S-Client reports, "Family friends constantly encourage me, God has brought me this far, and he will see me through” and “Not passing the NBCOT on the first try, not doing well on fieldwork" O-Client participated in 1-hour group therapy session. She appeared groom; she wore jeans tight fitted shirt and a sweater. She made eye contact with leaders and other group members. She was very attentive during therapy. While seated she leaned forward and paid attention to everyone while they spoke.
The members of the group must also listen to what the other members have to say and show a genuine care for the person going through counseling (TEDx, 2012). It is important that the counselors understand that there are three areas that should be focused on in the encounter. These areas of focus should be on what happened or what the individual is dealing with, who is impacted by this, and how can the wounds be healed (CentralMichiganRJ, 2008). These counselors already strive to mend broken relationships and I believe they would be very supportive of anything that
The therapist allowed the client to speak openly and when one of her interpretations did not work, she did not always force it on the client. Although the client’s was only there to talk about school and effortlessly got him to talk about his past and she helped him to connect it to his current situation. This session was definitely about insight and her main goal was to help the client gain insight on his life. 5. What might have you done differently?
They were not judgmental towards each other, because they are there for the same reason which is to overcome their challenges. I participated in their group therapy, recreational activities, and interacted with the patients individually. Also, I helped pass out trays and fill up the snack pantry. Conclusively, I did not know so many people have a mental illness. I completed five hours in one day, and another five hours in one day a week later.
During my initial interaction with the client, in order to build a therapeutic alliance, client’s concern is explored. By facilitating an atmosphere of trust and offering a sense of hope encourages the engagement which forms the basis of a good therapeutic alliance. Strengths and empowerment are emphasized during the session by use of various communication skills such as probing, active listening by use of appropriate posture, eye contact and facial expression, paraphrasing, reflective feeling, and positive reinforcements. I was also able to demonstrate openness and maintained an empathic response, which was useful in establishing rapport with
Section 1: Professional Development Plan For most of my life I have been motivated to help people so when I made the decision to continue my education at Walden University, I knew that I was ready for the journey. I am currently seeking a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and I am expected to graduate in the winter of 2025. This paper was written on June 30th, 2023, with the intent of further understanding my motivations for seeking this degree as well as visualizing the type of counselor I want to be in the future. Throughout this paper, I also discuss what is expected of me throughout my degree program, counseling career, and overall professional development.
Working with families or individual persons can be very tricky if there are multiple problems involved. It is not only defining what the problems are but also what interventions can be put in place to help them. By offering interventions to the client we are trying to give them the opportunity to use the best resources that are available to them in the community. This can include anything from Alcoholics Anonymous to pregnancy support; there are many different types of support networks in communities it is just finding the right one that fits with the problem at hand.
Professional Vision Statement I want to gain experience in individual therapy sessions. I also need experience in conducting group sessions. Furthermore, I want to learn how to build rapport with clients. I am also looking to gain experience in writing therapy notes.
I did better than I thought, but I am concerned that the counseling process would be different in real life. It would be beneficial to learn ways to help the client to open up even when there is resistance. Another challenge that one may face not being knowledgeable of the many intervention. For example, when working with a client that was afraid of clowns, it was obvious that I was not fully confident in working with a scenario that I was not knowledgeable about. It would be useful learn about phobias and what could trigger an episode.
Field Experience Reflection 2 I completed my second set of field experience during the summer semester at Athens Elementary School. This field experience included a summer enrichment camp hosted by Athens University at the elementary school. The facilitator of this enrichment program at Athens Elementary was Dr. Hodges. During this camp there were a total of three classrooms.
Putting the client as the expert, understanding her story instead of attempting to judge it, in the therapist’s point of view. The therapist must in any point display with utmost care, interest, respectful curiosity, openness, empathy, and fascination. Once this collaborative relationship has been established, the counsellor and the client can move forward and work on how to improve the outcomes of the
From the ideas and techniques that Mrs. Perez used, I realized how these interviews could be helpful if utilized and applied in the proper way. To me, this assignment was the best and it helped me further my development and growth as a future mental health counselor. The most interesting and educative aspect of this interview was how Mrs. Perez applied most of the counseling techniques, such motivational stage that we have been taught in class. Aspects such as paraphrasing the words of your clients, tone, and facial expressions are critical in a counseling session and students always overlook these techniques. The way Mrs. Perez employed according to her explanation was excellent and her ideas justified the importance of such points in any counseling session.
Therapists must access their own internal process such as their feelings, attitudes and moods. Therapists’, who are not receptive to the awareness of their flow of thoughts and feelings, will not be able to help clients be aware of theirs (Kahn, 1997, p. 40). Though congruence does not mean that therapists have to share personal issues with clients, a therapist must not conceal their inner process from the client, and not be defensive but transparent (Kahn, 1997, p. 41). By being open sometimes a therapist learns more not only about their client but about themselves
Like other professions in the mental health field and helping professions, counseling typically attracts those who are imbued with a need to help others, to make a difference in others’ lives, the community around them and sometimes even the world. There are many facets to a counselor and to counseling, some of which take on personal attributes such as personality, the values and beliefs held by counselors, and what they perceive their role in the counseling profession to be. Other facets involve ethical considerations in therapy, the importance of the profession, the value and process of change, important counseling practices and the value of necessary self-care a counselor ought to engage in. The role of a counselor is to act as a conduit to change and wellbeing in a client.
This experience has taught me a few truths that I intend to incorporate in my future practice. My biggest realization was to learn that patients have amazing intuition when it comes to recognizing if a counselor is invested in a conversational and genuinely cares about patient’s well-being. One of the most important and humbling moments during my Practicum was sitting across the table from a complete stranger, trying to establish certain degree of trust and safety by listening and attempting to understand patient’s story, and receiving “It seems like you care” affirmation from a client that I am trustworthy and
