Classmate1.docx

Classmate #1 Response

Chapter 3: The Counseling Process

• List the 4 ways the textbook classifies the theories and interventions presented in the book based on the point of intervention and list the theories associated with each classification.
1. Affective (feeling)
Person-centered counseling
Gestalt therapy
2. Behavior (behaving)
Behavioral counseling
Reality therapy
Brief Counseling
Individual psychology
3. Cognitive (thinking)
Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral therapy
Psychoanalytic counseling
Transactional analysis

• Based on your previous study of these counseling theories, which theory (or theories) do you think you would prefer to use with children and adolescents? I think that Gestalt therapy would be an effective therapy when working with children. Why? I think that the “Empty Chair technique might be even more effective with children than it is with adults. Often body sensations become the focus of treatment. Certainly person-centered will allow the focus to be on the child and his/her world and not expectations of parents, teachers, or others.
• Counseling process: Outline the six step counseling process found in the textbook. Under each step list 2 or more of the universal skills (pp 84-85) that are appropriate for each step.
Step 1: Define the problem through active listening Get a grasp of how the child understands the problem through active listening techniques like minimal encouragement; reframing, prompts, and open ended questions. This will also allow the child to express his/her feelings about the problem, and what expectations (if any) the child has of the counselor to fix the problem.
Step 2: Clarify the child’s expectations Logical consequences, role-playing, as well as reframing and closed questions can help the counselor understand the expectations which the child has of the counselor. These techniques can also help reshape his/her expectations and lead to a healthier outcome of the counseling.
Step 3: Explore what has been done to solve the problem Homework might be for the child to write down what has been attempted in the past to solve the problem. Open ended questions and prompts can help draw out more information from the child.
Step 4 Explore what new things could be done Role playing, , exploring alternatives and logical consequences can help to uncover new solutions to a problem. Providing information might also spark a new creative solution by the child.
Step 5 Obtain a commitment to try one of the problem solving ideas Affirmation, new information, and role playing can encourage the child to try to solve the problem.
Step 6 Close the interview Open ended questions, affirmation and role playing can be effective ways to close the session with the child.
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• In your opinion, is there one step that is most important in the counseling process? Please share why you think this is so. I think that clarifying the child’s’ expectations is the one step which is most important of all of the other steps. The counselor needs to have a clear picture of success or failure looks like to the client (child). It is difficult to measure success if you do not know what it is for the client. By helping the child set realistic expectations, the counselor has a better measuring tool for effectiveness than if they do not.

Chapter 5: Psychoanalytic Counseling

• List 6 defense mechanisms. Give an example of each one.
• Affiliation the individual continues to recognize personal responsibility but seeks help from others
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• Altruism the individual receives satisfaction in helping other people
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• Anticipation the individual thinks about future events and reduces anxiety by seeking answers early
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• Humor the individual focuses on the amusing parts of a situation
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• Sublimation the individual redirects unhealthy emotions into acceptable ones
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• Suppression the individual intentionally ignores nonproductive or troubling experiences
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• Which one do you use the most?
• I tend to use Sublimation the most with Anticipation and Humor being next.
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• What is Psychoanalytic Play Therapy and its purpose?
• Psychoanalytic Play Therapy utilizes toys, games, drawing, clay, and other items to create an environment where the child feels safe and comfortable. This aids in developing a therapeutic alliance with the child and serves to reveal clues about the child’s inner life. The purpose of Psychoanalytic Play Therapy; like all Psychoanalysis is to make the unconscious aware and visible to the client.
• Why and how would you as a therapist use it with a child? I would use Psychoanalytic Play therapy with a child to better understand the child’s view of the world. I would use it to help establish rapport and a therapeutic relationship with the child. Later, as the counseling relationship grows it may become necessary to understand the family dynamics utilizing Psychoanalytic Play Therapy. It can also be used to effectively deal with resistance, transference, and interventions
• Have you ever used Play Therapy and did your use of it differ from the psychoanalytic approach in the textbook? No, I have never used Play Therapy.

Chapter 6 Person-Centered Counseling

• According to Landreth, child-centered counselors concentrate on six major items. List these items.
1. On the child and not the problem
2. The present rather than the past
3. Feelings rather than thoughts and behaviors
4. Understanding rather than explaining
5. Accepting rather than correcting
6. The child’s wisdom and direction rather than the counselor’s
• What is the major technique of child-centered counseling?
• The major technique of child-centered counseling is active listening.
• What type of situations you might face in counseling a child would call for child centered counseling?
• A situation that would call for child centered counseling would be where there are self-esteem issues. The goal of child centered counseling is for the child”. . . to be understood instead of diagnosed, treated, or changed.” Page 187 The focus is entirely on the child and not the problem. The counselor needs to live out these messages for the child:
• I am here (nothing will distract me); I hear you ( I am listening carefully), I understand you, I care about you
• List and explain the ways Landreth proposes to evaluate child-centered play therapy.
Is the person becoming less defensive, more open to his or her experiences?
Is this person more able to take responsibility to his or her feelings and actions?
Is this person becoming less rigid, more tolerant or accepting of self, others, and the world?
Is this person becoming more independent, more self-directing?
Is this person becoming more objective, more rational?
Is the person more able to live in and enjoy the present?
Is the person less anxious, less fearful, less unhappy then when he or she entered therapy?