Counseling has in the recent years become one of the main branches of psychology that deal with research and application of various techniques that involves direct interaction with different individuals exhibiting different psychological characteristics. This branch of psychology deals with guidance in various categories of life which may range from educational guidance or career advice to interaction with individuals experiencing plunges in their emotional and psychological attributes. Life has proven to be quite unpredictable, and it sometimes leaves some individuals so emotionally and psychologically unstable that without any guidance, they may end up in ruin. It is where psychologist and counselors step in to bridge that gap. They employ different techniques that work to assist these individual regain their sanity and emotional stability. There are various theories formulated that suggest the approach be adopted to rescue people from an emotional breakdown. These theories differ and their effectiveness varies from one person to another. The main theories to be discussed in this paper include; Humanistic approach, cognitive behavioral therapy, solution focused approach and psychoanalysis.
A humanistic approach to counseling involves guiding clients towards achieving their best potential. It disregards all the negative aspects of that person and focuses on his strengths. This theory works towards self-development and self-actualization. The general objective of this approach is the strengths and positive attributes in the individual’s life, and therapists work towards enhancing that. This type of therapy does not dwell on past negative events rather it works towards creating a whole new set of memories that are filled with positive achievements of the person. This way the person develops himself or herself. The approach was first formulated by Carl Rogers in the 1950s. He believed in techniques that would lead to development processes that were healthy and artistic personalities functioning. Rogers formulated this theory under the assumption that human beings are specialists of their selves and have the critical resources of self-awareness and development. (Rogers, 2003) Therapists interact with the patients and listen to them without giving an opinion and let the client realize on their own what their strengths are. Here the therapy is client centered, and the therapist provides a warm environment that makes the client comfortable. The therapist’s duty is to build rapport with the client in a manner that makes them comfortable so that they open up to the therapists in the process gaining insight into their capabilities. The main concepts of this theory include transparency, empathy, and unconditional positive regard.
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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is another widely used counseling technique. The theory uses a direct problem-solving approach. Therapists focus on the problem at hand and guide the client towards gaining techniques that would help cope with the problem faced. The method is mainly used to treat cases of mental disorders such as depression or anxiety. This approach was developed in the 1960s by Aaron Beck. Aaron discovered that his clients often had personal dialogues that influenced their actions, behaviors, and characters. He the deduced that changing how these consumers viewed or told themselves would lead to outward changes in behavior and character. This approach, therefore, focuses on the personal feelings, thoughts, beliefs and attitudes held by these individuals. The therapists, in this case, guide the patients towards changing their attitudes towards situations in their lives which would lead to emotional stability and positive behavioral changes. In this type of therapy, the therapists address the current problem faced by the client and guide them to change their general outlook of the problem. This theory is similar to the Humanistic approach in that they both do not dwell on the past event but work with the current situation. The two methods also aimed at a positive change in the client’s behavior and assist them in realizing positive strategies that will help them deal with life better. Despite the similarities, the two theories vary in some ways. While Cognitive Behavioral Therapy focuses on the current problems and techniques to adopt to deal with the situation, the Humanistic approach focuses strictly on self-awareness and self-actualization to developing them (Rogers, 2003). CBT involves direct guidance by the therapist to come up with techniques to overcome the challenges while the Humanistic approach involves self-realization by the client. The therapist’s role is to listen while the client discovers himself or herself.
Another approach that yields an excellent result in the counseling is the solution focused approach. As the name suggests, the method focuses on the solution rather the problem. The approach involves identifying what the cause of the problem is and focuses the majority of the time in coming up with the most efficient solution to that challenge. Mental professionals such as Steve de Shazer and other team members of the Brief Family Therapy center in Wisconsin realized that people waste too much time discussing the problem rather than the solution. They then came up with this approach to yield better results (Nathan, 2002). This approach involves subjecting the client to a set of questions that help determine and understand the client’s behavior and reaction to certain events. The theory focuses on the present and future while using the past to decipher the customer’s concerns. This approach concentrates on the client's goals and works towards achieving them. The therapists here use a lot of compliments and question to understand their client fully. They therapists focused on periods when the client’s life had a positive influence, try to relive and create awareness in the client about this period. This knowledge raises the confidence of the client who then works harder to achieve more positive things. This approach is similar to the Humanistic approach in that they both aim at creating self-confidence in the client to improve their lives. The therapists avoid judgmental statements and help the client realize their potential to achieve greatness. The two theories differ as well in that while Humanistic approach involves active listening by the therapist while the customer self-discovery himself or herself, solution focused theory requires a little assistance to self-awareness by the therapist. The client here is a help to remember times when they achieved positive thing through a series of questions and guided towards relieving such moments. Solution focused therapy also looks into the past of the client while Humanistic approach does not.
The final plan under discussion is the psychoanalysis theory which involves the unraveling of what is hidden in the subconscious to find the root causes of particular problems or reactions from the client. The theory was fully developed in the 1890s by a neurologist, Sigmund Freud in Vienna (Stengel, 1953). Freud believed that the unconscious mind is a part of human mind that we are unaware of but is evident in a person’s behavior. This approach involves revealing what is in the subconscious by voicing what comes to mind without suppression. It includes a recreation of childhood memories that were repressed. It helps the therapist to understand the client’s current behavior. Therapists believe that recalling such memories would shed light on the causes of certain mental disorders such as depression. This form of therapy requires numerous sessions with the client and could take from weeks to years. This kind of therapy aims at making permanent deep sited transformations for the customer’s character and personality. Psychoanalysis differs from all other theories of counseling especially the Humanistic approach. The Humanistic approach focuses on the present and the client’s goals as well as who they desire to become, but psychoanalysis focuses on the clients past and the childhood memories of that individual. Therapists use that information to create more permanent changes to the customer’s character. The humanistic approach also takes a short time as compared to psychoanalysis which may take up to years to achieve the necessary results. Nevertheless, the two counseling theories are similar in that they both involve active listening by the therapist as the client voices out memories and thoughts playing out in his head.
Counseling has evolved over time, and this is evident by the number of theories founded to enable effectiveness in the psychological therapy processes. The principles discussed were founded in different time periods to achieve better results during therapy sessions. They differ in one way or another but all aimed at improving the mental state of the clients. Depending on the problem and nature of mental disorder, the therapist may select any of the theories discussed to achieve the best results with the patient. The theories ensure that the clients feel comfortable and are provided with a solution to counter the problem at hand (Davies, 2012). One cannot determine which approach is better that the other as the strategies work differently for different clients. For instance, some customers may be comfortable to undertake psychoanalysis while other may not be open to the idea at all. It is the therapist’s essential task to identify the approach that best fit the client to make progress with his/ her client.
References
Davies, N (2012). Theoretical Approaches to Counseling: CBT, Person-Centred, and Psychodynamic. Health Psychology Consultancy journal
Nathan, P (2002). A Guide to Treatments that Work . New York: Oxford University Press.
Rogers, C. R. (2003). Client-centered therapy: Its current practice, implications and theory . London: Constable.
Stengel E (1953). Sigmund Freud on Aphasia , New York: International Universities Press
