Lecture Notes - Psychology: Counseling Psychology Notes (Lecture 1) PDF

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Counselling Psychology Notes Lecture 1- Chapter 1- An introduction to counselling psychology Mcleod book- An introduction to counselling psychology WEEK 1- an overview and Historical foundation of counselling Defining Counseling - Counselling and psychotherapy are umbrella terms that cover a range of talking therapies. They are delivered by trained practitioners who work with people over a short or long term to help bring about effective change or enhance their wellbeing. (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy website 2014) - Counseling is professional relationship that empowers diverse individuals, families and groups to accomplish mental health, wellness, and education and career goals. (American Counseling Association website 2014 - ‘A professional relationship between a trained counselor and a client… designed to help clients to understand and clarify their views of their life space, and learn to reach their self determined goals through meaningful, well-informed choices and through resolution of problems of an emotional or interpersonal nature (Burks and Stefflre 1979) -

These definitions share one important feature in common- they are primarily framed from the point of view of the counselor.- counseling is something done by the counselor. In taking this perspective, these definitions reflect the aim of professional bodies to establish counseling as a professional specialism within contemporary society Thus in order to reflect a more inclusive meaning of the term counseling- this book (mcleod) takes a user- centered definition: o Counseling is a purposeful, private conversation arising from the intention of one person to reflect on and resolve a problem in living and the willingness of another person to assist in that endeavor.  Assumptions of this definition of counseling:  Counseling can only happen if the client is seeking help and wants it to happen  Person seeking counseling when ‘problem in living’ which they cant resolve in everyday life.  Counseling fundamentally based on conversation and talking things through  Counseling depends on the creation of the relationship between two people  Characteristics of counseling o Encouragement and permission to speak o Respect for difference o Confidentiality o Affirmation- counselor enacts a relationship that is an expression of a set of core values.  Potential outcomes of counseling can be understood to fall into three categories: o Resolution- of the original problem in living o Learning- acquiring new understanding and skills and strategies. o Social inclusion- counseling stimulates the energy and capacity of someone who can contribute to the well being of others and the social good.

Descriptions of counseling psychology - ‘Counseling psychology aims to work with clients to examine mental health issues and explore the underlying problems that may have caused them’- (BPS)

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Counseling Psychologists deal with a wide range of mental health problems concerning life issues including bereavement, domestic violence, sexual abuse, traumas and relationship issues. They understand diagnosis and the medical context to mental health problems and work with the individual’s unique subjective psychological experience to empower recovery and alleviate distress. (BPS website- 2014)

What is Counseling psychology? - Psychology principles meet counseling and psychotherapy- counseling psychology has its roots in psychology and in the tradition and theory of counseling - A division of the BPS since 1982 and in the UK - Counseling psychologists work in many different settings including mild, moderate and severe and enduring mental health settings such as hospitals, schools, prison, companies and private practice. - BPS division of counseling psychology (2012) o Founded in humanistic values and philosophy o Aims to improve psychological functioning, mental health and wellbeing Focuses on working with psychological formulation tailored to the individual- A clinical formulation, also known as case formulation, is a theoretically-based explanation or conceptualisation of the information obtained from a clinical assessment. o o Counseling psychology is interested in how people make meaning from their experience (phenomenology) Similarities between counseling and clinical psychology  Swanepoel (2013) points out that clinical and counselling approaches to psychology share:  - Scientist-practitioner model

Differences between counseling and clinical psychology  In theory, differences are not in what clinical and counselling psychologists do, but in how they do it (For example counseling psychologists are interested in personal subjective experiences as opposed to clinical psychologists who are interested in diagnosis and symptoms)

 Client groups  Differences may be in how counselling psychologists view people and the distress that we can all experience at times (abnormal vs. normal).  Competencies

 Counselling psychologists are expected to be “reflective practitioners”. This means that they consider their own role in the relationship with the client (Lane & Corrie, 2006).

 Therapeutic approaches

 But…many clinical psychologists will also think and practice in this way. Differences are probably becoming minimal and the main difference is in the training route rather than what is learnt and practiced.

What is Counseling? - Egan, G- 1993- The Skilled helper

o This is a model used a lot in counseling psychology where the object is to achieve lasting change and to empower people to manage their own problems more effectively and develop unused opportunities more fully. o A stage theory of helping to produce change o There are 3 stages of this model:  Exploration- what is going on? Building the helping relationship and exploration  Challenging- What do I want instead?- new understand and offering different perspectives  Action- How might I achieve what I want?- helping the client to develop and use helping strategies. o In addition to Rogers core conditions of empathy, congruence and unconditional positive regard. Egan’s (1993) Three stage helping model Stage Exploration- Building the relationship

Exploration, active listening, communicating empathy 2. New understanding

Offering different perspectives

3. Action – helping the client to develop and use helping strategies

Skills (each stage includes and builds on previous skills) Make and maintain contact. Create structure. Communicate non-judgmental warmth. Communicate genuineness. Identify, acknowledge, reflect thoughts, behaviors, feelings. Paraphrase. Clarify. Link issues and problems into themes Show deeper understanding, empathy. Help client focus on specific issues. Challenge, offer new perspectives, share own experiences and feelings. Set goals. - Offering information about yourself-only in the service of your client- self-disclosure- only in the service of your client. Develop and choose action plans – thinking creatively, problem-solving, decision-making, planning. Evaluate consequences of actions.

Why do we need theories in counseling? - To be able to explain what we do - To guide practice - To evaluate ideas and practice in research o (Standers, 2011) The Identity of counseling psychology - Has been ‘plagued or blessed’- by reoccurring identity crises (Richardson & Patton, 1992) o Considered plagued (cause trouble or distress) by those who wish the field had more of a fixed or immutable identity o Considered blessed by those who are appreciative of the enormous changes that have occurred in the history of counseling psychology. - ‘The core competences of counseling psychologists include psychological assessment, case formulation and the delivery of evidence based therapies, the design and the evacuation of therapy, management, research and development’- The division of counseling psychology, BPS website (September, 2013)

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The psychological therapy involves talking with a counseling psychologist who listens and tries to understand, the counseling psychologists works ethically and abides by the code of professional conduct of the BPS.

How does counseling help? - Insight- understanding the origins and development of emotional difficulties - Relating with others - Self awareness - Self-acceptance - Self actualization - Enlightenment - Psychological education - Acquisition of social skills - Cognitive change - Behaviour change SOCIAL FORMS AND HISTORY OF COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY -

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The origins can be traced back to the beginning of the 18th century which can be regarded as a major turning point in which people thought about things and lived their lives. Priori to the 18 th century, society was based on small rural commuitites who lived according religious principles The industrial revolution bought a shift from traditional to modern ways of living and thinking. Before this problems were dealt via a religious perspective, anyone who was ill or insane was essentially tolerated as part of the community The priest for example through catholic confessionals dealt less intense problems. The earliest form of therapy- hypnosis and psychoanalysis: Van Renterghem and Van Eeden: Earliest physicians to call themselves psychotherapists- they opened a clinic of suggestive psychotherapy in amsterdamn in 1887. Hypnosis: Discovered by Johann Joseph Gassner (1727-79) and Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815). Hypnosis was a phenomenon of great interest to the European medical profession The key figure in the process of transition from hypnosis to psychotherapy was Freud, he turned his back on the hyponosis techniques and chose to develop his own technique of psychoanalysis based on free association and the interpretation of freams. Sigmund Freud- ‘I set myself the task of bringing to light what human beings keep hidden within them… the task of making conscious the most hidden recesses of the mind is one which is quite possible to achieve’. FREE ASSOCIATION INTERPRETATION OF DREAMS The capitalist system, was much more dominant in America than in European countries, and demanded that individuals mould themselves to the requirements of particular niches in the economic system. People had to learn how to sell not only goods and services, but themselves! Freud visited America in 1909 and psychoanalysis was widely embraced! However, one of the strongest sources of resistance to psychoanalysis in American culture lay in academic psychology

William James - One of the strongest sources of resistance to psychoanalysis in American culture was William James. -Embraced behaviourism that emphasized the use of scientific methods such as measurement and laboratory experiments and was primarily orientated to the study of observable behaviour rather than laboratory experiments.

- Behaviourism- the theory that human and animal behaviour can be explained in terms of conditioning, without appeal to thoughts or feelings, and that psychological disorders are best treated by altering behaviour patterns. - The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes. The Humanist revolt  This debate sparked the next wave of innovation in psychology.  Humanism was a direct reaction to the stripping of free will that psychoanalytic theory and behaviorism entailed.  Humanism- emphasizes the value and agency of human beings, individually. Humanism is the approach that emphasizes the unique qualities of humans, personal freedom, and personal growth Carl Rogers - Humanistic approach to learning - Unconditional love/ unconditional positive regard - Student centered learning- client centered approach The Emergence of counseling  Came of age only in the 1940’s  Rogers used ‘counselling and psychotherapy’- one of the public markers of the emergence of counselling was Carl Rogers in the face of opposition from the medical profession to the idea that anyone without medical training could call himself a ‘psychotherapist’ began to use the term counselling and psychotherapy to describe his approach.  Differences 1. Involvement in the educational system 2. Role of the voluntary sector  1952: The American Personnel and Guidance Association à American Counselling Association 1. Members worked in schools, colleges, and career advisory services  1971: Standing Council for the Advancement of Counselling àBritish Association for Counselling 1. Members worked in social services, social work and the voluntary sector IMPLICATIONS FOR COUNSELLING THEORY AND PRACTICE - Appreciation of counseling as a continuing tradition, that reflects a distinct set of values and practices. - Distinctive set of values and practices o Non-medical, focused on the social world, pragmatically orientated rather than theorydriven, - Acceptance that contemporary knowledge is incomplete in the absence if a historical perspective - Therapy always treads a fine line between control and liberation. What is the difference between counseling and psychotherapy? - A clear distinction can be made between counseling and psychotherapy. The argument here is that , thought there is a certain amount of overlap between the theories and methods of counselors and psychotherapists and the type of clients they see. Psychotherapist- represent a deeper more fundamental level of work over a longer period of time and usually with disturbed - Doing the same type of work- using identical approaches and techniques but are required to use different titles in response to the demands of the agencies that employ them. Research in counseling psychology  Epistemology – the philosophy of knowledge, how we can come to know something.  Counselling and Psychology come from two different epistemologies:  Counselling – knowledge and understanding are gained through describing and understanding the subjective experience of individuals (McLeod, 2011).

 Psychology – knowledge and understanding are gained through the scientific method and the aim is to be objective (Lange, 2009).  Thus there is a tension that has to be managed.  Counselling psychologists take a pluralistic stance – ie. any question can have a number of different possible answers (Rescher, 1993) THE DODO BIRD VERDICT  “Everybody has won and all must have prizes” (Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland).  Systematic reviews find that the different approaches are as effective as each other (Cooper, 2008).  Evidence-based practice, or practice-based evidence? Both are needed (Barkham & Mellor-Clark, 2003)  All psychotherapy regardless of their specific components produce the same or equivalent outcomes. Common factors in therapy  -Norcross & Wampold (2011) finds the following common therapeutic factors:  Demonstrably effective: Therapeutic alliance (agreement on goals; agreement on tasks; emotional bond), Empathy, Positive regard  Promising but insufficient evidence: Congruence/genuineness, Repairing alliance ruptures, Self-disclosure, Collecting client feedback  Probably effective: Goal consensus, Collaboration, Managing countertransference

RESEARCH INFORMED VS RESEARCH DIRECTED THERAPY [A counselling psychologist must] be able to use professional and research skills in work with clients based on a scientist-practitioner and reflective-practitioner model that incorporates a cycle of assessment, formulation, intervention and evaluation. (Health Professions Council, 2009, p.18) • Research is only one of a number of influences on practice. • Others include: therapist characteristics; client characteristics; clinical experience; training route; supervision; personal therapy; psychological theory; psychological approach; context. Aims of Counselling research  McLeod (2009) says that good research should:  Contribute to the development of better understanding of events and processes experienced by counselors and clients.  Enable practitioners to learn from each other. Research can also:  Improve the quality of service offered to clients.  Allow the voice of clients to be heard.  Influence the way that therapy is organized and delivered. OUTCOME RESEARCH  Outcome research aims to find out how a counselling intervention has helped by looking at differences before and after counselling.  Data is obtained from:  Self-monitoring (eg. problem behaviour).  Self-rating of moods/feelings.  Measures of psychological adjustment (eg. CORE-OM).  Measures of specific variables (eg: BDI).  Client satisfaction surveys.  Direct observation.

 Post-therapy ratings of outcome. Process research  Process research attempts to identify or measure the elements of counselling that are associated with change, or how it works.  Tradition of process research in the client-centred model – focus on core conditions and latterly on depth of experiencing.  Psychodynamic process research is made complicated by the theoretical assumptions of the model.  Luborsky et al. (1986) Core Conflictual Relationship Theme (CCRT) method is one example of psychodynamic process research – focus on transference.

Clinically meaningful process research  Process research, not outcome research.  Focuses on “change process” (Greenberg, 1986).  Looks for significant events which initiate change.  Focuses on the experience and perception of therapist and client of particular class of events – the ‘events paradigm’. Eg. Moments of perceived empathy, moments of insight.  Goal is explaining change, rather than predicting.  Draws on qualitative approaches....