Psychotherapy and counseling are effective strategies that help to improve the creativity of clients. This paper will reflect on the notion of psychotherapy and counseling, including its stages, ethical standards, working alliance, interpersonal, client's resistance, and internal focus.
1. Stages of psychotherapy and ethical standard
The first stage of psychotherapy involves establishing a positive relationship between clients and therapists. Creating a relationship during the initial phase is crucial and will help clarify the defined goals expected during the process. Adlerian therapists emphasize using this approach, where the client becomes the initial focus rather than the problem. During this process, the counselors help individuals understand their strengths and assets and pay less attention to their liabilities and deficits. The second stage involves assessing a client's psychological dynamics. During this stage, the therapist focuses on having a more profound understanding concerning the client's identity and information that will point out the history of their problems ( Yalom, 1995). Thirdly, Adlerian therapists focus on encouraging the client's self-understanding and awareness. This phase requires the counselor to use interpretation techniques to tackle an individual's underlying issues. The final stage is action-oriented and referred to as reorientation and reeducation. It is during this stage that the client will be able to realize new and working perspectives. Ultimately, they can decide to change their style of life-based on the gained insights from therapy.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
On the other hand, professional counselors have a significant duty to uphold the public trust and apply ethical standards and laws in their counseling practice. During the initial counseling session, they should provide their clients with information concerning making informed consent. This information should be based on the procedures, goals, purposes, limitations, benefits, and potential risks of therapy services. Also, clear information needed to make informed decisions should be made available to the client. The client must become empowered and allowed to make autonomous decisions. Besides, this education should begin at the initial session and continues throughout the process.
On the other hand, client-informed consent, either orally, written, or both, will help the client achieve maximum benefit from the therapeutic process. As a result, this process helps to create a trusting relationship. Besides, professional relations must ensure that clients are never exploited or harmed during the therapeutic process.
Additionally, therapists should maintain confidentiality by protecting clients' information. Confidentiality is a crucial aspect that helps develop trust and increase the client and the therapist's relationship. In situations where a breach of privacy is inevitable, therapists must consider the law requirements, institutions, and clients.
2. Working alliance
Developing a good therapeutic relationship between the client and therapist is a useful tool for achieving a positive change in clients' lives. Both parties aim to achieve the same goal for the patient to improve and benefit from the therapeutic process's significant differences. A good therapeutic relationship is nonjudgmental, and the client becomes comfortable to open up to the therapist. In working collaboratively, therapists should detect obstacles through nonverbal techniques aided by their credibility, experiences, and success.
3. Interpersonal
Current psychotherapies emphasize the utilization of the principle of interpersonal to treat mental disorders. According to Sullivan, mental disorders are likely to result from the interpersonal process. These interpersonal distortions may be self-perpetuating and can lead to the development of behaviors and mannerisms. However, interpersonal distortions can be modified through the most significant concept in group therapy known as consensual validation treatment to address interpersonal issues. Psychiatric treatment focuses on the correction of those interpersonal distortions to enable a client to attain a more abundant life characterized by collaboration with other people. On the other hand, mental health is achieved when an individual becomes aware of their interpersonal relationships. Besides, improving interpersonal communication is a crucial aspect of psychotherapy intervention to address antisocial behaviors ( Taylor, 2020) .
4. Helping Clients resistance
Client reluctance and resistance is an obstacle to therapy progress and change. During the free association, the client may repress their feelings and impulses by unwillingly refusing to participate fully in the process. It mainly occurs when the client may prefer to cling to familiar patterns and disagree with the changing process's approaches. As a result, this can lead to premature termination of the psychotherapy. Therefore, therapists should create a safe environment where the client can freely express themselves, and any resistance recognized dealt with ( Corey, 2015) .
5. Internal focus
Internal focus involves approaching a situation or challenge using internal activities likely to lead to positive change and successfully resolve a problem. Focusing allows individuals to access their more in-depth levels of self-guidance, wisdom, and self-awareness. Focusing strategies have been successful in counseling and psychotherapy, especially when incorporated with other therapeutic approaches to improve effectiveness. This process is necessary for effective interactional groups. During process focus, individuals can express their emotions, confess, help others, provide advice, and discover similarities between themselves and others. For this reason, therapists have a crucial task to make clients understand their experiences and their nature of interactions with others.
Finally, psychotherapy and counseling entail establishing a positive relationship between the client and therapist. Creating a relationship will lead to a deeper understanding of the client and help identify the underlying issues. Therapists must provide their clients with information concerning making informed consent. Empowerment of the client will allow them to make autonomous decisions. However, the therapist must consider the legal and ethical responsibility in their counseling practice.
References
Corey, G. (2015). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy . Nelson Education.
Taylor, D. (2020). Reflective practice in the art and science of counselling: a scoping review. Psychotherapy and Counselling Journal of Australia , 8 (1).
Yalom, I. D. (1995). The theory and practice of group psychotherapy . Basic books (AZ).
