PERSONAL APPROACH TO COUNSELING
Philosophy of Human Nature
As people, we tend to encounter significant issues about morality and ethics in our daily lives, which can loosely be said to a cornerstone of the philosophy of human nature. It is in morality and ethics that we find the strife to understand the following seven questions; are we as humans innately good or bad? What motivates us? What is the cause of stress and suffering? How does change occur? How do we grow? How does wellness occur? And how do we function? In this view, morality, and ethics are seen to define a person’s personality, attitude, and behavior. While morals have its focus on the principles of what is right and wrong, ethics has a relation to conduct in terms of what is right and what is wrong because of an individual relating to a particular situation (Maclnytre. 2003). That is why the seven questions mentioned above have no concrete answer as nothing about man is set on stone as we are different. For example, to be good or bad, what can be said is merely subjective in accordance to a person’s culture and personal experiences. Many may perceive the two terms as being synonyms. However, there are slight and subtle differences between the two principles (morals and ethics), which have been described in this paper.
In the event where a study constitutes of ethics in Western thought, then its structural nature in terms of moral theories in accordance to its constituents throughout its existence in time in terms of life’s changing variables because of conditions, man can be said to be a contingent life-experience, hence the emergence of man’s universal experience. This structure which is an illustration of the relationship that exists between ethics (theory) and morality (practice), is to be construed to have found for the first time a clear articulation of Plato’s and Aristotle’s ethics speaking in terms of what is commonly known as the triad(moral ground, moral norm, moral act) (Geldard, Geldard, & Foo, 2017). At the moment, there arises a specified conflict-experience where there stems a practical need for there to be a moral theory based on the contextual conditions that have been given. The moral norm, which has been indicated by the moral theory that has been specified, is constituted through which there can be a judgment of man’s actions as either good or evil, morally right or morally wrong (Geldard, Geldard, & Foo, 2017). This means that moral judgment is facilitated by the moral norm and the practical moral act undertaken in adherence to the moral norm.
Counselors’ role.
A counselor is a person who should embody qualities important for building a therapeutic relationship. A school counselor should understand that underworking in a school setting, the behaviors, emotions, and values we model are more significant than the behaviors, emotions, and values they teach and encourage because one can only teach that which they practice. This aspect of counseling is especially critical for school counselors because they deal with young people mainly in their teenage years, which is the peak of their personality developmental stage (Bridget et al., 2015).
To achieve the best results in this school setting, school counselors should also exercise empathic listening and truthfully giving answers and guidance. That is to say. When this counselor is with a student to build a good therapeutic relationship, it is vital to give an unadulterated perspective in a friendly manner and not ignore or chastise a student’s opinion or point of view. The therapeutic relationship should be that of teamwork. The counselor works with the patient by encouraging and motivating with regards to the positives while apathetically criticizing and correcting the negatives, which can go a long way in fostering academic development. It is also essential to become more supportive by encouraging and motivating students through complements for their achievements and empathetic and constructive criticism when addressing shortcomings.
A cornerstone of a fruitful therapeutic relationship when handling students is staying out of judgment, understanding the situations and circumstances the individual is in, or has been through that has culminated in the therapy. This involves the school counselors putting themselves in the student’s shoes and seeing things from their perspective while adopting a mixed teacher and parenting role. These are acts on the part of a school counselor that can go a long way in making the student feel comfortable in their skin, academic potential and open up more critical for building a fruitful student counselor’s therapeutic relationship.
Theoretical approach.
While working with students, a student counselor needs to understand that intelligence does not have a concrete definition. It is more of a multifaceted process that comprises multiple components working together to make up one’s intelligence. According to Sternberg (2012), intelligence is “the ability to adapt to the environment, think and learn, and understand oneself and others.” It is also important to note the difference between intelligence and cognitive ability. With cognition, there is the involvement of senses, or sensing with the brain through neural functions that have been developed, honed, and sustained. The association with intelligence is that the latter involves the ability to process data into more efficient systems through the acquisition of learned substantive mental methods that now develops into cognitive ability.
Intelligence is based on cognitive development, which is given how all students develop since childhood. However, other cognitive development studies focus on individual differences in terms of cognitive ability, giftedness, high ability, and intellectual disability, among other differences. A determinant of a student’s mental age is based on how an individual student’s mental achievement is in comparison to other students of the same level who are performing well in school.
General intelligence, which is the concept of intelligence as a single entity or unique ability, is widely used concerning achievement in childhood. However, while relating intelligence to achievement in students according to Spearman’s proposal, it is essential also to understand that there are different measures of intelligence/cognitive ability, which is often moderately correlated (Bridget et al., 2015). This suggests that these different components in cognition and intelligence may be more related than previously thought. This means that there is no one specific concrete way to understand intelligence and how it relates to childhood achievement. There are three main therapeutic approaches a student counselor can use Adlerian therapy, Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and Solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT).
Adlerian therapy
Adlerian therapy, also known as individual therapy is an approach that involves a therapist working with a patient towards identifying obstacles and creating effective strategies for working towards personal goals (Sperry, 2020). Adlerian belief is based on gaining insight into challenges so that people can overcome feelings of inferiority. Adlerian also believes that most fulfillment in people is experienced when working towards a social interest- when doing things that are beneficial for society (Sperry, 2020).
Adlerian psychology consists of four series of stages through which therapy progresses as elaborated upon in the Journal of Individual Psychology as follows:
Stage 1-Engagement. This is where the patient and therapist establish a therapeutic relationship. It consists of collaboration towards addressing the patient’s problems. As a therapist, one should offer support as well as encouragement.
Stage 2-Assessment. The therapist works towards learning more about the patient’s background, including early memories and family issues and dynamics. This part of therapy engages the therapist in attempts to understanding how the patient may have developed particular styles of thinking that are distractive or not beneficial for them.
Stage 3-Insight. In this stage, the therapist interprets the patient’s situation and offers suggestions of theories on how past experiences culminated in issues the patient is currently experiencing; most importantly, the therapist leaves it up to the patient to decide on the accuracy and usefulness of these theories.
Stage 4-Reorientation. The therapist guides the patient towards developing new strategies that he/she can use in daily life.
Generally speaking, Adler’s theory pertains to individuals working to overcome their inferiority complex issues and how to act in ways that are beneficial to their social interest. There is the encouragement to pursue individual and societal goals as a means of motivating to strive towards self-fulfillment and improvement.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a psychotherapeutic treatment geared towards helping people learn ways to identify and change the destructive or disturbing mindset that negatively influences behavior and emotions (Rothbaum et al., 2000). Cognitive-behavioral therapy focuses on remedying automatic negative thoughts that contribute to worsening emotional difficulties, depression, and anxiety. CBT deals with these spontaneous negative thoughts that have a detrimental influence on a patient’s mood (Rothbaum et al., 2000).
According to Rothbaum et al., (2000), CBT identifies these thoughts, challenges them, and replaces them with more objective and realistic thoughts. With CBT, it is not just about identifying thought patterns but also about focusing on the use of a wide range of strategies to help patients overcome these thoughts. Strategies in doing this may include techniques in relaxation, journaling, role-playing, and mental distractions. There are types of techniques and approaches that CBT encompasses to address thoughts, emotions, and behaviors ranging from structured psychotherapies to self-help. Some of these specific types of CBT therapeutic approaches as elaborated by Rothbaum et al. (2000) are:
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) – This approach addresses thoughts and behaviors through emotional regulation and mindfulness strategies.
Multimodal therapy- In this approach, psychological issues are treated by addressing seven modalities, behavior, affect, sensation, imagery, cognition, interpersonal factors, and drug/biological considerations, all of which though different, are interconnected.
Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) – This approach involves identifying irrational beliefs, actively challenging them, and ultimately learning how to recognize and change these destructive thought patterns.
Though different in approach, each type of cognitive-behavioral therapy work towards addressing the underlying thought patterns that are causing psychological distress.
Solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT)
Another therapy a student counselor could adopt as it also helps in cognitive is Solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) because it places focus on a patient’s present and future circumstances and goals and not past experiences (De Shazer, & Dolan, 2012). In their studies, De Shazer, & Dolan (2012) examined that SFBT is a goal-oriented therapy whereby the symptoms or issues bringing about the therapy of the patient are typically not targeted instead, as a qualified counselor one encourages those in treatment to visualize the future and offers support while determining the skills, resources, and abilities for the achievement of that vision (De Shazer, & Dolan, 2012).
SFBT aims to help patients experiencing difficulty in finding tools that can be used immediately to manage symptoms and better cope with challenges. It is grounded in the belief that even though patients as individuals may already have the skills to influence change in their lives, they often need specialized help to identify and develop those skills (De Shazer, & Dolan, 2012). Similarly, SFBT also recognizes that patients already know, to some degree, what change is needed in their lives. Student counselors, as SFBT practitioners, work towards helping the student in their care, clarify their goals. SFBT practitioners also encourage patients to visualize the future they desire and then work in collaboration to develop a series of steps towards achieving those goals (De Shazer, & Dolan, 2012).
In particular, therapists help patients by guiding them to identify a time in their life when a current issue was either less detrimental or more manageable then evaluate what factors or solutions contributed to its effective management than trying to incorporate them in the present situation. Therapists are practicing SFBT attempt to guide their patients through the process of recognizing and exploring what is working for them and how best to continue practicing those strategies while encouraging them to take credit and celebrate success (De Shazer, & Dolan,2012). Practitioners of SFBT support their patients in experimenting with new problem-solving approaches.
Critical evaluation of an approach.
Human Growth Development is founded on the premise of identity, which underscores my approach to counseling. Identity is a basis of psychology that was perhaps best analyzed by Erik Erikson in Erickson’s psychosocial theory (Winter, 2019). This psychoanalytic theory’s approach can be said to be a good one in handling culturally diverse populations. It takes a more excellent account of social, cultural, and other environmental factors. Erikson’s development of the concept of Identity Crisis presented the right approach to a culturally diverse population (Winter, 2019).
My approach to counseling possesses a particular interest in the influence of society and culture on child development. A significant strength of this approach to counseling is that it enables a counselor to correlate a patient’s personality growth with parental and societal values, widening the scope of understanding the individual’s psychological makeup. This way, approach in identity crisis presents an in-depth understanding of cultural diversity matters as it is concerned with the effects of rapid social changes (Winter, 2019). Strengths are resulting from working with culturally diverse population centers in the analysis of changes in different cultures. These are in many aspects, including generation gap, racial tensions, juvenile delinquency, and changing sexual roles (Winter, 2019).
A limitation of this personal approach to counseling is its predominant focus on one stage in a person’s life – teenage years- and that it operates on the premise that it is only those individuals who succeed in resolving the crisis in this single stage of growth can face future challenges in life (Winter, 2019). It is important to note that the identity crisis is recurrent given that in culturally diverse populations, there is the demand for individuals to redefine themselves continually. Also, my approach to counseling under being focused on Erikson’s identity crisis can be said not to fit our modern-day 21st-century society adequately, given today’s rapid development in technology, global economy, dynamics in local and world politics, because due to these factors, identity crises are expected to be more diverse now than 30 years ago, when Erikson formulated his theory.
References.
Bridget A. Walsh, Lydia DeFlorio, Melissa M. Burnham and Dana A. Weiser, (2015) “Introduction to Human Development and Family Studies” London, Routledge.
De Shazer, S., & Dolan, Y. (2012). More than miracles: The state of the art of solution-focused brief therapy. Routledge.
Winter, L. A. (2019). Social justice and remembering “the personal is political” in counseling and psychotherapy: What can therapists do? Counseling and Psychotherapy Research, 19(3), 179-181.Maclnytre. A, (2003), A Short History of Ethics: A History of Moral Philosophy from the Homeric age to the 20th century, McGill-Queen’s Press-MQUP
Raeann R. Hamon and Suzanne R. Smith, (2014) “The Discipline of Family Science and the Continuing Need for Innovation” Volume 63, Issue 3, Pg 309–322. DOI: 10.1111/fare.12068.
Rauche, G.A, (1990), Theory and Praetiee in Philosophiea/ Argument, Durban: The Institute of Social Research University of Durban-Westville, 19862, pp. 98 -100, pp. 225 -25 1
Rothbaum, B. O., Meadows, E. A., Resick, P., & Foy, D. W. (2000). Cognitive-behavioral therapy.
Sperry L. (2020). “Alderian Therapy Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.” The Jpirnal of Individual Psychology 76, no. 1 (2020): 79-83.
Geldard, D., Geldard, K., & Foo, R. Y. (2017). Basic personal counselling: A training manual for counsellors. Cengage AU.
Wehmeyer, M. L., Abery, B., Zhang, D., Ward, K. I., Willis, D., & Walker, H. (2011). Personal self-determination and moderating variables that impact efforts to promote self-determination. Exceptionality, 19, 19–30.