Therapeutic Process: The Main Techniques Essay

The success of relationship therapy depends on the skills employed by the counselor when interacting with the client. Counselors need to establish a friendly relationship with their clients. The counseling process should be based on respect, understanding, and compassion. Portraying these values makes the client comfortable and calm to express themselves adequately. Additionally, a friendly connection between the counselor and the client increases the client’s self-confidence in adopting the propositions of the counselor. The major counseling techniques that are vital in the therapeutic process include empathy, active listening, asking relevant questions, reflection, and unconditional positive regard.

Empathy is an essential counseling technique in understanding the issues the client is experiencing. It is the ability to put oneself in someone else situation and understand the magnitude of the problem they are experiencing (Kaluzeviciute, 2020). Empathy lets the counselor understand the client’s emotions, feelings, and thoughts. Additionally, through this technique, councilors can connect with their clients’ world and perceive the situation from the client’s point of view to develop mechanisms that suit the needs and preferences of the clients. During counseling, empathy is expressed in various ways, including body language, appropriate gestures, and silence, to give clients ample space and time to express themselves (Kaluzeviciute, 2020). Furthermore, therapists can portray empathy through the tone of their voice to demonstrate that they understand their clients’ feelings and emotions. Consequently, understanding the client’s emotions enable them to gain confidence and trust in the therapist, which is essential for developing effective solutions.

Active listening is a vital therapeutic technique that allows the client to share their emotions and give valuable information necessary for the therapist to understand the problem at hand. Active listening is one of the initial steps for the therapist to show honesty in addressing the situations of their clients (Bar et al., 2021). Listening keenly without judging creates a sense of healing that builds the client’s trust and makes them more open to the issues they face. Additionally, by talking freely and comfortably, the client can better understand their situation and identify the factors that contributed to their problems. This revelation gives the therapist a conducive environment to engage with the client in developing the solutions to the issue at hand (Bar et al., 2021). Therefore, active listening makes the therapeutic process employ a collaborative approach between the client and the therapist, which is essential in developing long-lasting solutions.

Asking questions is another vital technique that enables the counselor to adequately understand the client’s situation and create a conducive environment for the counseling process. This technique allows the therapist to engage closely with the client and establish a connection that enables the client to express themselves adequately, considering the relevant details about the issue (Renger, 2021). There are two types of questions that therapists may engage with their clients; open questions and closed questions (Renger, 2021). Open questions allow the client to give detailed responses allowing the therapist to understand the dynamics of the issue and enable the client to reflect on their situation. Closed questions are restricted to a “yes” or “no” answer. These questions are often asked when the therapist wants clarification on a specific issue. However, closed questions tend to negatively impact the counseling process since they discourage the client from being open and may portray the therapist as authoritative, lowering the client’s confidence (Renger, 2021). The therapist should be keen on asking relevant questions that do not offend the client but allow them to express themselves with clarity.

In counseling, reflection is an important technique that increases the client’s self-awareness. This skill allows the therapist to understand and respond to the feelings and emotions of the client. There are various ways that councilors may demonstrate their reflection technique (Chigwedere et al., 2021). Firstly, the counselor may reflect on the client’s feelings through affirmation, where he may encourage the client to improve on their choices, knowledge, or behavior. Secondly, the counselor may repeat the client’s statements to understand the message. Thirdly, the therapist may allow the client some time to internalize their statements and give them a chance to understand their emotions (Chigwedere et al., 2021). Therefore, reflection enables clients to understand their feelings and emotions, thus increasing their self-awareness.

Lastly, the unconditional positive regard technique allows the therapist to accept the client the way they are and develop solutions that conform to their preferences. This technique is essential in increasing the client’s self-worth and encouraging them to perceive themselves positively (Kim et al., 2020). Counselors demonstrate unconditional positive regard by establishing respect and warmth during the therapeutic process. Additionally, therapists portray this technique by failing to judge clients based on their words or behavior but allowing themselves to be free to express themselves in a manner they deem fit (Kim et al., 2020). Such freedom increases the self-confidence and self-esteem of the client, thus increasing their trust in the therapist and allowing them to be more open.

In conclusion, counseling is a sensitive process determined by how the therapist relates to the client. A friendly relationship increases the client’s confidence and allows them to be more open about the issues affecting them. Such a relationship is established on various techniques, including empathy, active listening, asking questions, reflection, and unconditional positive regard. These techniques enable the therapist to understand the client’s situation and explore solutions that conform to their emotions and feelings. Additionally, these techniques allow the therapist to develop practical and long-lasting solutions.

References

Bar, M., Saad, A., Slonim‐Atzil, D., Tuval‐Mashiach, R., Gour, T., Baron, N., & Mendlovic, S. (2021). Patient–therapist congruent exchanges engaged with the potential‐to‐experience is associated with better outcome of psychotherapy.Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 94, 304-320. Web.

Chigwedere, C., Bennett-Levy, J., Fitzmaurice, B., & Donohoe, G. (2021). Personal practice in counselling and CBT trainees: the self-perceived impact of personal therapy and self-practice/self-reflection on personal and professional development.Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, 50(5), 422-438. Web.

Kaluzeviciute, G. (2020). The role of empathy in psychoanalytic psychotherapy: A historical exploration. Cogent Psychology, 7(1), 1748792. Web.

Kim, J., Joseph, S., & Price, S. (2020). The positive psychology of relational depth and its association with unconditional positive self-regard and authenticity. Person-Centered & Experiential Psychotherapies, 19(1), 12-21.

Renger, S. (2021). Therapists’ views on the use of questions in person-centred therapy. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 1-13.