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Counselling Theory & Process

Albert Ellis, Rational and Irrational Beliefs

Albert Ellis was born in Pittsburg (1913). He spent most of his life in New York. A natural counsellor, Ellis studied psychoanalysis and was supervised by a training analyst. Ellis, however, grew increasingly frustrated by psychoanalysis which he concluded was unscientific and superficial (Corey, 2005). In the early 1950s, Ellis experimented with other treatment frameworks, […]

How Can Clients Become More Assertive?

It is beneficial for clients who are struggling with passive or aggressive communication to be encouraged by counsellors to become more assertive. In this post we outline a step-by-step process to teach clients assertiveness skills. Step one: Assessment of current communication style The first step in teaching a client to become more assertive is for […]

Behavioural Techniques in Counselling

Techniques in behavioural therapies apply the learning principles to change maladaptive behaviours (Weiten, 2007). The techniques do not focus on clients achieving insights into their behaviour; rather the focus is just on changing the behaviour. For example, if a behavioural therapist is working with a client that has an alcohol problem, the behavioural therapist will […]

Intervention in Case Planning

Counsellors are often directly involved in the intervention phase of case planning. A counsellor may in fact be a service provider that a case manager utilises as part of their case plan. This post, however, is not focused on direct, personal interventions (although that is generally the core work of the counsellor), it is focused […]

Evaluation and Feedback in Supervision

There are two fundamental evaluation dilemmas for the clinical supervisor. Firstly, as a therapist, the clinical supervisor has highly developed skills in providing a non-judgemental, non-directive, and supportive environment for their clients. The supervisory relationship, however, is based on evaluation and direction – something that can feel uncomfortable for the skilled therapist. Additionally, as an […]

Solution-focused Technique: Presupposing Change

When clients are focused on changing the negative aspects (or problems) in their lives, positive changes can often be overlooked, minimised or discounted due to the ongoing presence of the problem. The solution focused approach challenges counsellors to be attentive to positive changes (however small) that occur in their clients’ lives. Questions that presuppose change […]

Developing Respect for the Counselling Client

If not the most important feature of professional counselling, “respect for the client” is definitely high up on the priority list. Geldard and Geldard (2005) explain that regardless of who the client is, and regardless of their behaviour, the client has come to the counsellor for assistance and deserves to be treated as a person […]

Eleven Ways to Become a Better Counsellor

What can counsellors do to become better professionals, and ultimately help improve the quality of life of their clients? In this post, we explore 11 ways – both direct and indirect – that counsellors can boost their practical skills and expertise. #1 Work on Your Microskills Counselling Microskills include Focusing, Encouragers, Paraphrasing and Summarising, Questioning, […]

Dealing Effectively with Loneliness

Loneliness is such a subjective concept and what really is important here is the degree to which loneliness is affecting one’s life and/or a family’s life where relevant. What age is the person, because life goals and needs are often quite different for different age groups and for people with different priorities at different stages […]

Individual Supervision

Supervision generally fall into two main types: structured and unstructured. Structured supervision interventions are supervisor-directed and resemble those of a training session. Unstructured supervision can be either supervisor or supervisee directed and can be more difficult to implement as the supervisor has to facilitate learning without actually directing the session. Both structured and unstructured supervision are beneficial […]

Counselling Microskills: Focusing

Focusing enables a counsellor to direct client’s conversational flow into certain areas. It is a microskill that is relevant to all stages of a counselling interview. This skill however should be used sparingly. Example: After noticing that a client has mentioned very little about his family, the counsellor, (believing the family is relevant) directs the […]

Encouragers, Paraphrasing and Summarising

A counsellor can encourage a client to continue to talk, open up more freely and explore issues in greater depth by providing accurate responses through encouraging, paraphrasing and summarising. Responding in this way informs the client that the counsellor has accurately heard what they have been saying. Encouragers, paraphrases and summaries are basic to helping […]

Counselling Microskills: Questioning

Questions during the counselling session can help to open up new areas for discussion. They can assist to pinpoint an issue and they can assist to clarify information that at first may seem ambiguous to the counsellor. Questions that invite clients to think or recall information can aid in a client’s journey of self-exploration. Counsellors […]