Term Paper on "Theories of Counseling"

Term Paper 10 pages (3049 words) Sources: 5 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Counseling

GIVING a HAND

Counseling is defined as an interaction between a professional or a trained individual and a patient aimed to help the patient solve his or her problem in psychosocial adjustment (McGraw Hill Dictionary of Modern Medicine, 2002).

Essential Characteristics of a Helping Relationship

These are the task or problem, the helper, the receiver, the environment and the information that transpires between the helper and the receiver (Kolb, 2011). The task is the element or characteristic around which the helping relationship is built. The helper and the receiver come into the situation with their respective motives and self-image. And the information feedback transpires during the healing process (Kolb).

The task can either be assistance or education (Kolb, 2011). Assistance addresses an immediate need, similar to welfare relief or foreign aid and without provision for handling future problems of the same kind. It encourages dependency and renders the termination of the helping relationship difficult. Education, on the other hand, embarks in inducing the client into developing his own ability to solve problems of the similar kind by using available resources in his environment. The helper does not relieve the client's immediate need but works with the client to increase and improve his own problem-solving capability. A most appropriate example is the "felt needs" approach. The educational approach promises greater long-term benefits. But it can also greatly frustrate a client who has needs relief from strong symptoms. India demonstrates this frustration. It wants to receive surplus food assistance from the U.S. But resents the accompanying educational program to solve the country's food production problems (Kolb).

The helper and the receiver possess certain characteristics, which influence the process and outcome of the helping relationship (Kolb, 2011). Motive and self-image are the two types of characteristics. The three motives are power, affiliation and achievement. Power motives shape how they will relate with each other. The client will place himself in a dependent and vulnerable position for asking or receiving help. The helper, on the other hand, will confront the urge to rule and control the client and defeat the purpose of helping the client in his best interests. Unless they settle these differences, the client can turn passive or rebellious or the helper can become rejecting of him. Affiliation motives will determine the degree of the intimacy and understanding they will achieve. The helper needs to know and understand how the client perceives his problem. It will be difficult to achieve intimacy if the client exacts extreme demand on the helper's time, for example. If they avoid this, they will fail to achieve the desired level of intimacy and relate from two different worlds and speak different languages. An excess of intimacy, on the other hand, can weaken the helper's perspective and the client's respect for the helper's expertise in helping. Achievement motives will determine their eagerness to accomplish shared goal of solving a problem. They can approach the situation only when they are able to resolve the issues concerning intimacy and understanding. When help comes too late, which is often the case, both sides often feel the urge to accomplish something. The frequent consequence is the extension of mere immediate relief to the client rather than the more desirable outcome of educating the client to solve his own problem from his own existing resources. Moreover, the self-image and attitudes of both sides are just as important. The client must realize that he can improve and must be willing to be helped. Otherwise, confidence must first be built. The helper, on the other hand, must view himself as capable of extending help without pretending to know everything and never experiencing ignorance (Kolb).

Prevailing Characteristics of the First Session

These are active listening, empathy, acceptance, and genuineness (Steven, 2010). Other counselors list these as listening and observation, facing negative emotions, positive suggestion and options, goal-setting, and reinforcement (Dodd, 2011). The helper should observe if the client is comfortable or uneasy. Eye contact should be made and attention should be focused. Bodily expressions indicate something that should be heeded. Negative emotions should be observed and sorted out. The helper should recognize if the client is experiencing anxiety, anger or guilt and before any real progress can be made. The recognition of negative emotions will often take much time in many one-hour sessions (Dodd, Steven).

Making positive suggestions is often timely and encouraging to the client (Dodd,

2011). The helper should stir confidence and self-esteem in the client by expressing trust in his ability to handle his own situation. Together, they should explore the options open to the client in the task of seeking a lasting solution. At this point, together they can attend to identify goals that serve the client's interests and desires. The helper helps establish order in achieving the primary goal. When all these steps have been taken, the helper or counselor can reward the client by giving him focused attention, acceptance, approval and praise. These are very powerful forms of reinforcement and support in changing behavior. Psychological counseling asks the primary questions of how the client feels and what he wants (Dodd).

Behavioral Theory

The theorist, Burrhus Frederick Skinner, draw his entire system on operant conditioning (Boeree, 2006). The theory explains that, as an organism moves about or "operates" in its own milieu, it encounters reinforcing stimuli or re-enforcers. A re-enforcer is a special stimulus, which tends to increase the operant, or the behavior before the introduction of the re-enforcer. A consequence follows the behavior. This consequence affects or modifies the tendency of the organism to repeat the behavior. This theory was demonstrated in a Skinner box with a rat in a special cage and food pellets on a bar or pedal. The food pellets are the re-enforcers for the rat to repeat the action in the future. It shows that a behavior, which is followed by a re-enforcing stimulus, increases the probability of a repeat of the behavior in the future. If the provision of re-enforcers stops, the organism will tend to stop the behavior. An occurrence, called extinction of the operant behavior, follows and the probability of a repeat in the future also decreases. If the re-enforcer is re-introduced, the behavior will tend to return and much more quickly than the first time. This is because the restoration of the re-enforcer connects with the first time the re-enforcement was associated with the behavior (Boeree).

Aversive Stimuli

This is the reverse and the unpleasant equivalent of reinforcing stimulus (Boeree, 2006). A behavior, which is followed by an aversive stimulus, tends to decrease the probability of a repeat of the behavior in the future. This is a form of conditioning better understood as punishment. Spanking a child after he throws his toys is intended to discourage a repeat the same behavior. However, removing an already operating aversive stimulus when a certain behavior has been performed will result in negative reinforcement. The elimination of an aversive stimulus raises the probability of a behavior re-occurring in the future. Skinner does not approve or endorse the use of aversive stimuli because they do not produce desirable results. This is because the source of reinforcement of bad behavior has not been eliminated. The unknown or undisclosed re-enforcer is simply been "covered up" by a different and conflicting aversive stimulus. A new schedule of reinforcement develops and the organism or person only becomes more resistant to extinction than before (Boerre).

Behavior modification or b-mod is the therapy technique derived from Skinner's work (Boeree, 2006). It proposes the elimination of an undesirable behavior by removing and replacing it with a desirable behavior through reinforcement. It has been applied on a variety of psychological problems, including addictions, neuroses, shyness, autism and schizophrenia. It has been found to be effective with children. A derivative of b-mod is the token economy. It is used mainly in institutions, like psychiatric hospitals, juvenile halls and prisons. An institution often rewards proper behavior with tokens. Poor behavior, on the other hand, is discouraged by a withdrawal of the tokens. Tokens may be traded for candies, cigarettes, games, movies, and time-off. This method has been found effective in fostering or instilling order in problem institutions. A problem can, however, develop in such a token economy. An inmate who is released from an institution returns to a home or community environment, which reinforces the original behavior, which sent him to prison or institution. His family may itself be dysfunctional. In this original environment, no one gives them tokens to behave properly. The only reinforcement they may receive is attention for "acting out." The insinuation is that bad behavior is performed because what is bad is rewarded. This is true of good behavior. At present, re-enforcers for either good or bad are confusing and uncontrolled. Concepts about good and bad behavior are tied up with good or bad luck as to one's parents, teachers, peers and other influences. Skinner views freedom and dignity as mentalistic constructs, which escape observation and, thus, have no value… READ MORE

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