The writer of this paper will be exploring her personal model of therapy. The writer will delve into why she chose her particular model of therapy, her view of helping, the relationship between the client and clinician, the kinds of problems that can be addressed with this particular model, multicultural issues, limitations, and populations that can be served using her therapy model.
After reading many of the therapy theories and different approaches the writer found the person-centered positive approach most appealing. This method attracted the writer because of the empowering energy this therapy offers clients. “Unlike the Freudian approach, person-centered therapy views people as basically good and trustworthy. Rogers emphasized an inherent tendency of people to grow and move in healthy directions, to develop their capacities to the fullest” (Parrott III, 2003, p. 178). Another reason the writer chose a person centered therapy with a positive approach is because of the versatility this model offers.
This model enables a therapist to reach numerous clients while building self-esteem. A healthy and positive self-esteem leads to the power of positive thinking. “Positive thinking is a mental attitude that admits into the mind thoughts, words and images that are conductive to growth, expansion and success. It is a mental attitude that expects good and favorable results.” A positive person expects to be happy and healthy. A positive person puts out positive energy therefore, attracting positive people, energy, and situations.
The positive approach focuses on client’s strengths not their weaknesses. Approaching a client in a positive manner allows the clinician to establish a constructive environment. Demonstrating to the client how they can transform their life by developing and building on their strengths is an empowering method. Empowerment is providing people the tools and the knowledge s/he needs to succeed. The empowerment model informs the client, and more knowledge fosters more power for the client. The client can take that knowledge they have learned in therapy and use it on a daily basis. When a client is aware that he or she can be successful outside a therapeutic environment, that knowledge strengthens his or her self-esteem. The writer illustrates this model as a cycle; a client will build on their strengths, feel empowered, build his or her self-esteem, and with good self-esteem the client will continue to build their strengths, find new strengths, become more empowered and build-up their self-esteem. This cycle does take time for a client to embrace because changing someone’s thinking process takes time.
“Counselors have an obligation to their clients and to their profession to be accountable for the quality of the professional services they offer” (Parrott III, 2003, p.44). The writer intensely believes that setting up boundaries and ensuring confidentiality with a client is imperative. During the first session the writer plans to discuss wither her client what some of the boundaries are so that the client is aware of what is expected. The writer informs her clients that she will not acknowledge their treatment outside the office. Carrying out these practices help set-up safety measures for the client; the client would not have to answer any questions that others who are with the client outside the office might ask. The writer will not answer detailed personal questions from clients during therapy; this boundary is to maintain focus on the client during the treatment. Personal questions are not proper during treatment because clinicians need to ensure the client does not feel judged or that he or she are not comparing themselves to the therapist. The writer will not give advice during therapy to clients because a client has to learn how to make decisions on their own. The key in productive therapy is maintaining clear boundaries so the client does not become dependent on the therapist. The boundaries and client focused therapy allows the clients to encompass privacy and a personal life outside the office. This keeps the writer’s therapy, counseling, or clinical work professional and confidential.
A therapist should be involved with the client’s treatment but only to a degree. A therapist can guide and support a client during treatment but must main professional. Over involvement with a client can cause dependency, blurred boundaries, and make it hard as a therapist to remain objective. The writer condones socialization outside the office because that type of behavior blurs the boundaries, the client would then have to ask themselves, “Is she talking to me as my therapist or friend?” Having romantic or sexual relationships with clients is unmoral and will hinder a client’s progress. When a therapist becomes too involved with a client on a personal level their ability to look at the situation as a whole is impaired. If a therapist has crossed those boundaries, he or she needs to end the therapy and refer the client elsewhere.
“Glasser encourages his clients to choose positive addictions that lead to more satisfactory ways of living” (Parrott III, 2003, p.352). A positive person centered therapy is beneficial for people who are addicts, have body image issues, and/or poor self-esteem. The therapist focuses on replacing negative thoughts or addictions with positive thoughts or addictions. “The actualizing tendency is guided by what Rogers called the organismic valuing process, an inherent capacity to choose that which will enhance us and reject that which does not.” Telling a person to ‘quit cold turkey’ is not a successful technique because it sets a client up for failure. Addictions are powerful and become a part of a person’s life, asking a person to remove a part of his or her life is problematic. This progression takes time, but a client will learn a life skill that will endure long after therapy has come to an end.
A positive person-centered therapy can reach vast populations. The approach itself is multicultural and encompassing because the method is straightforward; the approach is not religious, political, racial, gender bias, socioeconomic status centered, or discriminatory. The therapy focuses on the person’s inner being not what they associate themselves with such as a job, money, religion, or political status. The therapy entitles the client to build on what they already have; they do not have to recreate or reconstruct themselves. A positive person-centered approach allows therapy to cross multiple age groups. Several of the older generations are not at ease with therapy but with this method a client is not asked to ‘spill their guts’, expose family secrets, or release any information that would make him or her feel vulnerable. This technique helps a person feel valuable and important which is timeless. Older generations are not accustomed to discussing feelings. The therapist must demonstrate that, “Openness allows us to be moved emotionally and experience reality more accurately” (Parrott III, 2003, p. 182). The positive person centered therapy is not threatening or intimating in any manner.
“Thus, the beginning counselor must be sensitive to issues of personal impatience, for most clients cannot and will not make dramatic changes quickly. Nor should they” (Parrott III, 2003, p. 38). The major weakness with this therapy approach is that a client might not see their strengths or may not want to see their strengths. Some people are afraid of success because they have become comfortable with failure. Trying to see value in oneself can be a difficult task. A client has to be willing and able to trust themselves and listen to that little voice inside. Not all clients will be able to trust themselves and might not be ready to trust anyone, including him or herself. A client has to be willing to change and accept change; change is a process not a task. Change takes time and in a society that craves instant gratification the process of change potentially could be frustrating to some.
The positive person-centered approach is not a perfect approach; perfect therapeutic approaches that solve everything are nonexistent. Each person is different and brings to therapy different obstacles. Pessimistic personalities would find positive focused approach to therapy undesirable. The writer would have to adjust her model, focus less on the positive, and focus on a person-centered approach. A person whom is grieving a lost loved one or any other substantial lost would be turned off by a positive focused therapeutic approach. People need time and space to grief, being told by a therapist to look at the positive aspect of a loss might anger or upset the client. In these types of instances the writer would use the person centered therapy with less of a focus on the positive approach.
Being an approachable therapist is important when trying to help clients and this is why positive body language is an important factor in successful treatment. The writer has a plan to ensure that clients will feel comfortable in her presence and that is to demonstrate open body language. Having open body language shows a client that the therapist is listening, hearing what they have to say, paying attention, and care. “Usually body language occurs unconsciously. Yet the body language we use decides to a large extent the quality of our communication. It follows that therefore it would be good to become conscious of our own and others’ body language. We can learn to use our body language for a purpose” (Marwijk, 2007). The writer is conscious of her body language and makes sure she is not fidgeting, crossing her arms, looking around the room, or hunched over. To encourage positive and productive communication a client has to feel like he or she is important, being heard, and understood; open body language fosters productive communication.
A number of people are not at ease sharing feelings or personal information. Asking the proper questions, as a therapist, is essential when trying to stimulate a dialogue. To stimulate dialogue a therapist must be capable of asking open-ended questions. “An open-ended question is designed to encourage a full, meaningful answer using the subject’s own knowledge and/or feelings. It is the opposite of a closed-ended question, which encourages a short or single-word answer. Open-ended questions also tend to be more objective and less leading” (Media College, 2007). Open-ended questions are helpful and allow a client to disclose information at his or her pace without feeling interrogated. Allowing a client to have control over the dialogue will put him or her at ease and allow him or her to feel in control of the session. When a client is comfortable in the presence of his or her therapist, the therapist can gain the clients trust. Strong communication between a client and therapist is essential in order to have productive therapy sessions.
As demonstrated in this paper the writer has a clear understanding of what type of therapy method she would like to utilize; and is aware of the strengths and weaknesses. Therapy methods can change over time or new therapy methods might be presented to therapists; the writer might change her approach to meet the needs of her clients. Learning is a life-long process and an effective, successful, and professional therapist will keep an open mind. Quality therapy consists of an open-minded therapist who is going to treat each client as an individual, regard the client in a positive manner, provide the tools and knowledge a client needs in order to succeed, have a self-awareness of strengths and weaknesses and being willing to admit when he or she needs to refer a client elsewhere, this is the type of therapist the writer will be.
References
Marwijk Frank , (2007). The Importance of Body Langauge. Self
Growth. Retrieved May 9, 2008, from http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Van_Marwijk.
html
Media College. (2007). Open-ended Questions. Retrieved May 8, 2008,
from http://www.mediacollege.com/journalism/interviews/open-ended-questions.html
Parrott III, Les (2003). Counseling and Pyschotherapy (2nd ed.). : Brooks/Cole.
