Analyses the differences and similarities between counseling and psychotherapy making reference of the terms ‘Counselor’ and ‘Psychotherapist’. A common misconception about Counseling and Psychotherapy is that it is simply an advice giving service, this view is further perpetuated by the practices of dictionaries who define counseling as,” The job or the process of listening to someone and giving them advice about their problems. ” (Cambridge dictionary, 2007)1 This perception is also popularized as such in movies like “The Accidental
Husband” and the hit TV show, ‘Frasier’, which saw Mum Thurman and Kelsey Grammar portray radio counselors that gave advice, respectively. However despite the popularization of the image of the counselor or psychotherapist providing an advice service, this perception couldn’t be further from the truth, at least according to The British Association for Counseling (BACK) 2010, who states on their website,” Therapy is not advice giving or persuasion orientated to the therapist’s point of view”.
The British Association for Counseling (BACK), AAA, instead defines counseling s “Counseling is the skilled and principled use of relationship to facilitate self- knowledge, emotional acceptance and growth and the optimal development of personal resources. The overall aim is to provide an opportunity to work towards living more satisfyingly and resourcefully. ” the BACK goes on to define the role of the counselor as “The counselor’s role is to facilitate the clients work in ways that respect the client’s values, personal resources and capacity for self- determination. Bibb)3. Narrows, (1990) defines Psychotherapy as, ‘Psychotherapy is the informed ND intentional application of clinical methods and interpersonal stances derived from established psychological principles for the purpose of assisting people to modify their behaviors, cognitions, emotions, and/or other personal characteristics in directions that the participants deem desirable. ” The question as to wherever Counseling and Psychotherapy are one and the same is an on-going debate.
It’s a question, to which, no answer has been absolute although it hasn’t stopped leading bodies in the profession to try to differentiate or play down differences between the two processes. Some professionals such as Trust and Careful (1967) use the terms “Counselors” and “Psychotherapist” interchangeably, whilst Patterson (1974) concludes that there are no differences. It certainly can be argued that it is one and the same when you consider that Counseling and Psychotherapy are talking therapeutic processes that would involve interaction between trained professionals and clients either individually or in a group (family, couples etc).
The common goal is to improve the client’s well-being. The Counselor and Psychotherapist are also trained listeners that aim to provide purport to their clients/patients in an empathetic environment, and in a non- biased, non-judgmental manner. Any information presented by the client would be treated with confidentiality. Despite the similarities in Counseling and Psychotherapy; differences such as, the length of time the client is treated, the type of clients that are treated, and credentials to practice have been cited between the two.
Psychotherapists are seen as to be concerned with the reorganization of the client’s personality and personality change, whereas counselors are far more concerned with helping the client utilize their own resources. Psychotherapists would generally be more experienced than Counselors, and are expected to undergo a more in-depth training which typically details how to work with clients with a wider range of mental health and emotional issues.
Because Psychotherapy is a therapy that mainly has interactions with clients history of pathology and psychological problems, the clients would tend to see their psychotherapists over a long period of time. Psychotherapy is considered to be long-term process. By contrast, in the UK counseling is a little less regulated than Psychotherapy; anyone can practice counseling and charge for their services with little lubrications, although BACK do set minimum accreditation requirements to practice with them.
Unlike psychotherapists, who provide long term therapy, counselors tends to mainly see their clients over a shorter period of time than and is considered to be short-term therapy; this may be because the counselor’s clients would be people who are generally emotionally healthy but are confronted with temporary disturbances in their lives. However, with all that being said, Psychotherapists have been known to provide brief therapy, and similarly, counselors have provided long-term therapy.
Another factor commonly cited to differentiate the two, is the approach that Counselors and Psychotherapists will use when entering a relationship with their clients and patients. Psychotherapists, for instance, will adopt an analytical and psychodrama approach to counseling- this enables the client to open up about past experiences and explore how these experiences affect him or her today. The client to become awakened to experiences which they were previously unaware of.
A counselor, on the other hand, would likely have little interest in the past and focus more on the here and now, and be a more person centered therapy- his is the Humanistic approach. In closing, it is difficult to make any judgments as to wherever Psychotherapy and Counseling are one and the same or completely different based on length of time, approach or the type of clients they see, as both are evolving all the time. What approach that was traditionally used by a psychotherapist, could also be relevant in counseling. . Evaluate why someone seek counseling. For many people counseling provides an invaluable source of support; it offers the client a warm, empathetic experience and a confidential environment to off et any stress or thoughts without fear of judgment. The counselor supports his/her clients as they face their issues head on and encourage their clients to utilize their resources to overcome these issues and come to terms with the issues that don’t get resolved.
Counseling is intended for everyone and meets the needs of a wide spectrum of individuals for a myriad of reasons ranging from personal development to psychology problems. Some of the reasons a person would seek counseling are- and is not limited to- listed as follows: * Eating disorders * Anxiety * Loss of personal direction in life. * Sexual abuse work * Someone to talk to – that isn’t a friend or relative. * Personality disorders. The list goes on and on.
It’s fair to suggest by looking at the list, although the reasons vary, people often turn to counseling in times of personal difficulty. The benefit of counseling is widely recognized and has helped many clients, but there remains a negative stigma attached to the service, and those that use the services; those that use the services are often seen as undesirable and ‘crazy’, thus pushing away those who want to use the service but do not want to be stigmatize negatively. The evaluation of counseling It enables the client to explore their feelings without judgment. It helps the client gain insight into their behavior. The counselor will summarize what has been said in the sessions and work with the client to form a plan of action to move towards any goals that have been agreed.. 3. Discuss the importance of readiness in counseling Being confident in our abilities, comfortable with who we are, knowing our limits and being able to demonstrate compassion when talking to strangers can be signs that we are ready to practice counseling.
If, for example, Jane Doe is a person that holds prejudice view points, she loud be inappropriate as a counselor; the reason being is that counseling is a therapy that meets the needs of a wide variety of people and she will be expected to enter counseling relationships with people from a range of different backgrounds, cultures, race, gender, and sexuality as well different degrees of problems. When we enter a counseling relationship, we are opening ourselves up to the client’s emotions, fears, doubts, and beliefs.
In other words, we are entering the client’s world- however bizarre that world may seem to us- so it is particularly important that we remain neutral and open minded, and to not hold any reconciled perceptions about the client, we will need to adopt a professional attitude and leave ourselves at the door. Keeping inline of the examples, let us for instance imagine that Don Joe is counseling someone and he is a person that does get annoyed or angry when in interactions with others. The effect of this will leave the client upset and untrusting of the counselor feeling unable to explore their feelings in case they annoy him.
Don doesn’t come across as caring. No rapport is built between Don Joe and the client, and the client has not received a good service. If a person (like Don) is one who easily gets angry or irritated when interacting with others, are unready and should not consider a career in counseling. Building a rapport is the foundation of any counseling relationship. In order to become effective counselors, it is essential to be patient when building trust, be compassionate, and build a warm environment where the client feels free to talk freely about their feelings.
Difference (1985) backs this up by saying. “Good…. Therapist work to build rapport, lessen interpersonal anxiety in the relationship, increase trust, and build an interpersonal climate in which clients an openly discuss and work on their problems. Their clients need to perceive that they have a caring, positive, hopeful collaborator in understanding and making changes in their world. Clients need to feel cared for, attended to, understood, and genuinely worked with if successful therapy is to continue” (p. 62) 7 Training and general knowledge of some of the theory and skills needed to practice counseling is also an important aspect; this will ensure that the person seeking counseling is receiving a good service. The training should entail diverse theories that will enable the client to explore their thoughts, feelings and motions. Evaluation Some indicators that someone is not ready to practice counseling. * The person gets irritated or angry quickly. * The counselor is likely to prejudge the client and jumps to conclusions. The counselor is impatient.
If the person is compassionate, respectful of people from all cultural and economic backgrounds, gender and sexuality; the person is genuine, a good listener and has empathy and patients etc. Is a good indication that they are ready to practice. Question 4. Write a reflective log on where you feel you are now in regards to working towards becoming a counselor. What knowledge and skills do you already possess and what do you need to develop? Am a very sociable person with a great deal of appreciation and respect for different cultural and economical backgrounds.
I attribute this quality to the values instilled into me by my parents, whilst growing up; my social interactions with a wide and diverse group of friends and acquaintances; and encouragement by various employers to adhere to the Equality and Diversity act (2008). Believe my role as a Ward Administrator, has helped equipped me with qualities that I feel will help me on my way to become a counselor. On the ward I interact with patients that are -it’s fair to say- at their emotional and physical worst. The patients I would generally interact with are terminally ill and/or suffering from fetal bereavement.
Every other week, if the patients wish to attend, the ward holds a support group session, where the patients are invited to talk about their feelings. Was initially chosen to attend- and recently head- these support sessions because my manager noticed that I had received excellent feedback from the patients, and noted that in my interactions I have demonstrated genuine empathy to a patient in distress, shown that I am a very good listener and respectful of the patient’s confidentiality and dignity when helping them manage their treatment. M a good listener in my personal life as well. If my friends or family have a problem, I am usually the first person they come to talk to, or to seek advice from, mainly because I don’t judge and try to put myself in the shoes of others. I take people as they are- for the most part. However, I am not completely without bias- my sensitivity may be a hindrance, as there are some subjects (namely molestation, rape etc. That may hit me hard and cause me to emotionally react in a way a counselor shouldn’t, i. E. Rye. Will need to learn how to disassociate myself from my emotions when dealing with hard-hitting issues. Another thing I will need to work on is how treat myself. I think in general I have a healthy amount of respect for myself but, I do have a tendency to beat myself up a lot when things don’t work out as well as I hoped. Sometimes look at the things I haven’t achieved at my age and compare myself negatively to those of a similar age who has achieved a lot – which is “normal” as lot of people tend to do this.
But I tend to, at times, beat myself up a little too much over this. Tend not to talk to anyone about my feelings or my fears because I’d feel embarrassed. I’m usually the one who most people think “has got it together” and who they come to if there is a problem- I’d feel like admitting I’m a failure, like I’m failing their expectations somehow. There is also the fact that I WOUld feel like I am burdening someone with my trivial issues and wasting their time, when they could be dealing with someone with more pressing issues so I just get on with life, I guess.
Despite this that is not to say that I am depressed, like myself and my life; I have a lot going for me. It’s just that I do feel that would benefit from a few counseling sessions to talk. Other than my role on the ward, moonlighting as a support worker attending inpatient group sessions, I don’t have any counseling experience but I have pursued avenues via mental health and help-desk voluntary organizations. In terms of wherever I consider myself ready to counsel the answer is– no, not at the moment.
I believe I do contain some of the qualities that I would need such s, empathy, listening skills, non-judgmental, not easily irritable, and I know my limits; however, as I mentioned earlier, there are a few things that I know I will need to work on such as, my self-confidence, over-sensitivity and lack of experience and limited knowledge. What I hope to take from this course is a wealth of knowledge that I could implement in my daily work life, and a chance for footing in the counseling and psychotherapy world.
