Helping_Relationships

Knowing about helping relationships 1. Introduction Firstly lets define a helping relationship, perhaps the key reference point, is the work of Carl Rogers who suggested that a helping relationships could be defined as one in which: ... one of the participants intends that there should come about in one or both parties, more appreciation of, more expression of, more functional use of the latent inner resources of the individual. (Rogers 1967: 40). 1.1 Identify different forms of helping relationships We can see that this definition can apply to different types of relationships for example counseling-client, parent-child and teacher-pupil relationship. In identifying different forms of helping relationships there are several. Firstly lets look at offering advise. A friend may come to you for advise if they feel you have the knowledge or have experienced a particular thing they are going through.. An example of this is, they may believe their partner is cheating on them but have no direct proof. They know you have gone through the same and want to know how you found out and what you would do or would have done differently. Another form off a helping relationship is offering practical help. A person has had an operation on their arm and is struggling getting washed and changed. To help you offer to help them bathe and get dressed. Yet another form is by offering guidance. It could be someone who is struggling with a decision or may be it is a younger relative being lead astray in their crucial exam years at school. By concentrating on the good parts and offering lots of encouragement you could influence them and help them choose the right path. In many friendships one can take on different roles and a person may come to you simply to sound off about personal problems or work. They are not normally looking for advise as they already know what their intentions are. They simply want that person to listen to their problems and offer sympathy. Another example is counseling. A person may have suffered a bereavement or experienced a trauma and seeks professional help normally someone they do not know.. . In defining counseling. 1.2 Define Counseling “Psychological treatment of emotional problems in which a trained person deliberately establishes a professional relationship with the patient in order to; (a) remove or modify or retard existing symptoms ; (b) mediate disturbed patterns of behavior ; ( c ) promote positive personality growth and development” (Wolberg 1995) 1.3 Describe how counseling is different from other helping relationships Counseling is different from other helping relationships as a counselor rarely offers advice. A counselor offers a safe environment away from family and people they know where the client can explore their problems. As the counselor is un know to the client a lot more work towards building trust is essential. Additionally the counselor must come across to the client as genuine and offer real empathy when required. This in itself is a skilled which can either come naturally or a skill which needs to be learnt. The aim is to help the client help themselves by exploring and gaining an understanding of why they are thinking and feeling the way they do It is a two way process where both the counselor and the client will influence one another and by working and developing their own strengths and resources the client can hopefully resolve or come to terms with their problems. REFERENCES Rogers, C.R. (1961) On Becoming a Person. A therapist’s view of psycholotherapy, Boston:Houghton Miffin (1967-London:Constable). Smith, Mark K (2008) ‘Helping relationships’, the encyclopedia of informal education. [www.infed.org/helping/helping relationships.htm}. {7 Feb 2011 } Wolberg (1995) Counselling and Psychotherapy Theroies in Context and Practice: Skills, Stratagie, and Techniques by John Sommers-Flannagan and Rita Sommers-Flannagan (Jan 16, 2004) .