Quiz 1 - Intro to Helping

Professional helping

collaboratively assisting another person in exploring their feelings, gaining insight & making changes in order to reach their goals

Six common factors across psychotherapies

1. therapeutic relationship

2. instillation of hope

3. new learning experiences

4. emotional arousal

5. enhancement of mastery/self-efficacy

6. opportunities for practice

Note: no single type of therapy is more effective than other

When people seek help

1. perceive their feelings or situation as problematic

2. pain must be greater than the perceived barriers to seek help

Process of learning to be a helper

1. Instruction

2. Modeling

3. Practice (most important)

4. Feedback

The process of attaining competence

unconsious incompetence → conscious incompetence → conscious competence → unconscious competence

Ethical Principles

Autonomy - respect for other’s choices

Beneficence - intend to do good

Nonmaleficence - Do no harm

Justice - Fair and equal

Fidelity - Keep promises /Integrity

Veracity - tell the truth

Factors in personality development

• biological & genetic predispositions

• environment

• early experiences (attachment, family figures)

• existential goals

• defenses to cope with anxiety

• conceptions of control/choice

• emotions, cognitions & behaviors

Two most important factors that lead to change

1. building insight turns to actions

2. a corrective emotional & relational experience

5 Stages of change - client

1. pre-contemplation (unaware of problem)

2. contemplation (starts to consider changing)

3. preparation (start to develop plan)

4. Action (implementation of change)

5. maintenance (new behavior becomes habit)

5 stages of change - helper responsibilities

1. pre-contemplation - raise awareness

2. contemplation - navigate decision-making process

3. preparation - create strategies

4. Action - normalize relapse process

5. maintenance - check-ins and support

Three components of being an effective helper

Learning/ Helping skills

Self-awareness

Facilitative attitude

Components of facilitative attitude

empathy

warmth

compassion

non judgemental

genuine

Three parts of the therapeutic relationship

1. real relationship

2. working alliance

3. transference/counter transference

Parts of the working alliance

1. Bond

2. Agreement on goals

3. Agreement on tasks

Transference & Countertransference

Distortions of someone else based on previous experiences in relationships; unconscious processes

transference = client onto helper

countertransference = helper onto client, triggered by hot buttons

3 stages of therapy

1. exploration (client-centered therapy)

2. insight (psychodynamic therapy)

3. action (behavioral therapy)

Goal of Exploration stage

Facilitate clients in talking about their thoughts & feelings related to their concerns (i.e. Putting everything on the table)

Goal of Insight stage

Facilitate insight into reasons for thoughts, feelings, & behaviors (Start putting stuff together)

Goal of Action stage

Try to produce change - deciding on and executing changes

Interactional sequence

Sequence where helpers forumate intentions or goal → client reacts → client behavior shapes re-evaluation of intentions (the back-and-forth of therapy)

ex. Question → answer → answer shapes next question → etc.

In-between sessions: client

Hopefully continue working on issues

Can form internal representations of their therapists

Social support vs relationships may present obstacles to progress

In-between sessions: therapist

Helpers think of ways to help clients/understand them more deeply

Can form internal representations of clients

Self Care

Burn out → (seek supervision or therapy)

Client Outcomes Remoralization, remediation, rehabilitation

Remoralization: enhancement of well-being

remediation: achievement of symptom relief

rehabilitation: reduction of maladaptive behaviors

*Therapy does not result in cures

Client Outcomes: Intrapersonal changes, interpersonal changes, social role performance

intrapersonal changes: changes within the client

interpersonal changes: changes in the client’s intimate relationships

social role performance: client’s ability to carry out responsibility

*Therapy does not result in cures

Importance of self-awareness

• who the helper is influences the process (we use our own process of self-development to guide others)

• biases

• mood

Two types of self-awareness

1. Personality (stable self)

2. Mood (in the moment self)

Helpful self-awareness

Using yours own reactions to the client to help them

Ex. anger at toxic behavior → indicate toxic behavior to client → client insight

Unhelpful self-awareness

anxiety of your skill and abilities

overwhelm

Other-oriented motivations for helping

• Social change

• personal experience (want to prevent the pain they felt in others)

• make a difference in people’s lives

Healthy self-oriented motivations for helping

• Feels good to help others

• Intellectually challenging

• Learn about others or experience other ways of living

• Sense of purpose/meaning

• Develop personal growth

Unhealthy self-oriented motivations for helping

• See helping as a way to develop relationships

• Wanting to be a savior

• Feel better comparing self to those who are less fortunate

• Enjoy the power and authority 

• Prestige

• Using helping to work through personal unresolved issues

Biases

• can only be self-aware of them, not get rid of them

• create hot buttons

Hot buttons

things that trigger us in the help setting often because of our biases or because of our own personal experiences

can cause countertransference

Strategies for self-insight

psychotherapy

self-reflection

increase self-compassion

Strategies for self-insight within helper role

Supervision

Review sessions

Stay present

Focus on basics - your breathing, the client, basic helping skills

Bracketing

The process of setting aside personal issues to focus on client

• dangerous when the therapist is not self-aware of their inability to do this

Culture

Shared network of belief that is produces and reproduced among a group of people

ADDRESSING model

acronym for various cultural dimensions

• A age

• D/D development

• R religion and spirituality

• E ethnic and racial identity

• S socioeconomic status

• S sexual orientation

• I indigenous heritage

• N national orgin

• G gender

Intersectionality

the way cultural identities interact to magnify systemic oppression

Racial Identity

race is a social construct → race is often more seliant of an identity than ethnicity itself because it is more indicative of how people define themselves

Enculturation

retaining norms from one’s indigenous culture

Acculturation and Acculturation stress

Adapting to norms of dominant culture

Adapting can cause stressful generational disconnect

individual vs collectivism

individualism - when culture promotes independence and autonomy

collectivism - family/interdependent, harmony, society

Egalitarianism

how much hierarchy, power, and authority is valued

Features of Cultural identiy

1. we often don’t notice our cultural identity until faced with people with different cultural expectation

2. we all belong to many cultures

3. Some culture is chosen, some are inherent, others require admission

Practical considerations of client’s cultural identity while helping

1. Consider fundamental aspects of client’s cultures

2. Consider client’s individual experiences

3. Consider basic needs universal to everyone

Microagression

subtextual negative messages about marginalized group of people

Accumulate & cause distress

→ apology is important when committed

Cultural discussions in Helping

it is the helpers responsibility to initiate cultural dialogues

it is the helpers responsibility to learn as much as possible about the person’s culture (on their own)

Helpers have to decide how much to reveal about their own identities

Culture & Helping Ethical Behavior (client specific)

Do not assume helping skills transfer to all cultures (ie eye contact)

Do not assume client’s goals are to assimilate (or not) to a culture

Be aware of neglecting or attributing too much to client’s culture

Show interests in client’s culture but educate yourself on your own

Culture & Helping Ethical Behavior (general/helper)

1. Helpers need to engage in self-reflection to discover our own beliefs, cultural values biases & predjuces

2. Helpers need to consider what biases and believes clients might have against them

3. Helpers need to commit to eliminate biases and discrimination

Cultural competence

Being able to effectively work with clients from various cultural backgrounds

Cultural humility

Having an openness and appreciation for other people’s cultures

Recognizing one’s own limitations when it comes to understanding others cultural experiences

Making mistakes is inevitable → how we correct mistakes is most important

Critical consciousness

When one recognizes social, political, & economic inequities in society and acts to dismantle systemic oppression

usually more prevalent among marginalized groups → can act as a buffer against stigmatization