phew! had all week to do my RCC2 outcome 1 and i just sent it 1 - TopicsExpress

phew! had all week to do my RCC2 outcome 1 and i just sent it 1 whole day before deadline. eejit! its not like u really relax when u procrastinate. i have until thursday to get PACSS outcome 1 completed. have a bash tonight or leave it and actually sleep tonight? decisions decisions. i usually write it then leave it over night to proof read it with fresh eyes but i just didnt allow myself enough time this time. here its is for anyone interested on classmate struggling :D : Advanced empathy is looking for deeper meaning in both explicit and covert communications from the client. Sometimes these hidden messages are messages that the client themselves are barely aware. What is the client hinting at or only half saying? This technique highlights for the client unused opportunities and resources for future use. We use this perceptiveness to highlight themes in feelings, behaviours and experiences for the client encouraging them to look at the repeating consequences of maintaining their current mode of participation in their thoughts and actions. Enthusiasm levels can be reflected to show the client’s commitment to the issues discussed. Advanced empathy allows for a clarification of the issues presented giving the client a deeper awareness. It also allows for connections that are missing for the client to be joined up to see the bigger picture. The counsellor can make educated hunches based on the empathetic understanding. Advanced empathy can change perspective so the problem can be seen in the context of the broader picture. Indirect meaning or an implication can be interpreted e.g. a sense of being let down can be a sign of a deeper un-sensed feeling of betrayal. Direct logical conclusions can be drawn from the larger picture. Client hints can be drawn into focus and explored. Something overlooked by the client, a blind spot, can have light shed on it. Recurring themes weeded out and dealt with: how they can they break that cycle? Ownership of behaviours, feelings, points of view, experiences and decisions can be moved from partial ownership to full ownership. This skill is derived from social competence and emotional intelligence. This is based entirely on the client and not from drawn inferences from the counsellor or theory. This skill is used in stages 1 and 2. Information sharing can be used at any step or stage. It can show in stage 1 that the client is not alone in facing the issue, stage 2 to identify or clarify possible goals or stage 3 to show how to cope or persevere. Information sharing is about giving information and correcting misinformation. This act is both comforting and supportive. It shows the client new perspectives. Particularly when the information is shocking we must be tactful. The information must be clear and relevant. We must help the client process the information. We must be careful not to muddy the waters with advice as the client must remain autonomous and it may also confuse the issue at hand. The second of the challenging skills I will detail is ‘Suggestions and recommendation’. This follows the values of respect and empowerment. As such there are 3 imperatives to be followed: ‘Don’t tell the client what to do. Don’t try to take over their lives. Let clients make their own decisions’ (Gerard Egan, The Skilled Helper, 7th Edition, pg 214). There is always a line to walk for the helper between the will to help and the need to respect the client’s freedoms. The offer of these suggestions and recommendation can give the client a place to start from for their own tailored approach to their problem. Timing, client trust levels and flexibility are key to the effectiveness of this challenging skill. The third challenging skill is ‘Confrontation’. This skill challenges reluctance and resistance when the client won’t or can’t accept change but persists in the helping relationship rather than switching off service altogether. The objective of confrontation being to develop new perspectives for internal and external behaviours in the client. The counsellor “make a case”(Gerard Egan, The Skilled Helper, 7th Edition, pg 215) for effective alternatives to the current model, over a strategy that is holding the client back, while being careful not to create ultimatums. This new model being backed up by showing the consequences of resisting change. This is a skill to be used only sparingly. Can be used from stage 1 to stage 3. A fourth challenging skill is ‘Encouragement’. This is the skill of motivational interviewing where we look at focusing on intrinsic rather than extrinsic motivations values in the focus of this technique include respect, self-healing, self-empowerment and empathy. This approach was originally used in treating addiction but unfolded to help with many human problems out with addiction. The theme of personal responsibility is looked at and advice offered all in an encouraging rather than confrontational style. The client is encouraged to find their own motives and change methods that fit best for themselves. This method can be used at all stages of the helping process. The process is never patronising or sympathising but respects the self healing autonomy of the client. Immediacy is where we examine the client’s interpersonal style: “monitoring and managing the working alliance” (Gerard Egan, The Skilled Helper, 7th Edition, pg 209). It is you-me now oriented style of communication dealing with the here and now of what is going on between us. There are 3 types of immediacy: Overall relationship immediacy: This is where we look at how the relationship as a whole in context to the issues presenting. It can be unidirectional – originating from either client or from the counsellor. The instigator tells of their personal experience of the relationship to verify their subjective experience and take any road blocks to that relationship head on. This can also be useful to see why the relationship between counsellor and client works where other relationship do not. What is missing from the working relationship to the dysfunctional one? The client and the counsellor must be open, not defensive, to this type of challenging. E.g. ‘We seem to have developed a good relationship here. I feel we respect each other. I have been able to make demands on you, and you have made demands on me. There has been a great deal of give-and-take in our relationship. You’ve gotten angry with me and I’ve gotten impatient with you at times, but we’ve worked it out. I’m wondering what our relationship has that is missing in your relationship with your supervisor’ (Gerard Egan, The Skilled Helper, 7th Edition, pg 210) Event-focused Immediacy: This is where an singular event rather than the relationship as a whole is focused on. An example might be if a client is tense and the counsellor notes a change in the body language and engages the client on this interpreted emotion to get deeper meaning and promote a dialogue about this issue. Self-involving Immediacy: This it used to allay client anxieties. This is where we talk about how we, as the counsellor, feel about the dynamic of the relationship. It can be to confirm positive attributes the client brings to the sessions or to flag obstacles in the relationship freeing us to an open honest discourse without unspoken agendas. This can be helpful moving forward when there is a feeling of a block in the dynamic of the relationship that can be focused on and openly addressed to make moving forward easier for both parties. Immediacy is used is situation in the relationship where a lack of direction, interpersonal tension, schisms caused by client/counsellor diversity, dependency, counter dependency or attraction are impeding the counselling relationship. This is a great learning opportunity for the client. Immediacy is used throughout the 3 stage model. Self-Disclosure it is argued is unavoidable. Indirectly our movement, sound, emotional response and words reveal much about ourselves. This is called indirect self-disclosure. The flip side, direct self-disclosure, has a dichotomy of potentially frightening, burdening or in the eyes of the client discrediting the counsellor versus making the counsellor more relatable and showing honesty. This direct disclosure is a way of modelling to the client. It says”you can talk here without being judged and hurt” (Gerard Egan, The Skilled Helper, 7th Edition, pg 207). This direct disclosure is usually positive and encouraging. It is seen as a positive move to include in the client contract that the counsellor with from time to time self disclose so that when it happens it’s not a shock to the client. The disclosure should never be self indulgent only appropriate, concise with selection and focus on the client. It will be at appropriate times, infrequent, not overly burdening ( a trust must first be built up) and most of all it must be used flexibly. Diverse client groups mean that it will be more or less relevant to the individual client. Word count: 1394