COUN1003 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Eye Contact, Determinism, Existentialism
25 May 2018
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Theories and Approaches to Counselling – Weekly Notes
WEEK 1:
- Listening = listening and empathise (e.g. Past experiences)
- Stop yourself from caring too much but not enough – self care
- Theory summarizes the information base on philosophy and draws
conclusion. Theories provide guidelines that have been tested by experienced
counselors. They explain behaviors. They may predict desirable or undesirable
outcomes in given circumstances (Gibson & Mitchell, 2003).
- How can you relate to someone who comes from a different world to you? –
understanding societies, cultures, ethnicity, values etc. Finding a common
ground
- The more you know yourself, the better counsellor you will be
- Genuinely compassionate and understanding
- Being non-judgmental and acceptance of people before getting to know them
and their story
- Good body language and eye contact – making a comfortable environment and
being open
- Listen to listen and not listen to respond
Counselling is the way of empowering someone in a different way rather than
advice giving and rescuing them from a situation.
Psychology – clinical, diagnoses, labelling, temporary fix
Counselling – personal, focus on someone’s personal life and their experiences,
more humanistic approach
Carl Rogers:
- Seeing the person as they are and holding back any judgement or remarks you
may have
Terms:
➢ Materialism believed that humans were entirely physical.
➢ Determinist asserted that all human choices were determined by the laws of
nature.
➢ Rationalism emphasized that reasons, innate ideas, and deductions guide
knowledge.
➢ Empiricism underscored that experience was the source of knowledge.
➢ Positivism concentrated on natural phenomena or facts that were objectively
observable.
➢ Existentialism focused on the uniqueness of human beings and highlighted
this as the only reality. Eg) “What does it mean to exist?” or “What does my
existence tell me about where I am in my life”
- To be free you must challenge your own existence
- Everyone’s life experiences are so different
- Take the person on a quest to change their perspective of the pain – the
pain will lessen the more you are aware of the pain
Boy and Pine (1983)
*Theory can’t hold up evidence…evidence must provide the support and the
foundation for all theory*
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Theories and Approaches to Counselling – Weekly Notes
**Lecture 1&2 are not part of the exam!! Only from lecture 3 onwards**
Assessment 1: Group assessment
- Doesn’t start until week 6/7
- Allocated in groups of 2 or 4 (presentation marked together)
- Written summary on your presentation - 1 page (marked individually)
Assessment 2: Essay
- Due week 8
- 2000 words
- Choose only one question/topic
- For every 100 words = 1 references, therefore, 20 references needed!!
- +/- 10% of word count
- Upload on Turnitin
- Referencing (APA): N-note website or ref notes
WEEK 3: Attributes of the Counsellor: Personal and Professional
- Personally integrated and self-aware
- Value the client as a unique person
- Understand how and what the client is experiencing
Qualities of an effective counsellor:
- Positive regard or respect for people
- Open, non-judgmental and high level of acceptance
- Caring and empathetic
- Self-aware and self-disciplined – very important
- Knowledge/informed about subject and awareness of resources available within
the community
Qualitied of an effective counsellor:
- Culturally sensitive - Must have deep conversation (eg. Race, gender, life) and
needs to be accepting of all walks of life
- Patient and a good listener
- Ability to maintain confidentiality
- Objective and having clarity – clear intentions
- Counsellors have to see/decide what the best solution is for the client without
causing harm
Effective counselling skills:
Active listening:
Paying attention: Eye contact, nodding etc.
Hearing before evaluating.
Listening for the whole message.
Paraphrasing what was heard.
Probe for causes and feelings.
Poor listening habits:
Not paying attention
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Theories and Approaches to Counselling – Weekly Notes
Assuming in advance that the subject is unimportant.
Mentally criticizing.
Permitting the speaker to be inaudible or incomplete.
Pretending to be attentive.
Hearing what is expected.
Feeling defensive.
Listening for a point of disagreement.
Rehearsing.
Effective Counselling Skills:
- Reflection feeling and meaning: recognising client’s feelings and letting them
know you have understood their feelings
- Questioning: asking open-ended questions which allow for more explaining.
Help the client to go deeper into their problems and gain insight. Making yourself
feel safe enough to ask them personal question (eg. What you said to me, how
does that make you feel)
- Paraphrasing: repeating in one’s own words what the client has said. Very
powerful tool in which you can choose what to paraphrase and tell the something
in a different way (eg. Emotions – “with just sitting with you, I can feel that you are
very upset today”). The counsellor has to have the courage to ask for clarification
(eg. “what do you mean” and without it, it can lead to miscommunication which is
a destructive tool
- Interpretation: giving back to the client the core issue that they are struggling
with
Therapeutic Relationship:
- The therapist/client relationship is central to therapeutic progress
- The personhood of the therapist is a key significant factor
➢ To the quality of the relationship
➢ A successful outcome
- The goa of a healthy relationship is rapport that leads to desired change
- Effectiveness is related to mutual respect
- Caring, respect and trust create safety for clients to share their deepest concerns
- Client willingness to act and achieve a positive outcome is based on his/her view
that the environment/relationship is safe
- Only take notes that are basic key points and facts (eg. Dates, age) – take notes
respectfully
- The counsellor needs to make the client feel like they understand what they are
going through, however, they don’t need to have gone through the same
experience to understand
The counselling relationship: Empathy vs Sympathy
- Empathy: fuels connections, recognising someone’s emotions and
communicating
1. Understand the client’s experience – can only be empathic if you are being
open to vulnerability
2. Emotionally resonate with client’s experience “as if” it was your own
- Two components:
➢ “Empathic rapport” – accurately sensing and being able to see the client’s
world the way they do
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Listening = listening and empathise (e. g. past experiences) Stop yourself from caring too much but not enough self care. Theory summarizes the information base on philosophy and draws conclusion. Theories provide guidelines that have been tested by experienced counselors. They may predict desirable or undesirable outcomes in given circumstances (gibson & mitchell, 2003). How can you relate to someone who comes from a different world to you? understanding societies, cultures, ethnicity, values etc. The more you know yourself, the better counsellor you will be. Being non-judgmental and acceptance of people before getting to know them and their story. Good body language and eye contact making a comfortable environment and being open. Listen to listen and not listen to respond. Counselling is the way of empowering someone in a different way rather than advice giving and rescuing them from a situation. Counselling personal, focus on someone"s personal life and their experiences, more humanistic approach.
