counseling psychology -areas of counseling

areas of counseling, individual counseling,
goals of psychotherapy, marriage counseling,

1. Counseling psychology AREAS OF COUNSELING

2. The term “counseling” was coined by C arl R ogers Individual counseling Individual counseling is the personal opportunity to receive support and experience growth during challenging times in life.

3. Individual counseling can help one deal with many personal topics in life such as Anger Depression Anxiety Substance abuse Marriage Relationship challenges Parental problems School difficulties Career changes. Individual counseling (sometimes called as psychotherapy, talk therapy, or treatment) is a process through which clients work one – on- one with a trained mental health clinician in a safe, caring, and confidential environment.

4. Counseling allows individuals to explore their feelings, beliefs, and behaviors, work through challenging or influential memories, identify aspects of their lives that they would like to change, better understand themselves and others, set personal goals, and work toward desired change. It is a counseling focused on the individual’s immediate or near future concerns. It may encompass career counseling and planning, grief after a loved one dies or dealing with big problem. It is a one – on – one discussion between the counselor and the client, who is person seeking treatment. The two form an alliance, relationship or bond that enables trust and personal growth.

5. Goal of psychotherapy To talk through mental health concerns and help clients heal, grow and move toward more productive, psychologically healthy lives. Good therapy is a client driven, and specific goals for therapy will be determined by counselee and therapist

6. Duration Individual psychotherapy sessions typically last between 45 and 50 minutes. The frequency and duration of therapy will depend largely on one’s needs, treatment, goals and process. Many concerns are readily resolved with short term- therapy and other chronic or more complex concerns require long – term commitment before improvement is realized.

7. Benefits of individual counseling 1. Self awareness Counselors often encourage individuals to reflect and delve into their experiences. The mindfulness activities which are given by Counselors widely used to increase an individual’s ability to be present in the here and now. The mindfulness activities often urge individuals to consider the thoughts, feelings and sensations occurring in the session. This type of practice leads to self awareness of the human experience.

8. 2. Self - exploration Counseling also allows individuals to embark on a journey of self- exploration. Identifying boundaries Many individuals seek counseling for issues related to their relationships and social skills. More often than not, issues arise from the lack of boundaries. In order to communicate boundaries, an individual must first seek to identify and to become aware of them. The role of the counselor is to provide insights into the needs and preference of an individual.

9. 3. Communication skills Counseling tend to improve communication skills, such as those Pertaining to assertiveness, Emotional intelligence, Empathy, Active listening, Confidence and Respect.

10. 4.Healthy coping skills Most importantly, individuals gain valuable coping skills throughout the counseling process. Some of the therapies such as Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) are used

11. Group counseling was first introduced by Joseph He rsey P ratt Group counseling Group counseling is counseling with multiple individuals facing a similar concern.

12. The strength in group counseling is that if you have 3, 5 or 10 people together all facing the same or similar issues, then they can work together. Group counseling is common for those who suffer from addiction and mental health disorders. The individuals in the group act as a source of insight and support while reinforcing the idea that each individual is not only one experiencing these problems.

13. Benefits of group counseling Clients learn from each other. Clients can practice new interpersonal skills in group. Clients hear the range of perspectives from the group members. Clients learn problem solving techniques. Through giving and receiving feedback, clients give and receive peer support. Clients can come out of their isolation. Clients have an opportunity for validation.

14. Marital counseling or couple counseling Marital counseling It is also known as couple therapy or relationship counseling, is a kind of psychotherapy that enhances relationship skills through conflict resolution between the couple. The kind of marital therapy can help both the partners can learn to connect more emotionally and deeply by talking to a marriage psychologist or counselor which can be helpful

15. Objectives of marital counseling To improve relationships and bring back the sense of commitment that was lost along the way in the marriage journey. Marriage is bliss, but it can also be turbulent by events that can challenge the commitment of a partner to the other. Importance of marital counseling As couples move through the various experiences and stages of life’s challenges, there are number of conflicts occurring. Some may seems to be minor while others can drive the couple apart leading to divorce. When married couples are not good terms, children receive the stress of the dispute.

16. Couples seeking marital therapy may be confronting with below mentioned issues as well Communication issues Sexual problems Financial problems Substance abuse problems Parenting challenges Infidelity Anger management Divorce

17. Work of marital counseling Marital relationship counseling includes sessions that involve both the partners or even individually The session will have the combination of different tasks. During the first session, the therapist or a marriage counselor sets the couple at ease and make them feel comfortable to have safety talk about the issues that may be personal to discuss.

18. Family counseling or family therapy It ’ s a type of psychotherapy designed to identify family patterns that contribute to a mental disorder or mental illnesses and help family members break those habits.

19. Family therapy involves discussion and session problem solving sessions with the family. Some of these sessions may be as a group, in couples, or one on one. In family therapy the web of interpersonal relationship is examined and, ideally communication is strengthened within the family.

20. Role of family counselor A family counselor is a neutral or an objective individual whose main role present in the family counseling session help undo the troubled relations of the family. They help members of the family to communicate effectively to understand other family member ’ s perspective and to bridge the gap of difference between the family members.

21. Objectives Having a healthy discussion on issues troubling the family. Diagnosing the mental and/ or emotional issues. Findings effective treatment strategies to alleviate the client ’ s family ’ s.

22. Reference www.kaleidoscopecounselinngpllc.com www.minndtalk.in www.acacsac.org www.csuci.edu