counselling psychology

counselling

* work with individuals & with their relationships which may be  crisis support, psychotherapeutic guiding or problem solving


*

•to give the client an opportunity to explore, discover & clarify ways of living more satisfyingly & resourcefully.”

British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy 

Counsellors and Psychotherapists

•Play a crucial role in improving the health and wellbeing of our society.

•They help people to talk about their feelings,

•Think about their choices or their behaviour,

•Help to bring about positive changes . 

•The counselling professions include a range of different titles and specialisms, with practitioners working in a variety of settings.

Counsellors and Psychotherapists- the difference

•Counsellors working in voluntary agencies deal mainly with everyday problems but may be qualified to offer  psychotherapy in any other context.

•A  psychotherapist working in a hospital is likely to be more concerned with severe psychological disorders than a colleague working in private practice.  

properties of counselling therapy

* short term process
* supports patient with day to day activities
* addresses issues in a less in depth manner
* deal w patients who are fit enough to think rationally and solve their problems themselves

properties of psychotherapy

* long term process
* deals with the foundation of the problem in the most efficient manner
* addresses issues in a very deep manner
* involves individuals who are dependent on the psychotherapist to gain control over their personality, mind, emotions and behaviour

efficacy of counselling

•Meta-analyses have brought empirical proof of the benefits that many experiences from undergoing mental health counselling (Brown, 1987).

•Historically, the misinterpretation of Freudian speculation has tainted the modern understanding of the benefits of psychotherapy (Shedler, 2010).

•There are many benefits that some may not realize due to the stigma that remains specifically around psychoanalytical methods of counselling.

7 effective outcomes of counselling

1\.Focus on affect and expression of emotions and feelings. Rather than on cognitive factors,

2\.Exploration of attempts to avoid distressing thoughts and feelings.

3\.Identification of patterns and recurring themes in emotions.

4\.Discussion of past experience with a developmental focus.

5\.A focus on interpersonal relations.

6\.A focus on the therapeutic relationship.

7\.Safe exploration of fantasy life.

happiness interventions

•Counsellors & coaches, can use these interventions **after** a well-formed __***client relationship***__ has been established.



•It is important to note that these interventions should be utilized with clients **wanting to change their happiness levels.**

1\. Gratitude Visit

2\. Three Good Things

3\. Your Peak Self

4\. Character Strengths

Benefits of counselling across modality:

•Increased skills in interpersonal communication.

•Improved interpersonal relationships.

•Decreased depressive symptoms.

•Decreased anxiety symptoms.

•Reduction in pharmaceutical interventions.

•Improved **quality of life**.

•Clarity of behavioural contribution to wellbeing.

•Reduction of suicidal ideation.

•Improvement in emotional self regulation.

•Reduction in substance misuse.

counselling psychology

the application of psychological theory and research to therapeutic practise

* aims to improve well-being, reduce psychological distress and resolve

history of counselling psychologists

•Relatively recent category of recognised applied psychologists

•1982 – a ‘Special Group’ within the BPS

•1994 – Division of Counselling Psychology within the BPS – putting it on an equal footing with other professional areas

Counselling psychologist vs. (psycho)therapist

•**Counselling psychologist** has Health and Care professions council (HCPC/BPS) approved training and qualifications

•**Psychotherapist** can be highly trained and have specialisms but not necessarily with a psychology background

•Some **‘therapists’** will have little training – it isn’t a *protected* title

Clinical psychology- moving away from diagnosis

* diagnosis is not always accurate, lots of sociocultural factors at play which may cause a diagnosis
* diagnosis does not always lead to effective treatment

moving away from diagnosis

* allows clinicians to focus more on the person’s strength and resilience rather than solely on their deficits and challenges, which can improve wellbeing
* means that these individuals are not defined by their conditions, esp problematic as diagnoses that are based on subjective criteria and can heavily determine what treatment they recieve

Phenomenological model

focus on a person’s **subjective internal experience** and how s/he understand their behaviour

* Value is grounded in **the psychotherapeutic relationship**
* Need high level of:
* Self-awareness
* Competence in relating skills
* Knowledge of personal & interpersonal dynamics to therapeutic context

three principles of practise

Insight

* Promote client’s insight into the origin & maintenance of their problem

Self-awareness:

* Promote client’s self-awareness of their thoughts & emotions

Self-acceptance:

* Help client to become more accepting of themselves and develop a more positive view of the self

four theoretical frameworks that inform practise

1\.Humanistic perspective

2\.Psychodynamic perspective

3\.Systemic perspective

4\.Cognitive-behavioural perspective

* Unlike clinical psychology, no dominant framework

humanistic perspective

Self-actualising in the **client** requires:

•Unconditional positive regard – acceptance and love regardless of behaviour

•Genuineness – individual is able to express their own sense of self

•Empathy – individual interacts with people who understand the world from that individual’s perspective

psychodynamic perspective

Three rules of therapeutic relationship



•Rule of abstinence: Holding back from responding

•Rule of anonymity: Reveal nothing of self to client to allow **‘transference’** & **‘counter-transference**’

•Transference = client treats the therapist as if they were someone else in their life

•\*Counter-transference = as a result of transference, the therapist responds to the client as if they were the other person; **this can provide insight into the relationship between client and this ‘other person’**

•Rule of neutrality: Neutral stance so client learns to understand self, rather than told by therapist

3\. Systemic Perspective

•Individual dysfunction is seen as a symptom of family dysfunction

•Problem behaviour may:

•Serve a function within family

•Reflect a family’s inability to function properly

•Result from inter-generational transmission of dysfunctional behaviour (Nature/**Nurture**)

•Assumption that a change in one part of the system (family) will influence other members

3 types of family systems therapy

Multigenerational family therapy

Structural family therapy

Strategic family therapy

Multigenerational family therapy (Bowen, 1966, 1976)

•Considers at least three generations, inter-generational transmission of relationships/behaviours

•E.g. ‘use’  two family members to stabilise a relationship

Structural family therapy (Minuchin, 1974)

•Understands the structure/organisation of a family through the interactions of family members

•E.g. an individual’s problems used as a diversion from wider family problems

Strategic family therapy (Haley, 1973)

Focus on solving current family problems, rather than considering/resolving issues from the past

Will often involve development of problem-solving and coping skills

family sculpting

ask one member of family to physically ‘arrange’ the family to recreate relationships

Strategic alliances

asking one family member to change their behaviour to see how this impacts on family behaviour

Reframing

offer a different perspective on the reasons/meaning of someone’s behaviour

Tracking

understanding the family communication style including symbols, language and values

Genogram

visual diagram of family relationships, including emotional relationships

Cognitive-Behavioural Perspective (Beck,1960s)

•Focus on link between how people think (cognitions, assumptions, beliefs) and their behaviour

•Aims to help client understand their thinking & how it impacts on emotions and behaviour

•Aims to help them change their thinking in order to change their behaviour

* CBT