Michael Jade I.

Wania, RGC, LPT

+A Counseling Process is a planned, structured dialogue between a
counselor and a client
+It is a cooperative process in which a trained professional helps a
person called the client to identify sources of difficulties or concerns
that he or she is experiencing
+Together they develop ways to deal with and overcome these problems
so that person has new skills and increased understanding of
themselves and others
+Cormier and Hackney suggest that counseling “is designed to help
client understand and clarify their view of their life space, and to learn
to reach their self determined goal through meaningful, well-informed
choices and through resolution of problems of an emotional or
interpersonal nature.”
+They describe “counseling as a mouth healing process, because it
involved intercommunication and interaction of a counsellor as well a
client through self-orientation using mouth to human development
principles like cognitive affective, behavior, and personal emotionality
intervention and self-concept.” (Cormier & Hackney, 2005, p1)
SCHLOSSBERG’S 4S
TRANSITION MODEL
Michael Jade I. Wania, RGC, LPT
+The first step involves building a relationship and focuses on
engaging clients to explore issues that directly affect them.
+It is where the client is reading the verbal and nonverbal
messages and make inferences about the counselor and the
counseling situation.
+Research efforts on counseling relationships can be
grouped into two general categories: counselor-offered
conditions and counselor-and client-offered conditions.
+Counselor-offered conditions
The way the counselor influences the counseling process
-Rogers (1957) identified what he believed were core conditions for success in
counseling: empathy, unconditional positive regard, congruence, respect, immediacy,
confrontation, concreteness, self-disclosure
+Emphatic understanding (Emphatic understanding as a process that that
involve communicating a sense of caring and understanding)
+Unconditional Positive Regard (Counselor communicating to clients they are of
value and worth as individual
+Congruence (Behaving in a manner consistent with how one thinks and feels)
+Respect (focuses on the positive attribute of the client)
+Immediacy (Direct, mutual communication)
+Confrontation (Pointing out discrepancies in what the client saying and doing)
+Concreteness (Helping clients discuss themselves in specific terms)
+Self-Disclosure (Making the self-known to others)
+Counseling and client offered conditions
Working alliance: another way to describe the counseling relationship
According to Bordin (1979) a working alliance is composed of three
parts:
+Agreement between the counselor and client in terms of the goals of
counseling
+Agreement between the counselor and client in terms of the tasks of
counseling, and
+The emotional bond between the counselor and client
+Introduce yourself
+Invite client to sit down
+Ensure client is comfortable
+Address the client by name
+Invite social conversation to reduce anxiety
+Watch for nonverbal behavior as signs of client’s emotional state
+Invite client to describe his or her reason for coming to talk
+Allow client time to respond
+Indicate that you are interested in the person
Michael Jade I. Wania, RGC, LPT
+Assessment and diagnosis help a counselor develop an in-depth
understanding of a client and identify mental disorders that require
attention.
+This understanding can facilitate goal setting and also suggest types of
intervention strategies.
+The counselor carefully listens and draws out information regarding the
client’s situation (life, work, home, education, etc.) and the reason they
have engaged in counseling.
+Information crucial to subsequent stages of counseling includes
identifying triggers, timing, environmental factors, stress levels, and
other contributing factors.
+Assessment-helps counselors develop an in-depth
understanding of a client and mental disorders that require
attention
+Diagnosis-medical term that means “identification of the
disease-causing pathogens responsible for a physical illness”
Assessment Division
+Standardized measures include psychological tests
that have a standardized norm group.
+Non-standardized measures do not have
standardized norm group and include strategies such
as the clinical interview and assessment of life history.
Four reasons for making a diagnosis
+Facilitating communication shorthand
+Indicating possible treatment strategies
+Communicating etiology
+Aiding in scientific investigation
Michael Jade I. Wania, RGC, LPT
+Effective counseling relies on setting appropriate and realistic
goals, building on the previous stages. The goals must be
identified and developed collaboratively, with the client
committing to a set of steps leading to a particular outcome.
+Goals serve three functions in the counseling process
(Cormier & Hackney, 1993):
+Motivational
+Educational
+Evaluative

Counseling goals also conceptualizes as either process

or outcome goals
+MOTIVATIONAL FUNCTION
The clients are involved in establishing the counseling goals. They may
be more motivated when they have specific, concrete goals to work
toward.

It is also important for counselors to encourage clients to make a verbal

commitment to work on a specific counseling goal
+EDUCATIONAL FUNCTION
Clients can learn new skills and behaviors that they can use to enhance
their functioning.

During assertiveness training clients learn skills to enhance their

functioning in interpersonal situations.
+EVALUATIVE FUNCTION
Clear goals allow the counselor and client an
opportunity to evaluate progress
+Process Goals
Establish the conditions necessary to make the counseling
process work. These goals relate to the issues of formulating
positive relationship by promoting core conditions.

Process goals are primarily the counselor’s responsibility

+Outcome Goals
Specify what the client hopes to accomplish in counseling. The
counselor and client should agree on these goals and modify them as
necessary.
+Facilitating behavior change
+Enhancing coping skills
+Promotion decision-making
+Improve relationships
+Facilitating the client’s potential
Michael Jade I. Wania, RGC, LPT
+Once goals between counselor and client are created, they can determine the
intervention strategy (include group counseling, family, couple and mostly
individual
+One way to conceptualize intervention is practicing problem solving
+The counselor should provide an overview of the different treatment approaches
available, describe the role of the counselor and client for each procedure;
identify possible risks and benefits that ma result; and estimate the time and cost
of each procedure
+It is important for the counselor to be sensitive to client characteristics such as
values and beliefs when selecting an intervention strategy
+Counselor should also be aware of a client personal strengths and weaknesses
in selecting a counseling approach.
 PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGIES
Kanfer and Busemeyer’s six-stage model
+Problem Detection
+Problem Definition
+Identification of Alternative Solutions
+Decision Making
+Execution
+Verification
Michael Jade I. Wania, RGC, LPT
+The ultimate goals in counseling is for counselors to be
unnecessary or obsolete to the client
+Once the termination has occurred, counselors can set
up a brief follow up counseling session.
+An appointment for a formal follow-up counseling
session can be made 2 to 4 weeks after the final
session.
+For the beginning counselor, it is difficult to think of
terminating the counseling process, as they are more
concerned with beginning the counseling process
+However, all counseling aims toward successful
termination
+Terminating the counseling process will have to be
conducted with sensitivity with the client knowing that it
will have to end
+Counseling always mindful of avoiding fostering
dependency and is aware of own needs
+Preparation for termination begins long before
counseling begins
+Termination considered not just at end of successful
relationship, but also is considered when it seems
counseling is not being helpful
+Think of this as a means of empowering client.
Basic Principles
+Each client must be accepted as an individual and dealt with as
such (the counselor does not necessarily approve of all behavior,
but still accepts the client as a person).
+Counseling is basically a permissive relationship; that is, the
individual has permission to say what they please without being
reprimanded or judged.
+Counseling emphasizes thinking with; not for the individual.
+All decision-making rests with the client.
Basic Principles
+Counseling is centered on the difficulties of the client.
+Counseling is a learning situation which eventually results in
a behavioral change.
+Effectiveness in counseling depends largely on the
readiness of the client to make changes and the therapeutic
relationship with the counselor.
+The counseling relationship is confidential.
Factors that Influence Change
The counseling process is influenced by several characteristics that help it
become a productive time for the client & counselor.
+ Structure Physical Setting
+ Setting Counseling can happen anywhere, but the
+ Client Qualities professional generally works in a place that
provides -
+ Counselor Qualities
✓Privacy,
✓Confidentiality,
✓Quiet and
✓Certain comfort
Active listening by the counselor encourages the client to share information by
providing verbal and nonverbal expressions of interest.

Focusing on all aspects of a client's expression.

+Resist distractions.
+Listen to the client's tone of voice.
+Listen for cues to the client's feelings.
+Listen for generalizations, deletions, and distortions.
+Listen for common cognitive and emotional themes
✓Show interest
✓Gather information
✓Encourage speaker to develop ideas
✓Communicate our understanding of ideas
✓Request clarification of understanding
✓Build the therapeutic alliance
+Maintains eye contact
+Makes few distracting movements
+Leans forward, faces speaker
+Has an open posture
+Allows few interruptions
+Signals interest with encouragers and facial expressions
Active listening includes the following skills:
+Attending
+Paraphrasing
+Reflection of feelings
+Summarizing
Attending helps the client
+Relax and feel comfortable
+Express their ideas and feelings freely in their own way
+Trust the counselor
+Take a more active role in their own sessions
Proper attending involves the following:
+Appropriate eye contact, facial expressions
+Maintaining a relaxed posture and leaning forward occasionally, using
natural hand and arm movements
+Verbally“following” the client, using a variety of brief encouragements such
as “Um-hm” or “Yes,” or by repeating key words
+Observing the client’s body language
Example of Attending
I am so tired, but I
Um-hm. cannot sleep...

Please continue...
…When I wake
up…it is too late
already…

I see. Too late for

work…my boss
fired me.
Encouraging As A Part of Attending

Verbal and nonverbal ways of encouraging the client to continue to

share his or her thoughts, feelings or behaviors.
✓“Um hum”
✓“Tell me more.”
✓“He yelled at you?”
✓“Can you give me an example?”
✓“And that means…?”
✓Or simply nodding your head.
Paraphrasing is when the clinician/counselor restates the
content of the client’s previous statement.
+ Paraphrasing uses words that are similar to the client’s, but
fewer.
+ The purpose of paraphrasing is to communicate to the client
that you understand what he or she is saying.
Paraphrasing helps the clinician/counselor
–verify their perceptions of the client’s statements
–spotlight an issue
Paraphrasing helps the client
–realize that the counsellor understands what they are
saying
–clarify their remarks
–focus on what is important and relevant
Example of paraphrasing
My husband irritates me. She picks
on me for no reason at all. We do
not like each other.

So…you are having

problems getting
along with your
husband. You are
concerned about your
relationship with him. Yes!
Reflection of feelings is when the clinician/counselor expresses the
client’s feelings, either stated or implied.
The counselor tries to perceive the emotional state of the client and
respond in a way that demonstrates an understanding of the
client’s emotional state.
Reflection of feelings helps the clinician
– Check whether or not they accurately understand what the
client is feeling
– Bring out problem areas without the client being pushed or
forced
Reflection of feelings helps the client
o Realize that the counselor understands what they feel
o Increase awareness of their feelings
o Learn that feelings and behavior are connected
Example of Reflection of Feelings
When I get home in the evening, my
house is a mess. The kids are dirty…
My husband does not care about
dinner...I do not feel like going home at
all.

You are not satisfied

with the way the house
chores are organized.
That irritates you.

Yes!

50
+Summarizing is an important way for the clinician to gather together
what has already been said, make sure that the client has been
understood correctly, and prepare the client to move on.
+Summarizing is putting together a group of reflections.
Example of summarizing
We discussed your relationship with your
husband. You said there were conflicts
right from the start related to the way
money was handled, and that he often felt
you gave more importance to your
friends. Yet on the whole, things went well
and you were quite happy until 3 years
ago. Then the conflicts became more
frequent and more intense, so much so Yes, that is
that he left you twice and talked of it!
divorce, too . Have I understood the
situation properly?

52
+Processing is the act of the clinician thinking about his
or her observations about the client and what the client
has communicated.
Processing allows the counsellor to mentally catalogue the following
data:
+Client’s beliefs, knowledge, attitudes, and expectations
+Information given by his or her family
+Counselor’s observations
+Responding is the act of communicating information
to the client that includes providing feedback and
emotional support, addressing issues of concern, and
teaching skills.
+Empathy is the action of understanding, being aware
of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the
feelings, thoughts, and experiences of another.
Example of Expressing Empathy
I am so tired, but I
cannot sleep...
I see.

I understand. When I wake up…I

I am sorry am already too late
about your job. for work.
Yesterday my boss
fired me…

57
+Probing is the counselor’s use of a question to direct the client’s
attention to explore his or her situation in greater depth.
+A probing question should be open-ended
+ Probing
helps to focus the client’s attention on a feeling, situation, or
behaviour
+ Probingmay encourage the client to elaborate, clarify, or illustrate
what he or she has been saying
+ Probing may enhance the client’s awareness and understanding of
his or her situation and feelings
+ Probing directs the client to areas that need attention
Example of probing
I was always known to be a good
worker. I even received an award.
Work problems
related to drug Lately I had some issues…my
use? husband is just not helping…that is
why I am always late.

Tell me about the

problems you have
been having at the
work place?
Actually I have had
lots of problems,
not only being late.
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+Interpreting is the clinician’s explanation of the client’s
issues after observing the client’s behavior, listening to the
client, and considering other sources of information.
Effective interpreting has three components:
1. Determining and restating basic messages
2. Adding ideas for a new frame of reference
3. Validating these ideas with the client
Example of interpreting
You say you had difficulty in getting along
with your boss. Once you mentioned that
sometimes you simply broke the rules for the
sake of breaking them. You also said that
you are always late, even when your
husband had everything ready for the
children. In the past, you said it was
because of the negative behaviour of your
I always
boss. This time you blamed your husband. Is thought I could
it possible that your problems at work, like control it.
being late, are related to your alcohol use?

63
+Silence can encourage the client to reflect and continue
sharing. It also can allow the client to experience the power
of his or her own words.
Silence
+It can be used as an encourager.
+It keeps the focus on the client.
+It can help the client absorb what was said.
+It can help the client collect his or her thoughts for expression.
Understanding
+Advanced empathy:
oAttends to the feelings and thoughts that are not expressed by the
client.
oHelps the client see the bigger picture.
oHelps to open up areas for counseling for which the client is either
unaware or has only hinted at.
oHelps to identify themes.
oHelps the client own his or her feelings and behaviors.
Confrontation
+A form of advanced empathy which helps the client look at thoughts
and behaviors that might be self-defeating or harmful.
oIt is a form of challenge and not a verbal assault.
oIt needs to be done with a high level of empathy.
oUsually it is in reference to a incongruence or discrepancy on the
client's part.
Self-Disclosure
+Sharing personal information with a client.
oIt must be for the benefit of the client and not the counselor.
oIt can be used as a model to help the client self-disclose.
oIt should not take the focus off the client.
oUsed sparingly and appropriately, it can enhance the therapeutic
relationship.
Directives
+Instructions given to the client.
oBasically it is the counselor telling the client what to do.
oThe timing in giving a directive is important.
oSome theories use more directives than others.
Advising
+A form of directive.
oThe advising should not be seen as a command or a demand.
oCounselors need to take responsibility for the advice they give.
oDo the advising in such a way as it leaves the client with the
ultimate choice.
Gives information about how the person is experienced by others
Serves to:
▪ Help client see self more objectively (as others see him or her)
Feedback works best when
▪ It is requested or desired
▪ It is concrete
▪ It is positive
▪ If negative, it addresses something changeable or controllable