective Multicultural Counselor
Acquiring competencies in multicultural counseling
Beliefs and attitudes of culturally skilled counselor
Respect clients religious & spiritual beliefs & values Own cultural heritage not superior but able to accept & value cultural diversity Realize traditional theories & techniques may no be appropriate for all clients or for all problems Culturally skilled counselors monitor their functioning through
Consultation Supervision Further training or education
Becoming an Effective Multicultural Counselor
Acquiring competencies in multicultural counseling
Knowledge of culturally skilled counselors
Specifically about own racial & cultural heritage & how it affects them personally & professionally Dynamics of oppression, racism, discrimination, & stereotyping Clients cultural backgrounds Does not impose own values & expectations on clients from differing cultural backgrounds Avoids stereotyping clients External sociopolitical forces influence all groups & how these forces operate with respect to treatment of minorities
Becoming an Effective Multicultural Counselor
Acquiring competencies in multicultural counseling
Knowledge of culturally skilled counselors
Aware of institutional barriers that prevent minorities from utilizing mental health services in their communities Historical background, traditions, & values of the client populations with whom they work Minority family structures, hierarchies, values, & beliefs
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Becoming an Effective Multicultural Counselor
Acquiring competencies in multicultural counseling
Knowledge of culturally skilled counselors
Community characteristics & resources How to help clients make use indigenous of support systems Where lacking knowledge, seek resources to assist Greater the depth & breadth of knowledge of culturally diverse groups, the more likely they are to be effective practitioners
Becoming an Effective Multicultural Counselor
Acquiring competencies in multicultural counseling
Skills and intervention strategies of culturally skilled counselors
Educate their clients to therapeutic process (goals, expectations, legal rights, counselors orientation) Use methods & strategies & define goals consistent with the life experiences & cultural values of client Modify & adapt interventions to accommodate cultural differences
Becoming an Effective Multicultural Counselor
Acquiring competencies in multicultural counseling
Skills and intervention strategies of culturally skilled counselors
Do not force their clients to fit within one counseling approach, but recognize that counseling techniques may be culture-bound Able to send & receive both verbal & nonverbal messages accurately & appropriately Become actively involved w/minority individuals outside the office (community events, celebrations, & neighborhood groups)
Becoming an Effective Multicultural Counselor Acquiring competencies in multicultural counseling
Skills and intervention strategies of culturally skilled counselors
Willing to seek out educational, consultative, & training experiences to enhance their ability to work with culturally diverse client populations Consult with multiculturally sensitive professionals regarding issues of culture to determine whether or where referral may be necessary
Becoming an Effective Multicultural Counselor
Incorporating culture into counseling practice
1. welcome diversity 2. how ones own cultural background has an influence on ones thinking and behaving 3. identify your basic assumptions 4. pay attention to common ground 5. its not necessary to learn everything about your clients background before treating them 6. spend time preparing clients for counseling 7. be flexible in applying methods you use with clients
Issues Faced by Beginning Therapists
Dealing with our anxieties
Beginning counselors level of anxiety demonstrates awareness of uncertainties of future w/clients & of our abilities to really be there & stay w/them Willingness to recognize & deal with these anxieties (as opposed to denying them) is mark of courage Openly discuss anxieties w/ supevisors & peers Gain support from fellow interns with same concerns, fears, & anxieties
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Issues Faced by Beginning Therapists
Being and disclosing ourselves
disclosing persistent feelings that are related to the present can be useful disclosure that is unrehearsed is useful find a middle ground
Issues Faced by Beginning Therapists
Avoiding Perfectionism
everyone will make mistakes from beginners to expert therapist
Being honest about our limitations
delicate balance between learning our realistic limits and what we think as being "limits"
Issues Faced by Beginning Therapists
Understanding silence
it can have a variety of meanings from bored to resistance
Issues Faced by Beginning Therapists
Tolerating Ambiguity
Anxiety of not seeing fruits of their labor Clients may get worse before they get better
Dealing with demanding clients
make your expectations clear during initial meeting
Avoiding Losing Ourselves in Our Clients
Most therapeutic = to be as fully present as were able (feeling w/ our clients & experiencing their struggles) but let them assume responsibility of their living & choosing outside of session
Dealing with uncommitted clients
be direct and caring when confronting the clients
Issues Faced by Beginning Therapists
Developing a Sense of Humor
Can be a welcome relief when we admit that pain is not our exclusive domain Laughter or humor d/n mean that work is not being accomplished But, there are times when laughter is used to cover up anxiety or to escape from experience of facing threatening material
Issues Faced by Beginning Therapists
Accepting Slow Results Avoiding Self-Deception Establishing Realistic Goals Sharing Responsibility With the Client
Mistake to accept full responsibility Mistake to refuse to take responsibility for making accurate assessments & designing appropriate treatment plans Eventually, if we are effective, we will be out of business!
Declining to Give Advice
Counseling c/n be confused w/ dispensing advice (even when clients demand it)
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Issues Faced by Beginning Therapists
Defining Your Role as a Counselor
Dependent on factors such as client populations, specific therapeutic services you are providing, particular stage of counseling, setting in which you work Role not defined once...