Understand_How_Counselling_Skills_Relate_to_Helping_as_a_Process

1.3 Understand how counselling skills relate to helping as a process ‘In order for ‘help’ to be of any use, a working alliance needs to be established. This involves co-operation between patient and therapist, which underpins all effective helping.’ P.Clarkson It is important to form a relationship early in therapy for a working alliance to be successful. Goals to be reached and the necessary tasks to attain those goals must be agreed by counsellor and client, the bond will grow with trust and confidence. Research shows that the quality of the therapeutic alliance early in therapy shows a reliable association with a positive therapy outcome. Sloane et al (1975) found that patients listed the significant factors for successful therapy as first, the therapist’s personality, grasp of problems, encouragement and help towards understanding themselves. The first interview is the counsellor’s opportunity to show the client a solid working alliance, therefore arming the client to make a decision whether to agree to come into therapy or not. In order for the client to have a reasonable sense of what the journey with the counsellor might entail, during the first session the counsellor may show humour, challenge, empathy, sensitive listening and questioning. Listening is the most important skill, many clients have never been listened to either by their parents, teachers or in a work situation. Active listening ensures the client is being heard and what they say matters, by listening counsellors give the client an opportunity to reveal an issue which is huge to them and one that they have been hiding for a long time. With some clients anxiety and mis-trust and even anger may present themselves in the therapeutic relationship. It is important for the counsellor to help the client understand that this resentment stems from the past and at the hands of others. With other clients the situation is reversed, with overt gratitude, affection and admiration for the counsellor readily expressed. Again this could be from a childhood experience. This transference was first identified by Freud. These feelings stem from childhood and are not based on the counsellor/client relationship. Evidence of the clients early emotional life is often seen early in the counselling relationship and with help the client will be able to gain some understanding of how things have developed and how it can be improved. A thing which has not been understood inevitably reappersrs like an unlaid ghost it cannot rest until the mystery has been resolved and broken Sigmund Freud 1909 Equally counsellors are capable of displacing feelings from the past into the present, this is known as counter/transference. Transference/countertransference is everywhere and unavoidable. What is important is that the counsellor recognises it in the relationship and manages it. This highlights the need of regular supervision for counsellors so that they can identify and deal with their own countertransference reactions. It is necessary to be self aware so that values brought to the relationship are not distorted. It is a fine balancing act to offer genuine help without influencing that by disclosing personal values. After several sessions the relationship is developing and the counsellor can identify and think about the corrective next step. The counsellor has provided the conditions in which self-healing can take place. The client is encouraged to discover the nature of his thoughts, feelings and actions and how experiences in childhood, either with parents or parent substitutes led to the behaviour exhibiting now and build upon this to re-structure new behaviour patterns. The counsellor strives to be empathic, accepting and respecting, reliable and attentive. During this reparative stage more questions may need to be asked to explore memories of childhood in more detail. For therapy to be effective not only to talk about memories, and express feeling but also to talk about hopes and dreams. ‘Those who embrace the possibilities of developmental or reparative relationship are more usually associated with concepts to do healing, actualising growth and evolutionary tendencies. (Rogers 1951, Erickson 1967, Kohut 1984) Towards the completion of the therapeutic process the person to person relationship begins to emerge. Empathy and genuine congruence play their part here as the transition from the reparative relationship to the person to person relationship is quite difficult. It is important for the client to sense a feeling of wholesomeness and for the counsellor to give significant feedback to support this. Once repair or replenishment of past issues has begun this will enhance future growth and development. The length of time and quality of the person to person relationship can vary enormously, some clients need time to come to terms with the ending of therapy, for others, a few minutes during the final session is sufficient. During counselling the transpersonal relationship may occur but it is difficult to articulate this relationship. It is sometimes referred to as the spiritual relationship between client and counsellor but attitudes towards spirituality are out of boundaries for legitimate professions. Therefore to say some people experience a ‘gut feeling’ or a sense of something deeply moving beyond the limitations of time or space is an acceptable definition.