Safe and Ethical Psychological Practice and Counselling Skills Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering ethical guidelines, record keeping, therapeutic relationship dynamics, basic counselling microskills, and advanced reflective techniques from the lecture notes.

Australian Psychological Society (APS)

A professional body that safeguards clients' welfare and protects the integrity of psychology as a profession by developing ethical guidelines for various practice settings.

Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA)

An agency that works alongside the APS to protect the public by regulating registered psychological practitioners.

Professional Indemnity Insurance

Insurance that protects professionals and businesses if a client claims they suffered a financial loss due to the professional advice, service, or work provided.

Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022

Victorian legislation that replaced the Mental Health Act 2014 following recommendations from the Royal Commission into Victoria's Mental Health System, operating on 13 core principles.

Multiple Relationships

Situations where a practitioner holds concurrent roles with a client, which must be avoided when they impair professional objectivity.

Freedom of Information Act 1982

Legislation granting clients the right to access their own health information and medical records.

Health Records Act 2001

Legislation governing client access to health records in private practice within Victoria.

Australian Privacy Principle 8 (APP 8)

A privacy standard addressing cross-border disclosure of personal information, applicable when storing client data on overseas servers.

Driscoll's Reflective Model

A three-step framework for reflective practice comprising 'What?' (the situation), 'So what?' (the implications and meaning), and 'Now what?' (the action plan).

Congruence

A core therapeutic condition identified by Carl Rogers wherein counsellors are genuinely themselves, operating as complete, integrated, and whole persons.

Unconditional Positive Regard

The practice of accepting a client completely in a non-judgmental way, valuing them without judging their behavior or imposing personal values.

Empathy

Understanding another person's feelings and experiences from their perspective while maintaining awareness that those experiences are not your own.

Corrective Emotional Experience

A therapeutic phenomenon where a client experiences understanding, acceptance, and emotional safety, allowing them to process unresolved emotions and develop healthier thinking and behavior.

Transference

A concept originating from psychoanalysis where a client's habitual patterns of thoughts and behaviour are played out within the therapeutic setting.

Countertransference

The therapist's emotional, cognitive, or behavioural reaction to the client.

Therapeutic Ruptures

Tensions or breakdowns in the therapeutic relationship that must be identified and addressed to strengthen the working alliance.

Paraphrasing (Reflection of Content)

Reiterating the factual elements or core ideas of a client's statement using the counsellor's own words to clarify and re-focus the narrative.

Parroting

Repeating a client's words verbatim, which is generally discouraged compared to constructive paraphrasing.

Reflection of Feeling

Identifying and expressing the explicit or underlying emotions behind what the client communicates.

Reflection of Content & Feelings

A combined response addressing both the core factual situation (content) and the emotional experience (feeling) attached to it.

Reflection of Ambivalence

Identifying and expressing both sides of a client's internal conflict without taking a side or forcing a resolution.

Reflection of Meaning

Identifying and articulating the deeper personal significance, values, or purpose underlying a client's statements or experiences.

Reflection of Process

Drawing immediate attention to in-the-moment dynamics within the session, such as emotional shifts, body language, or silences.

Motivational Interviewing

A collaborative, goal-oriented communication style defined by Miller and Rollnick that focuses on eliciting and exploring an individual's own arguments for change.

Change Talk

Any self-expressed language by a client that presents an argument or motivation for making a change.

Sustain Talk

Client language that favours maintaining the status quo, serving as the counterpart to change talk.

DARN

An acronym for the four subtypes of preparatory change talk in Motivational Interviewing: Desire, Ability, Reasons, and Need.

CATs

An acronym for the three subtypes of mobilizing change talk in Motivational Interviewing: Commitment language, Activation, and Taking Steps.

Joining

An ongoing relational process of aligning with a client, establishing rapport, matching communication styles, and establishing psychological safety.

SOLER

An acronym representing physical attending skills in counselling: Sitting Squarely, Open posture, Leaning forward, Eye contact, and Relaxed posture.