COU101 Theories of Counselling Assignment Sample

• Subject Code : COU101
• University : University of Sunshine Coast My Assignment Services is not sponsored or endorsed by this college or university.
• Subject Name : Counselling

From Freud to Integrative Practice

Introduction to Counselling 

Counselling is a way of providing guidance to a individual on social or personal issues, especially private ones, and the process of supporting and guiding clients, in particular by a qualified person on a clinical basis, to solve specifically financial, social, or mental health problems and difficulties.

One hopes that by the end of this process one will be more satisfied with his or her life (Quigley et al., 2019). A scheduled, organized conversation between a counsellor and a client is the counselling phase. It is a cooperative method in which a qualified specialist assists a person called the client recognize the causes of problems or issues he or she encounters. Counselling is intended to help people meet their personal goals and gain more understanding into their lives. Theory of counselling supports therapy by acting as a path map (Newby et al., 2016). Counsellors can depend on theories to provide guidance and help assure they are efficient with customers. Theory also supports more seasoned counsellors by promoting their self- and external information integration. In this essay the historical origins and evolution of the Cognitive behaviour theory and family systems therapy in context with the case study will be discussed in context with the case study XYZ in which the client struggles with intimidating the inappropriate behaviour towards friends and colleagues (Schwartz & Goldsmith, 2017). The individual has been a very emotional and introverted person but he has suffered from unexplained negative actions since his father's demise. It will also determine the relation and contrast between these two theories. Finally the prediction of future outcomes will be decided.

Cognitive behavioural therapy has been used for behavioural illnesses since the early 1900's. Skinner, Pavlov and Watson have been early supporters of behavioural therapies. Behaviourism is founded on the belief that it is possible to assess, prepare, and even alter habits. It notes that our actions are influenced by our reactions to environmental stimuli (Simon et al., 2019). The first surge of behavioural therapy arose around in the 1940s in reaction to the emotional changes experienced by the many wartime WWII veterans, while Bowen developed the theory of family structures in the late 1960s following years of study into the family dynamics of people and the experiences of the own blood family. The emergence of family therapy started with the Palo Alto Project (1952), where schizophrenia study (1940s-1950s) evolved in an effort to create a link between family life and schizophrenia develop (Montero-Marin et al., 2018).

In cognitive behavioural therapy counsellors do not instruct their clients what to do, rather they are look for client abilities and use them to show the clients how to do it. CBT's educational focus has an additional advantage because it contributes to long-term success. Once people know how they do well, and why they do well, they know what to do to keep doing well. CBT therapists assert that it is not the condition or situation of a person (necessarily) that has a negative effect on his or her life, but rather the manner in which the patient perceives and reacts to the situation while in family system therapy, the therapeutic relationship is central to the therapist's and clients' interaction in the counselling process (Merriman & Joseph, 2018). This helps strengthen contact with families, addresses family issues, acknowledges and treats specific family circumstances (e.g. death, severe physical or mental illness, or difficulties with children and adolescents), and provides a more working home atmosphere.

Ethical concerns to be discussed in the context of the XYZ case study with cognitive behavioural theory are the collection of rich and multifaceted data streams on human behaviour, perception, and emotion, which ideally represent the particular temperament, physical structure, and mentality of the participants. Counsellor should ensure that the data is gathered in a way that will guarantee the dignity, rights and wellbeing of the participants of the study at all times (Lucero et al., 2018). When these dual responsibilities intersect, for example, as possible benefits of study are weighted against their potential damage to participants, counsellor faced an ethical dilemma, while the ethical concerns of family system counselling are that maintaining boundaries as the most popular ethical problem encountered by mental health practitioners is holding limits (Lester, 2017). When it comes to liability, care is determined, ethical issues of duty to clients, non-maliciousness (do no harm), profit (benefiting the client), fairness (treating others fairly), loyalty (honouring promises to clients), and truthfulness (truthfulness), all intersect with counselling.

One specific form of talk therapy (psychotherapy) is cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). I will work with the client in a structured manner, attending a small number of meetings, to assist the client from case study XYZ. It will help the client become mindful of incorrect or negative thoughts so that he can more easily understand and react to difficult circumstances in a more successful manner (Karamoy et al., 2018). The central concept behind CBT is that the habits of thought of the client influence his feelings, which can in effect influence his behaviour. Cognitive rehabilitation or reframing includes the strategies which would be used to assist the client from case study XYZ. It means taking a close look at the dynamics of pessimistic thought (Knight et al., 2019). The client will be asked about his thought process, so he can recognise negative trends. He will learn how to reframe certain feelings once he is aware of them, so that he becomes more optimistic and successful. The other approach is Guided exploration. I will be familiarizing myself with the client's point of view in driven exploration. Instead I will ask questions that are meant to challenge the assumptions of the client and expand his thought (Janse et al., 2017).

I will ask the customer to provide evidence which supports his claims, as well as evidence which does not. Through the process, customer can learn to see things from other perspectives, especially those he may not have considered before. That can enable him to choose a more useful course. Whereas family counselling includes initiating interactions that serve as catalysts to reinforce and enhance current family and/or loved ones relationships. I must adapt the methodology of Systemic Therapy to assist the client in case study XYZ. According to this technique I will apply five specific principles. I will concentrate on people-to-people experiences rather than individual psyches. I will build identity matrix based on in-family interactions. The family arrangement will be carried out depending on the social experiences (Hubena & Mulcahy, 2019). I will evaluate the family that works well, based on how the client reacts and grows according to the needs of the family. Also I will help the client outgrow constraining growth patterns and evolve with the family as a stronger entity. The other family-system counselling approach would be Strategic Therapy. This is a concept that has developed from a large number of studies in different psychotherapies. Strategic therapy should have five separate sections including a brief social stage, question stage, interactional stage, goal-setting stage and task-setting stage.

I will undergo short-term counselling in cognitive behavioural analysis ranging from around five to 20 sessions. Also, I'll speak to the client about how many sessions could be appropriate for him (Edwards, 2018). Whereas the number of sessions in systematic family counselling can depend on the case, but the typical sessions are 5-20. Around the same time, I'll consult with other family members.

Cognitive behavioural theory is the theory which best fits the client. The client struggles with undermining the violent behaviour towards friends and colleagues. The client has been a very compassionate and introvert person yet he has struggled from persistent negative behaviour since his father's death. He has problems with authorities over a lawsuit against him. He had a traumatic upbringing, and became a man withdrawn emotionally. Therefore, cognitive behavioural therapy would be better suited to him because it explains how circumstances affect people's interpretations of, or random thoughts about, their mental, behavioural (and sometimes physiological) reactions (Dey & Kumar, 2020). It would be successful for a number of issues including depression, anxiety disorders, family problems, and serious mental and behavioural illness.

Conclusion on Theories of Counselling

The conclusion is the therapy that helps people reach their personal goals and gain insight into their lives. The client hopes he'll be more happy with his or her life by the end of this cycle. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a speech therapy that can help you solve your problems by modifying your thought and actions. This is most widely used to combat anxiety and depression but can be useful for other issues in mental and physical health. Systemic family therapy is an approach which is significantly different from other treatments to support people with psychological problems. It describes its research as helping people harness the resources of their relationships to unwanted or less troublesome upsetting symptoms.

References for Theories of Counselling

Dey, A. M., & Kumar, A. (2020). Physical framework for a counselling environment in India: Thematic analysis of counsellors' perceptions. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 20(2), 336-345.

Edwards, J. (2018). The extant rationale for mandated therapy during psychotherapy and counselling training: a critical interpretive synthesis. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 46(5), 515-530.

Hubena, B., & Mulcahy, J. (2019). Inter-professional learning: initial observations of the art psychotherapy tools used in the post-qualifying postgraduate training in counselling children and young people. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 1-10.

Janse, P. D., De Jong, K., Van Dijk, M. K., Hutschemaekers, G. J., & Verbraak, M. J. (2017). Improving the efficiency of cognitive-behavioural therapy by using formal client feedback. Psychotherapy Research, 27(5), 525-538.

Knight, A., Esmiol Wilson, E., Ward, D., & Nice, L. (2019). Examining religious disaffiliation through a family systems lens: Implications for treatment. Journal of Couple & Relationship Therapy, 18(2), 170-187.

Karamoy, Y. K., Wibowo, M. E., & Jafar, M. (2018). The Implementation of Self-Instruction and Reframing Group Counselling Techniques to Improve Students' Self-Confidence. Jurnal Bimbingan Konseling, 7(1), 1-6.

Lester, R. J. (2017). Self‐governance, psychotherapy, and the subject of managed care: Internal Family Systems therapy and the multiple self in a US eating‐disorders treatment center. American Ethnologist, 44(1), 23-35.

Lucero, R., Jones, A. C., & Hunsaker, J. C. (2018). Using internal family systems theory in the treatment of combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and their families. Contemporary Family Therapy, 40(3), 266-275.

Merriman, O., & Joseph, S. (2018). Therapeutic implications of counselling psychologists’ responses to client trauma: An interpretative phenomenological analysis. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 31(1), 117-136.

Montero-Marin, J., Garcia-Campayo, J., López-Montoyo, A., Zabaleta-del-Olmo, E., & Cuijpers, P. (2018). Is cognitive–behavioural therapy more effective than relaxation therapy in the treatment of anxiety disorders? A meta-analysis. Psychological medicine, 48(9), 1427-1436.

Newby, J. M., Twomey, C., Li, S. S. Y., & Andrews, G. (2016). Transdiagnostic computerised cognitive behavioural therapy for depression and anxiety: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 199, 30-41.

Quigley, L., Dozois, D. J., Bagby, R. M., Lobo, D. S., Ravindran, L., & Quilty, L. C. (2019). Cognitive change in cognitive-behavioural therapy v. Pharmacotherapy for adult depression: A longitudinal mediation analysis. Psychological medicine, 49(15), 2626-2634.

Simon, N., McGillivray, L., Roberts, N. P., Barawi, K., Lewis, C. E., & Bisson, J. I. (2019). Acceptability of internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy (i-CBT) for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): a systematic review. European journal of psychotraumatology, 10(1), 1646092.

Schwartz, R., & Goldsmith, J. (2017). Internal Family Systems in Family Therapy. In Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy (pp. 1-7). Springer, Cham.

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