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Block 2 Unit 4 Other Therapies (Persons Center Counselling and Solution Focus Counselling)

1. Define Person-Centered Counseling.

Person-centered counseling, also known as client-centered or non-directive counseling, is a humanistic approach developed by Carl Rogers. It is based on the premise that if a counselor provides clients with a genuine relationship in which they feel understood, accepted, and valued, their self-esteem will be enhanced and they will be able to use their own resources to help themselves. This approach views each person as unique and able to strive towards self-actualisation and the achievement of their full potential.

2. What do you understand by Congruence?

Congruence refers to the counselor being genuine, authentic, and integrated in the therapeutic relationship. A congruent counselor is aware of their own feelings and is able to share them with the client, when appropriate. They do not present a facade.

3. Describe the general techniques involved in Person-Centered Counseling.

• Person-centered counseling is not technique-oriented. The therapeutic relationship is the primary agent of growth. The techniques are used to establish and maintain that relationship.
• Techniques include:
  • Listening: This involves inviting clients to describe their reasons for coming to talk, and allowing time for the client to respond, which is also called attending or active listening. Active listening also involves summarising the person’s emotions, asking questions to help them express their feelings and beliefs, and asking questions to achieve a better understanding of what they are saying.
  • Restating: Simply repeating what the client has just said.
  • Reflection of Feelings: Reflecting the client's emotions.
  • Therapist's Presence: The counselor is fully engaged in the relationship with the client.
  • Caring confrontations: These can be beneficial.
  • Understanding: The counselor understands the client’s feeling sensitively and accurately. Empathetic understanding helps the counselor sense the client’s feelings as if they were his/her own without becoming lost in those feelings.
  • Responding: The counselor responds to the client’s story and seeks clarification about the client’s feelings and thoughts. The counsellor also responds by giving advice and suggestions to help with the client’s personal growth.

4. What is Solution-Focused Brief Therapy? Write down its steps.

• Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) is a post-modern approach that focuses on the client's strengths and solutions, rather than problems. It emphasizes what is working in the client’s life and helps them discover exceptions to their problem patterns. It is a competency based therapy that works from the client’s understanding of the situation.
• The steps in SFBT are:
  • Find out what clients want instead of focusing on what they do not want.
  • Do not look for pathology but instead look for what clients are already doing that is working and encourage them to continue in that direction.
  • If what clients are doing is not working, encourage them to try something different.
  • Keep therapy brief by approaching each session as if it were the last and only session.

5. Describe O’Hanlon & Weiner Davis basic assumptions.

O’Hanlon & Weiner Davis' basic assumptions for Solution Focused Therapy are as follows:

• People's Strengths: Solution-focused therapy focuses on people’s strengths, competence, and possibilities instead of their deficits, weaknesses and limitations.
• Resources: The solution focussed approach builds upon clients’ resources.
• Effective Behaviour: Individuals who come to therapy have the capability of behaving effectively, even if temporarily blocked by negative cognitions.
• Positive Focus: There are advantages to focusing on solutions and the future. Using "solution talk" to reorient clients towards their strengths will help to keep the therapy brief.
• Exceptions to Problems: There are exceptions to every problem, and talking about these exceptions allows clients to get control over problems.
• Multiple Perspectives: Clients often present only one side of themselves and this therapy invites clients to examine another side.
• Small Changes: Small changes pave the way for larger changes.
• Client Agency: Clients want to change, have the capacity to change, and are doing their best.

6. Explain mapping the Influences technique of SFBT. Also discuss different questioning techniques.

• Mapping the Influences of the Problem: This technique helps clients understand how the problem has influenced their life. Counselors ask how the problem has affected various aspects of the client's life, including relationships, work, and daily functioning. The purpose is to use these influences as a basis for identifying exceptions.
• Questioning Techniques in SFBT:
  • The Miracle Question (MQ): This involves asking the client to imagine how their future would look in an ideal world, focusing on the absence of the problem that brought them to therapy. This encourages the client to identify the first small steps towards solution states.
  • Scaling Questions: Clients rate their subjective experiences, such as how they feel or deal with their problems, on a scale from 0 to 10. These are used to monitor changes in the client.
  • Exception Seeking Questions: These questions assume that there are always times when the problem is less acute and investigate what enables this to be so.
  • Coping Questions: These are used to elicit examples of times when the client coped with even the direst situations, highlighting their resilience and determination.