In-depth exploration : By Ashish Juneja

1/23/2012

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Continued from Initial Disclosure

Both client and counselor become aware of: y Significant events that shaped the client personality y Influence of ethnicity, culture, socio-economic status, gender and sexual orientation y Deficiencies in client coping skills y Strengths which client posses but may not be using y Signification relationships with significant others in client's life that effect client s thought, feelings and actions y Feeling about self and others y Goals implicit in client s unsuccessful efforts
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Goals of in-depth exploration

y Both client and counselor should gain insight into the

client s strengths, deficiencies, functioning. y Use insights to begin formulating goals

interpersonal

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Principles governing use of feedback

y Feedback is hard to receive y Feedback that does not fit a person s self image will be

harder to receive than feedback that is consistent with the self image y Feedback is never fully internalized at the time it is received y Feedback is easier to receive from the trusted source y Feedback is easier to receive when the giver offers it with calm presence
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Principles governing use of feedback

y Feedback is more effective when it is communicated clearly and

specifically
y Feedback can only be absorbed in small doses y Feedback is presented for the clients consideration, not as the

indisputable truth
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Immediacy
y immediacy refers to the current interaction of the

therapist and the client in the relationship Patterson y Immediacy response is the communication that provided feedback to the client about therapist s inner experience of the relationship at given moment. y Three kinds of immediacy responses according to Egan-those that review overall relationship with the client, those that explore changes in client s demeanor as different issue, those self involving statements that reflect counselor effective response
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Immediacy response
y Provide opportunities to client and counselor to

explore whether they are working together effectively. y Provide opportunity to identify effective relationship skills y Help client examine his or her own relationship skills y Generalize the dependency of the counselor client relationship and other relationships as well. y Provide opportunity to counselor to react to changes in client participation
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Confrontation
y General term implies conflict or attack y Counseling intervention in which counselor verbalizes

the discrepancies, contradictions and omissions expressed in clients words or actions. y Done for and with the client not to and against client. y First step is to identify mixed messages, conflict and incongruity in the client s statements. y Requires observation, questioning and listening.

1/23/2012

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Confrontation-Discrepancies
y Discrepancies between the client s perception and

accurate information
y Helping the client correct misconceptions.

y Discrepancies between the client expectations and

likely possibilities
y Help the client think rationally and sensibility about what is happening

with the client. y Counselor may hear irrational thinking y Example- I may be loved and everyone or I cannot be happy
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Confrontation-Discrepancies (Contd.)
Discrepancies between the verbal an body messages
y Body messages provide more accurate information y Providing the client honest feedback about body messages can lead to

honest communication.
y Example- Saying in am interested but maintains defensive posture with

arms crossed.
y Hiding the feelings-Smiling while discussing or describing the

distressing event

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Confrontation-Discrepancies (Contd.)
Discrepancies between behaviors and stated goals
y Persons who seeks to be accepted by others but behavior may be unlikely acceptable.

Contradictions between statements and actions

y Example-case of a woman who was trying to cope with separation initiated by her husband

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Confrontation-Mixed messages
y A mixed message is an incongruent message-one part

of the message appears to contradict other parts of the message. y Example- I love you when you do what I want . These are delivered by parents to children.

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Confrontation-Omissions
y Sometimes

clients presents the incomplete information about the life and the experiences uncomfortable to discuss. y Example- A mother may have three children but discusses about two only. y Counselor may confront these omissions discovered through listening carefully. y Confrontation to omission demands attention to the primacy of the client as focal person in counseling experience.
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Working with client defenses

y Work with rather than to attack the client resistance. y Counselor must help the client to see and experience

the things with brighter clarity. y Counselor should learn from the experience with the client which approaches are most acceptable.

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Guidelines for constructive confrontation

y Confrontation should not be the predominant mode of

feedback to a client. It should be used sparingly. y Being angry towards a client is risk of misusing confrontation as a mask of anger. y Be clear with the reasons of confronting. Plan should be based on client s needs and not your own. y Be a total ally of the client. y Use direct and simple language. y Be prepared to admit confrontation may be wron if client denies its accuracy.
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Interpretation
y Interpretation is the form of additive responding. y The purpose is to explain rather than merely describe

a client's behavior and to change a client s frame of reference in therapeutic direction Clark, 1995 y According to Ivey and Ivey-with interpretation the counselor provides the client new alternative way to consider the situation. y Some therapists use the term reframing y New frame for viewing the client s concern
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Interpretation- (Contd.)
y Interpretive response involves placing meaning to the

observational data using theory. y counselor presents the client with the hypotheses about relationships, meanings or behaviors that emerge from his or theoretical understanding of human personality. y Example- Case of Raynette who lives with her mother, sister and infant daughter. She reports feeling stuck that life is not going anywhere.

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Interpretation- (Contd.)
y Interpretation accounts for 6-8 % of counselors'

responses. y According to Frank and Frank- interpretation is the valuable counseling intervention as it supports the client s security and mastery. y It offers a name to set of experiences that are confusing and overwhelming. y Premature interpretation backfires. y Should not be used at the close of the counseling session.
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Sources
y The

Counseling Process-A multi-theorictical integrative Approach .Elizabeth Reynolds Welfel, Lewis E. Patterson

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