Essay title is : How can the Person-Centred model enable you to establish a rapport and to gain an understanding of the client’s ‘here and now’, and the psychodynamic and Analytical models help you gain an understanding of a client’s past and future? (2500 words +/-10%)
the essay also need to cover:
Understand theory in relation to Analytical Psychology
2.1. Evaluate the strengths and limitations of Analytical Psychology
2.2. Review the value of Jung’s contribution to counselling theory
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AIM Awards Level 4 Counselling Skills & Theory Unit 1: Working With A Client’s Past
Module 1 S-MOD2/1-002
The Chrysalis Diploma in Counselling Skills and Theory
Successful candidates will achieve the AIM Awards Level 4 Diploma in Counselling Skills and
Theory (RQF)
Unit 1. Working with a Client’s Present
(Ofqual Ref no. H/505/8213)
Module 1
Contact the Student Team by calling 01278 420572 or emailing
info@chrysaliscourses.ac.uk
This Module constitutes Unit 1 of the AIM Awards Level 4 Diploma in Counselling Skills and Theory
(RQF), a Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) qualification: Reference Number (601/2243/2).
The learning outcomes and assessment objectives of this qualification are at Level 4 of the RQF
and are mapped to relevant National Occupational Standards. This qualification is quality checked
by the National Counselling Society.
The Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria for Unit 1 Working with a Client’s Present
(Module 1) are:
LEARNING OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
The learner will: The learner can:
- Know how to understand a client’s present
situation
1.1. Identify a client’s presenting issue
1.2. Review own approach to working with the
client to further investigate the presenting
issue - Understand theory in relation to PersonCentred therapy
2.1. Evaluate the strengths and limitations of
Person-Centred therapy
2.2. Apply theory to practice
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AIM Awards Level 4 Counselling Skills & Theory Unit 1: Working With A Client’s Past
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LEARNING OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
The learner will: The learner can: - Be able to evaluate own practice 3.1. Review the effectiveness of own practice
3.2. Identify areas for improvement in own
practice
3.3. Review the personal challenges of using a
person-centred approach to counselling
Unit 1 Working with a Client’s Present is assessed by means of entries in the Learning Journal for
the unit. Students should aim to cover the above criteria in their journal entries. Your tutor will
advise you of other ways the criteria may be met.
INTRODUCTION TO TODAY’S CONTENT
Welcome to the first session of your Chrysalis training as a counsellor. It is likely that you will have
completed, and enjoyed, a year of Chrysalis Hypnotherapy training which will have introduced you
to some important counselling skills. Hypnotherapists and counsellors, traditionally, adopt two
very different approaches to helping their clients. Counselling is usually seen as a considerably
less “directive” approach, and you may, at first find this a challenging transition. Your tutor, as an
experienced counsellor, will help you to understand the fascinating journey on which you have
now embarked.
This course teaches an Integrative approach to counselling, with Person Centred Counselling as
the core model. This means that you will be introduced to different theories and approaches to
working with clients, and introduced to ways that these approaches may be applied separately or
together to support clients. Certain approaches may be more suitable not just for certain clients
and certain issues that clients bring to therapy, but may also be more suitable at different stages
of therapy.
We begin your journey by looking at different stages of therapy and how different models may
apply to these stages. Today, we consider the client’s here and now, their present situation, and
how the core model may be used to support the client to move from where they are to where
they want to be. We examine the core model, Person Centred Counselling.
The books on the required and recommended book list will support your studies for this course.
Those highlighted as required will also be used are core reading on the course following this one:
Level 4 Advanced Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling.
The main themes for today’s class are the following: - The Client’s ‘Here and Now’
- Carl Rogers and Person Centred Counselling
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AIM Awards Level 4 Counselling Skills & Theory Unit 1: Working With A Client’s Past
Module 1 S-MOD2/1-002 - Rogerian (Person Centred) ‘necessary and sufficient’ Core Conditions
- Abraham Maslow and the Hierarchy of Human Needs
- Evaluation of practice: identification of strengths, developmental needs and opportunities for
improving professional practice in group work and skills practice triads in the roles of therapist,
client and observer
THE CLIENT’S ‘HERE AND NOW’
Clients present themselves with a perceived problem that they have in the present. Therefore,
this course begins by looking at a variety of methods to examine a client’s present.
The Client’s 'Present'
It is perhaps best to define the client’s 'present' for therapeutic purposes as: - Context, reason and timing for seeking help.
- Current consciousness of any presenting concerns.
- Overall sense of self.
- Beliefs and values, including beliefs about therapy and what is expected from therapy.
- Sense of any solution or goal of therapeutic help.
The most important time for a therapist to understand and contextualise the client’s present is in
the initial consultation. Your previous studies will have introduced you to the initial consultation
and its importance. As a counsellor, you must further enhance the importance of the first
session/s to create an overall sense of the client as they are at the moment, or in the here and
now. This will not always be apparent in the first session but can take many weeks. In the end your
aim as a trainee therapist is to help clients live their lives, not to ‘fix’ them, and you need to be
aware that many clients can never be healed no matter how much therapy they experience. - Context, reason and timing for seeking help
Your client may have had a ‘problem’ for some time, but chosen a specific moment to contact you
as a therapist. Therefore it is important to get a sense of why they contacted you when they did.
Did the client come to you of their own volition (internal reason), were they referred by their
employer, a family member or a friend for instance? (external reason). In this remember that
people or organisations have agendas – even clients themselves. Why is a client seeking therapy
in the here and now? Is there an element of a long-standing problem, a crisis, or just a need to
explore their sense of self?
Information Needed:
What is behind a client’s timing; are the client’s reasons external or internal?
Therapeutic Response:
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AIM Awards Level 4 Counselling Skills & Theory Unit 1: Working With A Client’s Past
Module 1 S-MOD2/1-002
If a client presents with an external reason, it is valuable to explore the internal reason. Once
uncovered, assess the internal reason: does it seem valid to you? But in doing this do not in any
way seek to provide a solution or frame of therapy at that moment. It may (and almost certainly
will) change. Is more investigation needed? Can you assist the client knowing what you do know
about the reason? Explore, be open and explorative. - Current consciousness of any presenting concerns
How is your client conscious of their presenting issue/s? Is it a large ‘envelope’ (or place of being)
filled with many issues, concerns etc., or something very small and specific? (e.g. ‘my life is just
falling apart’ versus ‘I need to gain confidence for my job interview next Tuesday’.) How much
does this envelope or place of being affect your client? If there are matters concerning the welfare
of a client (eg in matters of addiction, depression, abuse or self-harm), there are concerns you
should be mindful of about your own capability to help the client and you should consult your
tutor about your ability to do so. If a client’s problem is ethically problematical you should seek
the help of your tutor who will enable you to refer so the client may seek appropriate help. In this
as always you should be mindful professionally as a trainee counsellor.
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AIM Awards Level 4 Counselling Skills & Theory Unit 1: Working With A Client’s Past
Module 1 S-MOD2/1-002
Information Needed:
What is going on for the client? Is the client really aware of what is going on for them? Explore.
Why has the client come to you? Explore. Note the words a client uses and observe the client’s
body language and reflect back to the client.
Therapeutic Response:
Assess your client’s consciousness of their situation but at this stage do not attempt to seek a goal
of therapy – that may come in time. What does your intuition at this time inform you? Are you as
a trainee able to help or is perhaps referral needed at this time? How are you as a trainee
prepared in your skills to help a client? - Overall sense of self
Pay attention to your client’s self-esteem and their place in the world as they see it. What nonverbal and verbal clues are being given here? How does their overall sense of self appear? What
is their self-image and self-worth like?
Information Needed:
It is helpful for you as a trainee as well as for your client to assess a client’s sense of self. Ask and
explore. Reflect back any such sense of a client’s self to continue in the client’s here and now.
Therapeutic Response:
Does your client have low or high self-esteem? How does it relate to their problem? How may you
be able to help the client in the first session or those following? How are you establishing the
relationship with your client? Are you a ‘fixer’ or ‘explorer’ within the client’s world? - Beliefs and values, including beliefs about therapy and what is expected from therapy
Attempt to seek and engage with your client’s overall belief system and value system. Sometimes
you will get specific information but it is always not too clear. How does your client’s way of
viewing life relate to their present situation? Sometimes this can be very complex especially
regarding such matters of age, ethnicity, gender, sexuality etc and in this you should be very aware
of your own history of such and as a consequence your own experience and current training.
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Information Needed:
A client’s beliefs and values and their relationship to their present situation and their beliefs about
therapy – what are they?
Therapeutic Response:
Do you need to address unrealistic expectations of therapy? Or, alternatively, give a confident
view of what can be achieved? How do your beliefs and values differ from your client’s? How
should you express or manifest this difference, or should you? In this a therapist needs to be
aware that they might ‘transfer’ their own values upon a client who comes from a different values
place of being and this may have a negative impact upon the client.
1.1; 1.2.
THE JOHARI WINDOW
Before we go any further though, it may be useful to ‘get back to basics’ when it comes to skills
practice and the role of perception and self awareness in interpersonal skills. The Johari Window
enables us to do four things when it comes to exploring perception and self awareness.
In this model there are four quadrants: - What you know about yourself and wish to share with others is in the ‘Open Area.’
- Any aspects which you do not know about yourself but may be apparent to others you know
is in the ‘Blind Spot’. - There will be things you know about yourself but you do not want others to know about. This
is in the ‘Hidden Area’. - Finally, the ‘Unknown Area’ encompasses what is not known to you about yourself and is also
not known to others.
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This might seem quite obvious – but perhaps not. However, your lack of perception and selfawareness in counselling skills practice can be problematical for effective practice and may
actually damage a counselling relationship.
For instance: - What you choose to share with clients might seem appropriate but a client may feel
inappropriate. - You may be unaware of characteristics you display but they may be obvious to a client with
possible consequences to the counselling relationship. - You may also know things about yourself that you do not wish to share. Although clients may
not know what they are, you can unknowingly ‘leak’ them in counselling practice by your
reactions to a client’s content for instance by your body language.
These are important matters to consider when it comes to the maintenance of ethical, personal
and professional boundaries. For instance, sharing your own personal history may be
inappropriate and detract from the client’s own story. In other words, is the counselling session
about you or the client? Your responses to a client’s disclosures may also be inappropriate, a
matter to consider when counselling clients from different cultures, or those with a different
sexuality for instance.
1.2. CARL ROGERS AND PERSON CENTRED COUNSELLING
‘It is the client who knows what hurts, what direction to go, what problems are crucial, what
experiences have been deeply buried and, therefore, the therapist should rely upon the client
for the direction of movement in the process.’
Carl Rogers.
Rogers (1902-1987) believed that people continually strive ‘to become a person’, and that this
activity never ceases. Rogers' interest in the subject came about as the result of working as a
psychotherapist for most of his life and having a successful career in higher education. His
methods aimed to help his clients regain their ability to be aware of what they were feeling and
then to discard any negative aspects of those feelings. He was fully convinced that a strict
upbringing (like his own) resulted in the repression of emotions; accordingly, he developed a
warm and caring regard for every client, regardless of their problem or condition. This is
something which we believe any psychotherapist should attempt to do, although we are fully
aware that others prefer to adopt a more neutral position and attitude. It is a matter for you to
decide, depending on your preferences and beliefs.
The purpose of Rogerian (or Person Centred) Counselling is to encourage the client to become
fully aware of his feelings, without the psychotherapist advising or making suggestions. The
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AIM Awards Level 4 Counselling Skills & Theory Unit 1: Working With A Client’s Past
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therapist’s role is solely, at this point, to offer warmth and empathy and ‘accepting’ what the
client says, without judgement.
By reflecting these feelings back to the client, the therapist ensures that the client can relax,
realising that he can express his inner feelings and is not only being listened to but also heard. The
therapist can then examine any inconsistencies and the appropriate feelings can be explored.
Good feelings are encouraged, thereby strengthening the inner-self, negative feelings can then be
viewed in a non-threatening manner and more objectively. Through this process, the client’s selfactualisation develops and they can realise that they have less need to be defensive and instead
endeavour to be real.
They can then look forward to meeting people because their sense of self is stronger and not
bound by the self-image they have nurtured, possibly since childhood.
There are some key assumptions and often mistaken assumptions made about Rogers and the
Person Centred philosophical model. - Human beings are basically good (altruistic) and will strive towards goodness if given the
opportunity. - It is the subjective experience of the client that is important, and the only meanings that
should be attached to that experience are those that the client himself/herself holds.
Otherwise this could be polluted by a therapists’ own assumptions or desire to ‘fix’ or ‘cure’. - People have the ability to know how to self-heal and are capable of self-direction if they are
able and have the opportunity to explore this. The most basic assumption of Rogers was that
individuals are capable of exercising free will, which generally runs counter to other models of
psychotherapy.
In terms of therapy the Person Centred approach does not encourage ‘techniques’ or ‘fixes’ and
instead relies very much upon the therapeutic relationship with a client to establish trust, a warm
empathic relationship in which respect and congruence are marked features.
The Person Centred model of therapy has a very strong and contributing avenue in the Humanistic
model of psychotherapy as well as in education in the United States and Europe since the
1950s/1960s which should not be ignored (e.g. ‘student centred learning’). Rogers was convinced
that the key to effective therapy lay in offering, what he termed, the ‘core conditions’ of contact
therapy.
Key words and phrases in Person Centred counselling:
• Core Concept
• Self Concept
• Conditions of Worth
• Actualising Tendency
• Organismic Self
• Psychological Contact
• Non-Directivity
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• Client Perception
The Person Centred model will be covered in greater depth in the first unit of Level 4 Diploma in
Therapeutic Counselling under ‘The Humanistic Approach to Counselling. This will include two
other notable Humanistic approaches: Gestalt therapy and Transactional Analysis.
ROGERIAN ‘NECESSARY AND SUFFICIENT’ CORE CONDITIONS
In all there are six necessary and sufficient conditions within Rogerian theory and practice but of
these three deserve comment at the present stage of your training: - Empathy - feeling (or at least trying to feel) what it is that the client is trying to express
- Congruence - being honest or ‘genuine’ with the client
- Respect (or Prizing or Unconditional Positive Regard or being non-judgemental) -
valuing the client as a person - regardless of how they behave
There are several interpretations of the Core Conditions but for Carl Rogers first came
‘psychological contact’. In other words if you do not have tangible psychological contact in the first
place none of the three core conditions above can occur. Empathy is not sympathy, but instead
can be seen as an almost visceral feeling on the part of the therapist of a client’s situation whilst
not getting caught up in a client’s own world. Congruence or genuineness can also be felt as
misguided honesty with perhaps an agenda by a therapist, and Unconditional Positive Regard
could be experienced as collusion.
In this Person Centred Therapy is very challenging to a therapist’s own value systems.
In PCT a client is allowed to talk about and explore whatever they wish to and it is the first concern
of the therapist to actively listen, offer the core conditions and to paraphrase and clarify what the
client has said. First and foremost, this is through active listening and engaging totally, in other
words the employment of classic counselling skills. By offering such an environment, the client
has a ‘safe space’ in which to explore their own feelings and can clarify their own experience.
Sometimes we may find that the core conditions can appear in conflict. We may feel our personal
values conflict with offering warmth to the client. Rogers himself would have erred on the side of
being ‘genuine’ at all costs, without this element, he would suggest that therapy will be
unsuccessful anyway. Many trainee students assure us that there is nothing that a client could do
that would bother them at all. If this is true (which is doubtful), all very good.
We would suggest instead that however broad-minded you may think you think you are,
something - at some time - will challenge you personally and professionally and most probably at a
very deep level of your experience, world-view, or sense of self.
An unaware therapist can be a very dangerous therapist when working with vulnerable people;
therapists have a Duty of Care in view of United Kingdom legislation.
Consider the following: - The client who persistently misses appointments and reschedules.
- The client whose personal hygiene is problematical.
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Module 1 S-MOD2/1-002 - The client who makes homophobic, racist or sexist remarks expecting that you
agree. - The client who invades your personal space and touches you inappropriately or
is a ‘hugger’. - The ‘door knob client’ who tries to extend the length of a session by chatting
whilst leaving and you have other clients waiting to see you. - The client whose material is causing you considerable anxiety to the extent that you feel
upset and distressed. - The client who attends one session and does not come to therapy again.
1.2; 2.2.
Of course, in the case of the above, these issues may well be at the root of the problem, so it is
just as well to point them out. There are obviously right and wrong ways to do this. The client
may be unaware that his/her behaviour may be experienced by others as antisocial and how
problematical it may be.
1.2; 2.2; 3.1; 3.2; 3.3.
The question of the self-direction of the client is obviously not as simple as it first seems. People
are so different and therefore one person’s ambitions may not in any way mirror those of his
neighbour. People are confronted with many choices in life, the art lies in recognising those which
offer potential for life-enhancement.
Although there will be external factors, everyone has the potential to determine their own
individual reactions and responses to these constraints. The key lies in encouraging the client to
approach a state of mind approaching ‘normality’. The characteristics to encourage and
strengthen might include:
1) Better awareness of the self and others
2) Preparedness to communicate with others and to listen to their view
3) Preparedness to co-operate with others, either at work, in conversation or in general dayto-day activities
4) Development of open and engaging personal skills
You will discover that some clients reveal that they cannot mix easily with others and dislike
themselves or their own behaviour. Perhaps the inclusion of some of these ideas may assist to
liberate them. If they can then be encouraged to mix socially, this contact may well be all that is
needed.
Rogers believed that emotional distress stemmed from not living ‘authentically’ and ‘real’. By this
he meant that individuals were not being themselves and were struggling to be something they
were not. Another belief of Rogerian psychotherapy is called ‘owning’ your own behaviour - all
that is meant by this really is that whilst we are busy blaming someone else for our problems - we
cannot ‘own’ them and therefore take control of them. For Rogers then, the key to emotional
well-being lies in authenticity, honesty about ourselves and our problems and personal
responsibility and then working to become more congruent with ourselves and others.
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Points to consider with reflection: - The three common core conditions of empathy, congruence and unconditional positive regard,
may clash and cause conflict, but not always. - There may be an assumption that therapists can be neutral or objective with a client in any
model of psychotherapy whether Person Centred, Psychodynamic or Cognitive Behavioural –
can therapists always be such? Can any therapist be isolated from personal history or any
dominant culture? - Unconditional positive regard will require much discipline and inner work to be able to
practice ethically by any therapist. All of us have opinions and values which may be impossible
to suppress or ignore. It may be more congruent, better and more human to own our opinions
and values with our clients, while still refusing to judge them for their actions. - In this, what is any trainee therapist’s capability to ethically support clients with particular
issues? - As a therapist what is in reality your own training to date? Are you going into therapy with a
client in areas you are not fully trained in? Might you harm a client by your inability to
ethically help a client? - Does a therapist have unresolved personal matters? Ethically should they engage in their own
personal therapy before working with a client?
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2.1; 2.2; 3.3
ABRAHAM MASLOW AND THE HIERARCHY OF HUMAN NEEDS
Maslow's theory about the development of mankind relies on the premise that man’s behaviour
arises from the way in which he continually strives to satisfy his needs. These ‘needs’ arise in an
invariant sequence of urgency. This hierarchy is represented in diagrammatic form below:
Maslow suggested that a person is constantly motivated to satisfy these needs and, at any one
point in time, his behaviour will be directed at satisfying a need. The unsatisfied need that is
lowest down in the hierarchy is the one that will need satisfying most, but once this is achieved;
the next level will automatically seek fulfilment. For example, you are planning a dinner party for
the evening, when you suddenly cut yourself. Your immediate priority is to attend to the wound
and the dinner party loses its priority, but once the cut has been bandaged, or stitched, your
priority again moves up the scale and back to the dinner party.
As Maslow reiterated, ‘Man cannot live on bread alone.’ All needs in the hierarchy of needs are
present in one form or another - but only when the more basic needs are fulfilled will the next
level emerge. On a biological level, this is clearly true. If you are hungry but also dying of thirst,
you will seek water before food. If, while seeking water, you enter a cave where there is no
oxygen, you will seek air before seeking water. If, while attempting to leave the cave to seek air, a
rock fall puts you in imminent danger of being crushed, you will seek to avoid the rock fall before
seeking oxygen. All your needs will be present in this very unfortunate situation: the need to
avoid imminent crushing, suffocation, death by thirst and death by hunger - but there will be a
clear hierarchy as to which need is 'pre-eminent in consciousness' i.e. which is felt by you the
keenest - and therefore which you will seek to fulfil first.
In situations more relevant to most of us, where our lower biological needs are likely to be
fulfilled, more complex needs become 'pre-eminent.' If your physiological needs are met, you
then need to make yourself safe; if you generally feel safe, social needs begin to emerge. Once
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AIM Awards Level 4 Counselling Skills & Theory Unit 1: Working With A Client’s Past
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Robinson Crusoe has found the spring, fish and fruit, and a good dry cave, he can begin to feel
lonely and miss the company of others, to have social needs.
Once social needs are met, a higher form of those needs emerge - those for self-esteem. Once
you have friends, family and sexual satisfaction, you need a sense of self-worth and purpose
achieved by career, respect, status etc. This is obviously complex and can take many forms.
These four needs have been termed ‘deficiency’ needs, because they represent a drive to attain a
degree of satisfaction, or to satisfy a deficiency. Maslow felt that most humans only fulfil the
bottom four sets of needs in the hierarchy. He felt this was a great puzzle and wanted to assist
people to move to the ultimate point, that of 'Self-Actualisation.' Self-Actualisation is the
fulfilment of one’s highest personal potential, beyond the other needs below it. It can take many
forms, but basically is about you becoming most truly yourself.
2.1; 2.2; 3.3; 3.3
In one lecture, Maslow asked a group of very bright psychology students at a top university who,
among them, would become great in their profession and make a real difference. When none
replied, he said ‘if not you, then who?’ and concluded his lecture on self-esteem.
Maslow made a huge break with previous approaches in psychology. His 'Third Way' or 'Third
Force' in psychology stood between the scientific psychologists who saw everyone as animals (the
behaviourists) and the psychoanalysts who saw everyone as neurotic, sick and the victims of their
childhoods (the Freudians). Maslow believed that everyone is born with the potential to selfactualise and that, given a good environment, this can be achieved.
He also, famously, chose to study not those who were psychologically unwell, but those who did
Self-Actualise. He felt that an accurate picture of human potential could only be created by
studying people who had achieved their potential.
Noting that in most mammals including humans, 5% of animals are dominant (i.e. are at the top of
the self-esteem needs being met), he believed that 5% of these 5% would achieve selfactualisation.
Self-actualisers often have 'peak experiences' - almost mystical experiences and feelings of joy at
life - the opposite of depression. He was keen to map out and describe these experiences in
detail, and, in “Religions, Values and Peak Experiences” (Maslow, A., (1964)), compared religious
ecstasy to the many experiences of love of life to be found in self-actualisers.
A peak experience can be caused by anything - for example, looking at a sunset or watching an
eagle soar above the tree tops. An actualised person becomes so engaged with their current
activity, that all other matters in life disappear entirely and they are completely swept away by the
moment - it is almost as if they ‘become’ the sunset or the eagle.
What does this have to do with the client? According to Maslow, if we have a deficiency in one (or
several) lower areas of the pyramid, we cannot achieve actualisation and so will feel frustrated,
powerless, unhappy and ultimately… depressed. The therapist should assist the client where
possible to meet their lower needs and to allow for the development of self-actualisation.
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It is important to remember that lower needs do not have to be totally fulfilled in order to move
'up the hierarchy'. You don’t have to quench all your thirst before needing to find food; nor do
you have to have a completely full belly to feel the need to find shelter predominate. Similarly, all
your sexual, social and self-esteem needs do not need to be met in order for your need to selfactualise to emerge.
References:
The following website may be of interest:
http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/rogers.html
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STUDENT PREPARATION FOR THE NEXT MODULE
Please ensure that you prepare yourself for the next module. This is very important so you may
fully engage with your learning community on that day rather than coming to class ‘cold’ so to
speak. This is a matter of personal responsibility regarding yourself and to other members of your
learning community.
Upon being admitted onto this course you will have been given an over-view of all six modules and
the reading matter pertinent to each of those modules. Obviously, it is not required that you read
every item of literature cited, but at least that you do some background reading regarding each
module before attendance.
Module Handouts:
These will available in Moodle.
Assignments:
Your tutor will give you guidance at the end of each module. Assignments must consist of the
following: - An introduction with aims and objectives – in other words what you want to convey in your
assignment. - The main body of your text must include relevant cited sources supporting what you write
according to the Harvard Referencing System. - A summative conclusion in which you summarise the main points of the main text to show that
you have answered the assignment brief. - A bibliography citing sources you have used according to the Harvard Referencing System.
Tips for writing assignments:
If you wish to quote, do so sparingly. Marking tutors want to read what you have to say – not
anyone else – so they can assess that you understand what you have written. You are to cite the
literature related to each module and not course handouts or internet sources unless you find
significant evidence to enhance your assignments. Internet sources need to be recognised and
accountable sources.
Plagiarism:
This means copying and pasting material that is not your own work, also known as cheating. It is
easily identifiable and any work submitted where there is evidence of plagiarism will be failed.
If you wish any further support from your tutor about writing an assignment please ask your tutor
in class or prior arranged by telephone.
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AIM Awards Level 4 Counselling Skills & Theory Unit 1: Working With A Client’s Past
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Reading for next Module:
Reeves, A “An Introduction to Counselling and Psychotherapy: From Theory to Practice”
1
st Edition (2013): pp 58 – 65
2
nd Edition (2018): pp 58 - 74
Jacobs, M “Psychodynamic Counselling in Action”
Appendix 1
Client Role Plays
CLIENT A
You are the client and you should not show this information to the others in your group.
You are a 27 year old administration assistant. Your partner of seven years has just left you and
you are flat broke. Your partner provided a joint income for six of these seven years. You are
feeling desperate, not sleeping well, and your overall sense of self has suffered. Your sister has
recommended that you seek therapy and offered to pay. You think that this is a valid idea as a
number of your friends have benefited from therapy in the past.
CLIENT B
You are the client and you should not show this information to the others in your group.
You are a 34 year old woman who is having relationship difficulties. You have decided to bring
yourself to therapy because you wish (to appear) to try and do everything to save your marriage.
You have asked your husband to accompany you to therapy but he refuses. You have strong
religious views.
Your husband is not violent or nasty, he is in fact a very good father to your two children and a
very good provider - but you feel that you are drifting apart as he no longer communicates much
with you. You have recently found yourself attracted to your neighbour. Nothing has happened
yet - but you wish it had – which conflicts with your religious values. You feel confused and want
to talk things through with a therapist.
CLIENT C
You are the client and you should not show this information to the others in your group.
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You are a 57 year old man/woman who is an alcoholic and have just hit your wife/husband for the
first time. Your sense of self has been shattered by your actions as you have always considered
violence as abhorrent. A friend has recommended that you try some sort of therapy but you have
a low opinion of counselling, however your wife/husband has threatened to leave you unless you
get some sort of help.
Appendix 2
Client Role Plays
CLIENT A
You are the client and you should not show this information to the others in your group.
You are a female aged 42 who walked out on your husband of twenty years and two children for a
man you met only a few times. You realise now you have made a big mistake, and wants to go
back to your husband who refuses to have anything to do with you and is seeking a divorce and
custody of your two children.
CLIENT B
You are the client and you should not show this information to the others in your group.
You are a male/female aged 21 who has just been released from prison. You have a history of
minor offences. You want to ‘go straight’ and have a meaningful life but you feel pressure from
your peers to return to your former lifestyle of crime. You are unemployed with little prospect of
finding work in the foreseeable future.
CLIENT C
You are the client and you should not show this information to the others in your group.
You are a 32-year-old woman who has been referred to therapy by your GP. You are finding it
increasingly hard to cope with your three children and you feel useless and hopeless.
You have a very low self-esteem (caused by a negative upbringing) and cannot accept that there is
anything worthwhile or good about you. Your negative thoughts about yourself are causing
problems in your relationship and you are worried that you are so useless at work that they will
give you the sack very soon.
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AIM Awards Level 4 Counselling Skills & Theory Unit 2: Working With A Client’s Past
Module 2 S-MOD2/2-002
The Chrysalis Diploma in Counselling Skills and Theory
Successful candidates will achieve the AIM Awards Level 4 Diploma in Counselling Skills and
Theory (RQF)
Unit 2. Working with a Client’s Past
(Ofqual Ref no. D/505/8202)
Module 2
This Module constitutes Unit 2 of the AIM Awards Level 4 Diploma in Counselling Skills and Theory
(RQF), a Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) qualification: Reference Number (601/2243/2).
The learning outcomes and assessment objectives of this qualification are at Level 4 of the RQF
and are mapped to relevant National Occupational Standards. This qualification is quality checked
by the National Counselling Society.
The Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria for Unit 2 Working with a Client’s Past (Module 2)
are:
LEARNING OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
The learner will: The learner can:
- Understand how the client’s past affects
their present situation
1.1. Identify aspects of the client’s past relevant
to their presenting issue
1.2. Review own approach to working with the
client to further investigate the presenting
issue - Understand theory in relation to the
Psychodynamic approach
2.1. Evaluate the strengths and limitations of the
psychodynamic approach
2.2. Review the value of Freud’s contribution to
Psychodynamic theory - Be able to evaluate own practice 3.1. Review the effectiveness of own practice
3.2. Identify areas for improvement in own
practice
3.3. Review the personal challenges of using a
Psychodynamic approach to counselling
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Unit 2 Working with a Client’s Past is assessed by means of entries in the Learning Journal for the
unit. Students should aim to cover the above criteria in their journal entries. Your tutor will
advise you of other ways the criteria may be met.
UNIT 2 - INTRODUCTION TO TODAY’S CONTENT
During the initial session of counselling, and for subsequent sessions, it will become apparent to
any therapist that the past has a crucial role to play in the presenting issue of the client, and in the
treatment of that issue.
It is also important to bear in mind that the normal therapeutic process involves an exploration of
the client’s past during the progression of therapy; that is to say, from the second through
subsequent sessions. However, it is important to remember that it may take clients some time to
be able to feel safe or capable enough to begin to connect with their past as it may possibly be
very painful.
It is hoped that you have prepared for this session by doing the necessary background reading as
you were guided to do so at the end of the last class. If not it is very important to start to do this as
soon as possible as when you come to class you may find it difficult to engage with some of the
theoretical concepts discussed and practiced in your counselling skills groups. The main themes
for today’s class are the following: - Definitions of a Client’s Past
- Working with a Client’s past
3 The Psychodynamic Model and the Past
4 The Typological Mind
5 Personality and the Role of Conflict
6 Defence Mechanisms
7 Psychosexual Stages of Development
8 Transference and Counter-transference
9 Alternative Theories of the Psychodynamic Model
10 Core Counselling Skills Practice
The Client’s Past
We will define working with the client’s ‘past’ for therapeutic purposes as:
1) The building of the therapeutic relationship through mutual exploration of past issues in the
‘mid-game’ of therapy.
2) The client’s consciousness of their past and its effect on their presenting issue.
3) The client’s overall sense of self in relationship to their past
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4) The therapist’s the link between the past and the presenting issue for a client.
5) The therapist’s engagement with the client in exploration of an issue and exploration for
resolution of the issue(s) from the client's past, through the application of skills and models
(e.g. Psychodynamic), including knowing which issues to set aside for the moment (and which
can be addressed at some future time).
The most important time for the therapist to understand and engage with the client’s past in
subsequent sessions of therapy which follow the initial consultation; this will enable the therapist
to achieve dialogue connection between the client's present and their past, and move towards
resolution through counselling.
So, let us consider how this may be done. You will be familiar with what follows as we did
something very similar in the last session when we briefly looked at Carl Rogers and the Person
Centred model of counselling. - The therapeutic relationship and the exploration of past issues
Usually as early as the first session, your client will refer to their personal and psychological
history. It is for you as a therapist to determine the possible type and amount of energy that will
need to be spent upon the exploration, uncovering and resolution of elements of that history –
you will need to be open-ended about this as it may differ from session to session as a client
processes their thoughts and engages with change.
You will need to mentally note what past issues are first raised by your client – what is the first
thing that comes to their mind when speaking about past influences upon their presenting issue?
This could be as simple as the date when they first started to employ a behaviour, or as
complicated as a detailed story about their childhood and their relationship with their parents,
siblings, peers and teachers and as of consequence the relationship they have with themselves.
You will need to mindful of how you are to conduct sessions onwards from the first few. Will it be
appropriate to spend those sessions exploring with your client their past issues? How much time
do you envisage will be necessary for this? What techniques may be employed, and what is the
goal of this exploration? Try to be adaptable in your approach and not rigid or set in stone. Clients
vary very much and individual clients themselves change as they engage with their thought
processes from the outset of therapy.
As well as the skills that will be taught in this module, it is important to have an overall intuitive
approach when listening to your client’s personal history. For example, they may have talked
about their mother for 20 minutes but never mentioned their father. Is this because their father
isn’t important to the presenting issue? Or is it because, in fact, he is the most important element
in your client’s personal history but that there has been no disclosure of this for a deeper reason?
What clients often talk about at first is usually not the underlying reason why they have come to
therapy.
Information Needed:
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An overall general understanding of your client’s past history.
Therapeutic Response:
Gain an initial idea of what areas of your client’s past need exploration and therapeutic work.
Think of a treatment plan over the next few sessions and what those sessions are likely to address. - The client’s consciousness of their past and its effect on their presenting issue(s)
How is your client themselves conscious of their past? Do they feel bound and shackled by their
past, unable to move on into the future? Do they have a ‘what’s done is done’ attitude and no
wish to revisit old wounds? Do they wish to explore their past histories, or are they more inclined
to avoid these issues? How do they think their past is affecting their presenting issue?
Information Needed:
A good understanding of (a) your client’s attitude to their past; (b) their readiness to explore their
past; and (c) their understanding of what elements of their past affect their presenting issue.
Therapeutic Response:
Assess your client’s consciousness of their past. What does your intuition and judgment tell you
about this consciousness? What do you have to say to your client about their past, and does your
understanding correlate with, supplement, enhance or even disagree with their consciousness? - The client’s overall sense of self in relationship to their past
How does your client’s self-esteem appear when talking about their past? Do they become
animated, withdrawn, energetic or apathetic? What body responses, moods, emotions etc. are
expressed? Do they see themselves as victims of the past? Could their self-image be improved by
work in this area by engagement with their own self-talk?
Information Needed:
Understanding your client’s sense of self as it relates to their past.
Therapeutic Response:
How does your client’s self-esteem relate to their past? How might it be different had their past
been different? What solutions might you offer?
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Module 2 S-MOD2/2-002 - The therapist’s understanding of the link between the past and the presenting issue
Information Needed:
You need to employ listening skills to understand and map the link between the past and the
presenting issue.
Therapeutic Response:
You need to have a good understanding of your client’s problem, bearing in mind that ‘diagnosis’
is always flexible, open-ended and preliminary, and then choose a method of exploring past issues
where appropriate. - The treatment and resolution of the issues from the client’s past through the application of
skills and models, including knowing which issues to set aside for the moment (and which can
be addressed at some future time)
Information Needed:
Awareness of a range of skills and models applicable to discussing, uncovering, understanding and
releasing elements of the client’s past.
Therapeutic Response:
What model and treatment plan will you choose for this client and this issue?
1.1; 1.2; 3.1; 3.2.
The Psychodynamic Model and the Past
Element 5 above requires an understanding of psychological models that place importance on the
client’s past. The predominant model in psychotherapy which values this is the Psychodynamic
model. We will review this model by looking at the work of Sigmund Freud.
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was born into a Jewish family in the former Austro-Hungarian Empire.
His most important contribution to the study of the psychology of human behaviour was his
concept of the “dynamic unconscious”; that the unconscious mind played a very important role in
determining how a person behaved. Obviously, the existence of external events could not be
disregarded, but if someone falls off a ladder several times, or has experienced a number of traffic
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accidents, then it could be argued that this particular accident rate may be a direct result of
psychological factors.
Freud proposed the principle of multiple determination, which means that every psychic event is
determined by the simultaneous action of several different causes (unless the event is caused by
external force). Whilst it is accepted that the role of the unconscious in mental life had been
identified many years earlier by the psychologists Herbart (1776-1841) and James (1842-1910),
Freud saw the unconscious mind as the actual source of mental energy, which determined
behaviour. He based his belief on the results of his trials with hypnosis, when he was able to
produce (and remove) symptoms of hysteria in his entranced patients.
Many approaches in the field of psychology assert that behaviour is directed by an individual’s
goals, but the overall idea behind the goal-directed unconscious is an original Freudian concept.
Indeed, even apathy was seen by Freud as being the means whereby an individual could defend
his personality against thoughts or emotions which disturbed him, by showing little or no interest
in those aspects of life which might be interpreted as threatening.
Today, the Psychodynamic therapist accordingly follows the practice of attempting to seek out the
true goal underlying his client’s behaviour.
Underlying this theory is the belief that any individual’s behaviour is the direct result of the
influences of all prior experience. These influences would have an even greater effect if they were
from childhood. Freud believed that these first experiences formed solid foundations on which the
developing child would structure the rest of its life; in other words, the adult personality was
directly formed in childhood, according to the experience and treatment as a child. If the
experiences in childhood were happy and balanced, then the child could develop into a normal,
well-balanced and adjusted adult.
Accordingly psychotherapists may utilise the psychodynamic approach, which places such great
emphasis on the years of childhood and then, by investigating how the client comes to terms with
and resolves any conflict generated in this early period of life, help the client to understand this
conflict. Freud was the first psychologist who was able to give such emphasis to the relevance of
those early years; hence Freud’s importance in any study of the mind.
Some key points that arise with the Freudian model are:
• Man is a higher primate who thinks reflexively (past, present and future)
• Unlike other animals mankind is aware that it transcends nature
• Unlike other animals we have to live our lives, not our lives live us
One thing you must bear in mind in studying the Psychodynamic model is that there is much use
of Latin words and concepts which is due to the period the theory was first explored and
expounded. Also, some words must be read in their original meaning and not 21st century
parlance, e.g. sex.
The Psychodynamic Approach Asserts
1) No individual aspect of human behaviour is accidental
2) Psychic power or energy is the fuel of the mind which controls our behaviour
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3) Any human behaviour is motivated by the end goal
4) Our behaviour as adults is directly influenced by childhood experiences
Freud’s Map of the Mind
Id, Ego, and Super-Ego
These are not actual physical parts of the brain but, instead, are abstract concepts which relate to
unconscious forces of the mind which dominate human behaviour.
The ID
The ID (Latin = ‘it’) is the real driving force behind a person’s behaviour and it drives in one
direction only; namely in the direction for the gratification of basic human needs. These needs
would include air, water, food, warmth, shelter, sex. For this reason the ID is said to be governed
by ‘The Pleasure Principle’.
Does this remind you somewhat of Maslow?
The EGO
(Latin = ‘I’ or ‘self’) seeks to maintain the individual as a complete entity, by adapting to the forces
of external reality, according to the individual’s needs. The ego uses a variety of psychological
functions (which are covered later on), but suffice it to point out at this stage, these include
learning, thinking, memory and speaking. For this reason the EGO is said to be governed by ‘The
Reality Principle’.
The SUPER-EGO
The super-ego (Latin = ‘over I or me’) deals with the task of balancing the demands, external to the
individual, brought about by the society in which he lives. This concept can be likened to the
‘conscience’, which develops as a direct result of parental and similar guidance as the child grows
up.
The ID may create a demand in a child for some sweets which he can view in a shop. The child will
be fully aware that he can walk in and simply take some but ‘something’ will, or in most cases,
should, make him refrain from stealing.
It is almost as if the child’s parents, schoolteachers, or a policeman were inside the child’s head
waiting to pounce if the ID impulses don’t conform to the norms expected of his society. Consider
for a moment, the similarity between this concept and the religious teaching surrounding The Ten
Commandments in the Judeo-Christian religious tradition. For this reason the Super-Ego is said to
be governed by ‘The Perfection Principle’. In this sense God is the ultimate Super-Ego and the
Devil the ultimate ID!
Freud also divided the mind, the psyche, into three parts:
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1) Unconscious - or sub-conscious material which cannot be brought into conscious
awareness.
2) Preconscious - material that is not currently in conscious awareness but can be brought to
that level easily – e.g.: contents of memory – for example, what you learned at the last
class.
3) Conscious - the current contents of the conscious mind – for example, you are aware that
you are reading this line of text.
These concepts can be related to the ID, ego and super-ego and below is a diagram to show this
relationship. This is often thought of using an iceberg for a metaphor. Just as an iceberg has the
greater part of its total mass below the water line, the vast majority of the mind, as Freud saw it,
was below the surface of consciousness; the ‘tip of the iceberg’.
Looking at this illustration, you can start to get some idea of Freud’s view of the psyche. He saw
no part of the human psyche (be it ID EGO or Super-Ego) as being within conscious awareness. For
this reason Freud’s view of the personality is a deterministic one: in other words our behaviour is
determined by past experiences and is not open to conscious scrutiny.
If you can, get hold of a copy of ‘What Freud Really Said’ by David Stafford-Clark – this modern
investigation of Freud helps to put many of his ideas and concepts into perspective as Freud is
often more misunderstood than understood. It will help you come to terms with Freud and
enable you to understand why he became so important in the field of psychology.
PERSONALITY AND THE ROLE OF CONFLICT
The components of personality, namely the ID, EGO and Super-Ego are in continuous conflict with
all of the external pressures which influence the individual and, unless the mind can come to
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terms with this conflict, it will be in a constant state of distress. After all, the ID is driven by the
pleasure principle, which requires the gratification of basic needs. The poor Ego has to control
these demands, having due regard to the restricting forces of the super-ego. The ego has to weigh
up the whole, in terms of the actual reality of the pressures, when weighed against real life. The
net result of this conflict is anxiety and stress.
Anxiety created within the:
• ID results in neurotic anxiety
• Super-Ego results in moral anxiety
• External reality results in objective anxiety
To sum up, the well-balanced person can be seen to be controlled by the ego; the neurotic from
long-standing guilt, caused by the control of the super-ego and, when the ID is all-powerful with
controls absent, the psychopath results.
These three forms of anxiety express themselves within the ego, which then attempts to contain
the resulting anxiety by co-ordinating the pressures. It does this by bringing into operation a
variety of defence mechanisms, the best known being REPRESSION by the ego of the demands
from the ID. This repression gives the mind breathing space to come to terms with the
expectations of society. For example a child who when he first learns about sex, will probably not
understand all of the ramifications of the physical act and will repress his/her scant knowledge
until he/she learns more about the subject.
However, if the child’s knowledge remains scant, because parents, teachers or peers ignore the
subject, then that child’s repression will continue into adult life and make its interpersonal
relationships with members of the opposite sex often more difficult.
More about defence mechanisms below.
The Mind as a Hydraulic System
Freud called the power or energy of the mind LIBIDO which originates in the ID and generates the
driving force behind our motivation. Moreover, Freud suggested that this Libido was a form of
energy and it had to be discharged in some way - hence the reference to hydraulics. If the normal
route for the discharge of this energy is blocked, the energy will find another way of releasing
itself – almost like water finding its own level or lightning seeking discharge.
For example; if your urge for sex is repressed (because of social pressures or lack of a suitable
partner), you may seek to engage in another activity. Freud named the process of attaching libido
externally as CATHEXIS. Not all forms of Cathexis are unhealthy however; SUBLIMATION refers to
the process of attaching the libido externally in a socially acceptable (and productive) way.
For example; you could regard Michelangelo’s compulsive need to express himself through art as a
form of Sublimation. More commonly, individuals who are sublimating their sex drive may engage
in sports or those who have no children of their own may find themselves working with children in
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some capacity. We do the same when we fall in love, or engage in hero worship; the recipient of
our attention becomes invested with our libido.
ANTICATHEXIS occurs when the mind (Ego) resists an idea and it then operates as a defence
mechanism. If your neighbour makes loud noises in his garden one Sunday morning, your ID may
want you to go and strike him, but your Ego will stop you (hopefully), if your Super-Ego is
developed enough. The resulting inner conflict will resolve itself, by making you feel angry; yet,
when the noise stops, you become friendly again, especially when the unsuspecting neighbour
invites you round for coffee.
The well-balanced individual is said to be EGO led
The Neurotic is Super-Ego led
The Psychopath is ID led.
It is important to understand these sources of conflict; it highlights the reasons and causes of a lot
of mental distress, when people are unable to come to terms with their internal conflicts, as they
progress through life. Freud postulated several defence mechanisms. These mechanisms express
themselves within the Ego which then attempts to contain the resulting anxiety by co-ordinating
the pressures.
DEFENCE MECHANISMS
The idea of defence mechanisms has at its core a fundamental assumption: that consciousness
and our internal models of the world are systematically distorted in order to avoid anxiety.
Freud proposed that individuals use a number of unconscious coping strategies to deal with
negative thoughts and emotions. These are emotion-focussed strategies and obviously do not
change external stressors and reality. They do however change the way the individual perceives
events. It is important to note that the use of defence mechanisms is not in itself ‘bad’ or
unhealthy. Some of the mechanisms of defence are certainly more harmful than others. For
example, Freud saw Sublimation (see below) as being a healthy coping mechanism that, far from
being harmful to the individual or society, was highly beneficial to the user and society as a whole.
Of the other defence mechanisms, it is only when they are taken to extremes and start to interfere
with the successful functioning of the individual that they become a problem. The mechanisms of
defence do overlap each other considerably, so it is usual to observe a cluster of them in operation
at any one time.
Knowledge of these defence mechanisms is of paramount importance to any psychotherapist.
Only by recognising their operation can we begin to discover the underlying problems and slowly
make them accessible to conscious scrutiny.
Some defence mechanisms with the original terms employed:
Asceticism - This is a way of isolating feelings by abstaining from physically pleasurable activities
like masturbation, eating or sex.
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Cathexis - Libido is attached externally in order to achieve discharge and subsequent relief. For
example, a young man unable to satisfy his sexual urges because of social morals or lack of a
suitable partner, may discharge his libido by getting into fights on a Saturday night.
Confusion - The individual is unable to think clearly about distressing or anxiety-provoking
thoughts.
Denial - This mechanism is sometimes confused with repression. The two ideas are similar,
although distinct. Denial is usually employed when external reality is too extreme to bear. For
example, someone whose marriage is on the rocks may simply refuse to accept that anything is
wrong, or a smoker who is coughing up blood may delay seeking medical attention, because that
would involve admitting that there is a serious problem. Going into denial may serve to give the
individual time to come to terms with the grim reality at a more gradual pace. Denial is usually the
first stage in the process of bereavement, giving the bereaved person time to come to terms with
their loss. When used inappropriately however, denial can cause severe problems. Someone who
engages in severe anti-social behaviour may simply deny that there is anything wrong in their
behaviour, ignore criticism and continue in their ways. The most severe form of the state of denial
is seen in the manifestation of a fugue state. (The individual develops total amnesia of the
traumatic events.)
Depersonalisation - This involves seeing oneself or others as objects rather than subjects - i.e.,
removing their personality or subjectivity. For example, a prison may give inmates numbers and
identical uniforms to de-personalise them, or a soldier may view the enemy as ‘targets’ rather
than people.
Displacement - This involves expressing emotions towards a different person than the one at
which they should properly be directed. The most common example would be the man who has
had a terrible day at the office and has been shouted at by his boss. The man then returns home
and displaces his anger by shouting at his wife and kicking the dog. Displacement can be seen as a
way of gaining satisfaction when feelings cannot be discharged in a more direct way.
Fixation - This phenomenon involves a refusal to take the next step in normal development. This
could either be for fear of the anxiety produced by the unknown ‘next step’ or because the current
stage has not reached a satisfactory conclusion.
Idealisation - This is the idolisation or deification of an individual. This defence mechanism
manages the potential anxiety caused by having conflicting feelings about the same person. It is
often used to resist acknowledgement of negative (anxiety-provoking) feelings.
Identification - When identification is used as a defence mechanism, the individual identifies with
a person who seems strong, desirable, admirable and invulnerable. By forming a strong
identification such as this, the individual is able to form a comforting association with someone
who would not be susceptible to the anxiety that is currently being felt. Role models and heroes
fulfil this need.
Identification with the Aggressor - This, as the name suggests, involves identifying with, and
behaving like, an individual who has done harm. For example, the bullied little boy becomes a
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bully himself. Or the abused child becomes the abuser. This defence serves to empower the
individual, making him less prone to anxiety from external attack.
Phobic Avoidance - The individual becomes phobic and thus permanently avoids the feared
stimulus or situation.
Projection – This is the assignation of our unacceptable and undesirable personality traits to other
people. For example, you might take an instant dislike to a new member of office staff. By doing
so you have externalised your unacceptable traits to them and now see these traits in them, not
yourself. This in itself can cause problems. If all ugly and distressing traits are externalised, we are
less aware of them (remember The Johari Window (Luft 1969) from Unit 1?); and these traits are
now perceived by us to be ‘out there’ in the world and can ‘come back’ on us, the individual.
Extreme Projection can lead to paranoia.
Rationalisation - This is assigning logical or socially acceptable motives to our subconscious urges
or our failings. For example: a woman may fail to get a high-flying (anxiety evoking) job she
desperately wants and tell her friends that ‘I didn’t really want it anyway - it was too far for me to
travel’. This rational statement serves two purposes; it eases disappointment and it provides
reasonable excuses for her actions. Rationalisation provides a reason; it is very rarely THE reason.
Another good example of this process is illustrated by an experiment that was carried out by
Hilgard in 1965. A hypnotist made a post-hypnotic suggestion to a subject that upon waking he
would watch for a cue (the experimenter removing his glasses) and when this cue was given, the
subject should open the window. The subject was then brought out of the trance state, the cue
was given and the subject rose from his seat, stated ‘It’s awfully warm in here’ and proceeded to
open the window. In other words, he rationalised his urge to open the window, giving a logical
and socially acceptable reason for his behaviour.
Reaction Formation - This defence involves going to the opposite extreme in order to mask or
hide (from the self as well as the rest of the world) unacceptable or distressing personality traits.
For example, someone who is unusually lazy and untidy may outwardly be highly motivated, active
and organised. Or, someone who is extremely homophobic may seek to socialise with gay men.
Regression - Psychological development appears to have proceeded satisfactorily until some event
or trauma causes the individual to revert to an earlier stage of development that was safer, more
secure and less anxiety provoking.
Repression - This is considered to be the most basic defence mechanism. In repression unwanted,
unacceptable or threatening thoughts, memories or impulses are pushed into the unconscious and
conscious access to this material is subsequently denied. To the individual, and the outside world,
it may appear that the material has simply been ‘forgotten’, but complete repression is rarely
successful. Repressed content remains active within the unconscious mind where it will continue
to cause anxiety. The individual will be aware of the anxiety, but will not be aware of the cause.
The individual will then employ a number of defence mechanisms in order to keep this anxiety in
check. Freud believed that repression of childhood impulses is universal. The impact of a
repressive style of functioning is seen both in physical as well as emotional ill-health. Individuals
who employ this defence mechanism a lot have a heightened susceptibility to heart disease and
have a more rapid course of cancer. (Bonnano and Singer, 1990; Pennebaker and O’Heeron, 1984).
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Sublimation - Is a healthy form of Cathexis, it is the substitution of a socially acceptable goal or
pursuit in place of one through which Libido cannot (or should not) be discharged. For example,
Libido that would normally be discharged through sexual activity is discharged on the rugby pitch.
Suppression - Like repression, this defence mechanism aims to reduce anxiety about unwanted,
unacceptable or threatening thoughts. However, Suppression involves a conscious effort to avoid
thinking about stressful subject matter.
1.1; 1.2; 2.1; 2.1; 3.2; 3.3.
PSYCHOSEXUAL STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT
Freud formed the opinion that the early experiences of childhood were responsible for the
development of personality, especially during the first five years of life. Indeed, many modern
psychologists still adhere to this belief, including Bowlby. In his publication “Three Essays on the
Theory of Sexuality (1905), Freud said that infantile sexuality is based upon instinctual drive, and
that the mind is subjected to both internal and external stimuli and how we react to this is what
Freud referred to regarding energy or sexual response.
Freud went further and divided the infant’s development into stages relating to the relative
importance of zonal regions of the body, which were relevant to the infant at a particular point in
time. We will now examine these stages in chronological order, but do note that they will
certainly overlap each other.
The Oral Stage - birth to about 18 months.
All attention is directed towards the mouth by the actions of feeding, drinking and sucking. The
physiology of these actions is to ensure survival. The psychology arises due to the needs for
satisfaction and any conflicts which arise if feeding is not a smooth process.
The Anal Stage - from 18 months to about 3 years.
This period sees the attention of the infant directed to the elimination of waste and of any feelings
experienced by the child associated with this action. This is the first period where the infant can
experience some element of control, over whether or not he does it, and where he does it. For
example, he learns that he can receive attention from his carer by doing it on the floor instead of
the potty.
The Phallic Stage - from 3 to 5 years.
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This period refers to the child’s awareness of the genital regions and of awareness that the
genitals can provide feelings, either when eliminating, or when manipulated. Freud believed that
during this phase, girls become aware of their penis ‘deficiency’, whereas boys become nervous of
castration. By the age of 5 years, most children enter the latency period.
The Latency Stage - from 5 years to Adolescence.
Negligible ‘sexual’ activity takes place after the age of 5 and this situation remains the case until
adolescence.
The Genital Stage - from Adolescence throughout Adulthood.
During the onset of adolescence, the narcissistic self-love of the child becomes diverted into
attention to others. The first signs are the ‘crushes’ of teenagers, adulation of adult figures
(sometimes pop stars) and then established friendships. At this point, the physiological drives are
orientated towards reproduction, with all the inherent pressures on the young person of their
(sometimes confused) feelings, advertising and their own, or other peoples’ moral values.
SUMMARY
The individual’s personality will develop according to the experiences of a child during each of
these phases. This will influence the type of person he or she becomes.
So what can we expect from an individual who has experienced trauma in any of the above
stages? Well… Disruption during the Oral Stage may result in an individual who likes to use their
mouth a lot - drinking, eating, smoking, talking etc. Anal disruption may result in either an anally
retentive or anally expulsive personality. Anally retentive individuals are controlling and like to
have everything in order, anally expulsive individuals on the other hand tend to be untidy and
disorganised. An individual who has suffered disruption during the phallic stage may still have his
hands down his pants, whereas the poor individual disrupted at a latent stage may have little or
no sexual response.
Remember that these are basically the view of one psychodynamic psychologist – Freud himself.
2.2.
TRANSFERENCE AND COUNTER-TRANSFERENCE
One important area of the Psychodynamic model is transference and counter-transference,
although other therapeutic models may not place as much importance on these areas.
In therapy, transference may occur when the client consciously or not transfers feelings onto the
therapist that have actually been formed in regards to other people. For example, our client may
relate to us in ways that are more representative of other existing or previous relationships. The
client who has come to therapy to overcome a relationship breakup may have lack of trust
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towards us, the therapist, and perhaps expect to be let down in some way by us. Although this
may have some negative implications, understanding this process can be a great advanced for
therapy.
Countertransference can also create a clearer understanding of what is happening for the client.
However, we need to recognise that countertransference can operate in more than one way.
Firstly, the therapist may respond to the client’s transference, in other words, noticing our
emotions in response to our client. In our example above perhaps we may notice that we feel
unheard by the client – which might be how their previous partner felt before ending the
relationship. Such dynamics in therapy are helpful but complex, and supervision can be necessary
when transference and countertransference is occurring. When a second type of
countertransference occurs, we may find ourselves responding to the client as if the client is
someone from our own past. This would need to be worked through in supervision, reflective
practice and possibly our own personal therapy.
Although transference does have negative implications understanding how it works can be a great
boon in counselling skills as it enable a therapist to really explore human communication; and one
characteristic of Psychodynamic therapy is that observance of transference is seen as an avenue of
understanding a client. The overall goal of Psychodynamic therapy is to examine the unconscious
to see what drives people to act in the ways that they do.
Some of the exercises you did at the first class as well as earlier today in some way feature the
matter of transference and counter-transference. These exercises have included first impressions
and perception and in each of these you will have formed an initial impression of another person
based upon your thinking processes which are very much the children of your life’s experience to
date.
Due to our experience (whether through events, upbringing, negative and positive influences by
others – parents, teachers, employers etc.) we for the most part unknowingly construct an
automatic response when someone pushes our bell so to speak.
For the most part these are minor, but often clients come to therapy where issues of transference
and counter-transference are writ large. Therefore it is good to be mindful of transference and its
importance in our profession, not just on that first meeting but throughout the duration of
therapy and even afterwards.
For example what may a client’s first impressions of you be under the following circumstances?
And, these are situations that really have taken place.
• A student has been sent to you for misbehaving in class. As the college counsellor it is seen as
your job to ‘sort him out.’ The student perceives therapy as punitive. The student’s first words
to you are ‘You look like my Dad. We don’t get along.’
• You are a male counsellor and a female client has walked into the agency where you work for
the first time, looks at you and says ‘You’re a man. I expected a woman. All men are bastards!’
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• You have been seeing a client for some time and you have established a good rapport. The
client originally presented with lack of self-worth and depression. The client has progressed
well and seems astonished at how far she has come. The client says ‘I feel so much better and
I know I even look better! How may the counsellor respond? What positive and negative
aspects of transference may take place if the counsellor responds by agreeing that she indeed
does?
3.1; 3.2.
ALTERNATIVE THEORIES OF THE PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACH
Since Freud first introduced his psychoanalytic theories, many eminent psychologists have taken
up his ideas and the result is that there are a variety of models now available which represent a
modernisation of his original views. Psychologists who still follow the basic tenets originated by
Freud refer to themselves as Neo-Freudians. On the other hand, there are equally eminent
psychologists who totally disagree with Freud and, to broaden your perspective of the subject, we
will now briefly examine one of these theories – the work of Erich Fromm. In Module 3 we will
examine the work of Carl Jung.
Erich Fromm (1900-1980)
Fromm received his training from sociologists, which resulted in his theories having a marked
sociological perspective. Fromm did not accept Freud's view that man's drives are solely biological;
he believed they come from the ability to decide for himself, to choose whatever course of action
is felt appropriate. With this freedom of choice comes the freedom to decide one's individual
destiny and significance in life. He saw any conflict arising because of the actual freedom on the
one hand and the fear or uncertainty which that freedom entailed.
Where an individual could not come to terms with this freedom, he could abrogate his
responsibilities by withdrawing beneath the protection of someone or something else. Fromm
termed this withdrawal under the general heading of ‘Authoritarianism’. Examples could include
God, a specific political leader or party, an institution or even one's career, as long as one could
avoid high promotion. Fromm depicted several defences called ‘Orientations’, which equate with
different character types; these defences are raised when the above-mentioned conflict arises.
CORE COUNSELLING SKILLS
The use of core counselling skills is important throughout the course of therapy. In reality such
counselling skills are good communication skills generally but are used throughout counselling
whether the model is Cognitive-Behavioural, Humanistic or Psychodynamic.
This course is called the Diploma in Counselling Skills and Theory, and although a great part of it
will be concerned with theory, the emphasis is also upon ‘counselling skills’ and the application of
theoretical knowledge in your counselling skills work. In each unit of this course counselling skills
practice will be a major feature in relation to whatever aspect of theory is being taught. It is
important that you hone your counselling skills well to ensure that you become an effective
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practitioner, but not only that. Indeed in honing your counselling skills you will learn a great deal
about yourself in how you relate to other people – which may be very challenging for you at times
– and how they respond to you through the way you communicate by whatever avenue.
After the initial session in which you will ‘contract’ with a client (we will come to contracting in the
next class) when an exploration of the client’s past is often the focus, these skills will enable you to
understand the client’s past in the five elements outlined earlier in these notes. It is always
beneficial to remind yourself of these skills for you will have seen in the last class how important
they are when facilitating a client in addressing their present or the ‘here and now’. In this class
we note the importance of these skills in viewing a client’s past, and in the next class in viewing a
client’s future.
Succinctly core counselling skills are:
• Active listening
• Paraphrasing
• Summarising
• Clarifying
• Reflecting
• Open-ended questions
Active Listening
It is called ‘Active Listening’ because you are expected to do something! We need to identify,
acknowledge and reflect thoughts, behaviours and feelings as expressed by the client. Active
Listening includes ‘Active Attention’ using all of your senses.
Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing involves summarising in a few words what the client is saying. Depending on the
circumstances, it may be best to use the client’s own vocabulary when doing this, or some new
words of your own.
Summarising
Similar to paraphrasing, but summarising takes the form of perhaps bringing to completion a
section of therapy, e.g. summarising a previous discussion when the client has chosen to move on
to another area of discussion, or when moving towards the completion of a session.
Clarifying
Clarifying is not quite as obvious as it sounds. It is not clarifying the client’s understanding for
them. It involves seeking clarification that your understanding of the client’s experience is correct.
This has a number of helpful effects (even if you get it wrong); the client will feel that you are
trying hard to understand; you will gain a more complete understanding of the world of your
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client; your client may come to a more complete understanding of themselves as a consequence
of having to explain something in more detail or in a different way to you. Most importantly,
sometimes your client may simply be in a ‘muddle’ and you may pick this up by feeling confused
yourself. In an effort to ‘un-muddle’ you, the client may ‘un-muddle’ themselves in the process.
Reflecting
The purpose of reflecting is to give the message - ‘I am listening hard to what you tell me and I am
trying hard to understand your meaning. To let you know that I just heard what you just said, I will
tell you my understanding of it. Do I understand your meaning correctly?’
Open-ended Questions
It is good to listen to yourself sometimes when you counsel someone! What do your questions
take the form of? Are they statements rather than open-ended in spirit? Closed questions are
particularly unhelpful to good counselling practice and tend to close things down.
There are also other aspects to consider in using core counselling skills such as:
The Use of Empathy and Reflection in Carl Rogers’ Person Centred Approach
This is shown separately here from the core counselling skills as it is very largely a quality and not
only a skill. However, it is questionable whether it can be learned as a skill or is inherent; but it
certainly can be encouraged to grow. This has been described as trying to see the world of another
person through their eyes, from their point of view – without being embroiled in a client’s world
and getting lost in it and confusing your own life’s experiences with those of a client’s. In the
words of Carl Rogers empathy is: ‘sensing the other person’s world as if it were your own, without
ever losing the ‘as if’ quality’.
Empathy involves trying to understand the meaning in the other person’s life, and yes that crassly
overworked phrase ‘walking in their shoes’ and understanding how they think and feel. The
emphasis should be not only on just understanding, but in doing so sensitively and with
mindfulness and then feeding this understanding back to the other person in order to convey your
understanding of them.
We find it easier to understand another person if we suspend judgement and put our own feelings
and experiences aside. We all have a human tendency to try and ‘label’ people or to place them in
some stereotypical box; this is a tendency that is definitely counter-productive to any successful
therapy which employs mindfulness and in reality is in the end not only counter-productive but
also unkind.
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Exploratory and Information-Seeking Responses
These are by nature less concrete and more tentative than reflection, paraphrasing and
clarification. These responses attempt to draw something out from the client that the client has
only merely hinted at (albeit with words, body language, hesitation, substitution or omission).
These question-type responses must be used sensitively (if at all).
If the counsellor asks too many questions the possible outcomes are as follows:
• You set up a GP-style question and answer set where the client feels they can say nothing
unless they have first been asked to speak, and when the questions are over you will magically
produce a solution.
• You may divert the client’s attention away from something important that they were trying to
say.
• Questions demand an answer and you upset the ‘power balance’ of the therapy, making it
more ‘therapist-centred’ than ‘client-centred’ to use a Person Centred phrase.
• Questions can be intrusive, the client may feel forced into revealing something to you before
they are ready and feel resentful and guarded for the rest of the encounter.
Obviously there are helpful questions and not so helpful ones. Leading and loaded questions are
to be avoided at all costs, as are closed questions that invite monosyllabic responses. Open
questions do invite the client to expand on their narrative and so are the most helpful, if used
sensitively.
Linking
This type of response aims to link apparently disparate parts of the clients’ story together in order
that some interpretation and understanding can be gained. Done well, this technique can bring
insight to a client who has hitherto been unable to unite conflicting emotions or thoughts that
belong together. Use this type of response with caution. It needs to be done sensitively in a wellestablished therapeutic relationship and above all - be tentative. You could be wrong. Also if the
client is just not ready to see it - he/she will not see it. Be prepared to drop it if the client is
unwilling or unable to see the link themselves but be mindful of this in further work with the
client.
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STUDENT PREPARATION FOR THE NEXT MODULE
Please ensure that you prepare yourself for the next module. This is very important so you may
fully engage with your learning community on that day rather than coming to class ‘cold’ so to
speak. This is a matter of personal responsibility regarding yourself and to other members of your
learning community.
Upon being admitted onto this course you will have been given an over-view of all six modules and
the reading matter pertinent to each of those modules. Obviously, it is not required that you read
every item of literature cited, but at least that you do some background reading regarding each
module before attendance.
Module Handouts:
These will be available in Moodle.
Assignments:
Your tutor will give you guidance at the end of each module. Assignments must consist of the
following:
- An introduction with aims and objectives – in other words what you want to convey in your
assignment. - The main body of your text must include relevant cited sources supporting what you write
according to the Harvard Referencing System. - A summative conclusion in which you summarise the main points of the main text to show that
you have answered the assignment brief. - A bibliography citing sources you have used according to the Harvard Referencing System.
Tips for writing assignments:
If you wish to quote, do so sparingly. Marking tutors want to read what you have to say – not
anyone else – so they can assess that you understand what you have written. You are to cite the
literature related to each module and not course handouts or internet sources unless you find
significant evidence to enhance your assignments. Internet sources need to be recognised and
accountable sources.
Plagiarism:
This means copying and pasting material that is not your own work, also known as cheating. It is
easily identifiable and any work submitted where there is evidence of plagiarism will be failed.
If you wish any further support from your tutor about writing an assignment please ask your tutor
in class or prior arranged by telephone.
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Reading for next Module
Reeves, A “ An Introduction to Counselling and Psychotherapy: From Theory to Practice”
1
st Edition (2013): Chapter 7
2
nd Edition (2018): Chapter 8
Fordham, F “An Introduction to Jung’s Psychology
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Appendix 1
Client Role Plays
CLIENT A
You are the client and you should not show this information to the others in your group.
You are a 27 year old administration assistant. Your partner of seven years has just left you and
you are flat broke. Your partner provided a joint income for six of these seven years. You are
feeling desperate, not sleeping well, and your overall sense of self has suffered. Your sister has
recommended that you seek therapy and offered to pay. You think that this is a valid idea as a
number of your friends have benefited from therapy in the past.
CLIENT B
You are the client and you should not show this information to the others in your group.
You are a 34 year old woman who is having relationship difficulties. You have decided to bring
yourself to therapy because you wish (to appear) to try and do everything to save your marriage.
You have asked your husband to accompany you to therapy but he refuses. You have strong
religious views.
Your husband is not violent or nasty, he is in fact a very good father to your two children and a
very good provider - but you feel that you are drifting apart as he no longer communicates much
with you. You have recently found yourself attracted to your neighbour. Nothing has happened
yet - but you wish it had – which conflicts with your religious values. You feel confused and want
to talk things through with a therapist.
CLIENT C
You are the client and you should not show this information to the others in your group.
You are a 57 year old man/woman who is an alcoholic and have just hit your wife/husband for the
first time. Your sense of self has been shattered by your actions as you have always considered
violence as abhorrent. A friend has recommended that you try some sort of therapy but you have
a low opinion of counselling, however your wife/husband has threatened to leave you unless you
get some sort of help.
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Appendix 2
Client Role Plays
CLIENT A
You are the client and you should not show this information to the others in your group.
You are a female aged 42 who walked out on your husband of twenty years and two children for a
man you met only a few times. You realise now you have made a big mistake, and wants to go
back to your husband who refuses to have anything to do with you and is seeking a divorce and
custody of your two children.
CLIENT B
You are the client and you should not show this information to the others in your group.
You are a male/female aged 21 who has just been released from prison. You have a history of
minor offences. You want to ‘go straight’ and have a meaningful life but you feel pressure from his
peers to return to his former lifestyle of crime. You are unemployed with little prospect of finding
work in the foreseeable future.
CLIENT C
You are the client and you should not show this information to the others in your group.
You are a 32-year-old woman who has been referred to therapy by your GP. You are finding it
increasingly hard to cope with your three children and you feel useless and hopeless.
You have a very low self-esteem (caused by a negative upbringing) and cannot accept that there is
anything worthwhile or good about you. Your negative thoughts about yourself are causing
problems in your relationship and you are worried that you are so useless at work that they will
give you the sack very soon.
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The Chrysalis Diploma in Counselling Skills and Theory
Successful candidates will achieve the AIM Awards Level 4 Diploma in Counselling Skills and
Theory (RQF)
Unit 3: Working with a Client’s Future
(Ofqual Ref no. Y/505/8201)
Module 3
This Module constitutes Unit 3 of the AIM Awards Level 4 Diploma in Counselling Skills and Theory
(RQF), a Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) qualification: Reference Number (601/2243/2).
The learning outcomes and assessment objectives of this qualification are at Level 4 of the RQF
and are mapped to relevant National Occupational Standards. This qualification is quality checked
by the National Counselling Society.
The Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria for Unit 3 Working with a Client’s Future (Module
3) are:
LEARNING OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
The learner will: The learner can:
- Understand how the client’s presenting
issue may affect their future development
1.1. Identify the client’s aspirations in
relation to their presenting issue
1.2. Review own approach in supporting the
client to realise their aspirations - Understand theory in relation to Analytical
Psychology
2.1. Evaluate the strengths and limitations of
Analytical Psychology
2.2. Review the value of Jung’s contribution to
counselling theory - Be able to evaluate own practice 3.1. Review the effectiveness of own practice
3.2. Identify areas for improvement in own
practice
3.3. Review the personal challenges of using
Analytical Psychology in counselling
Unit 3 Working with a Client’s Future is assessed by means of entries in the Learning Journal and
an essay. Your tutor will advise you of other ways in which the criteria may be met.
2
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3.2.
UNIT 3 – INTRODUCTION TO TODAY’S CONTENT
Your client possibly will, from the beginning of therapy, have their future firmly in mind. After all,
it is their wish to create a future unlike, in some manner, their past and present which has been
their fundamental drive to approach you as a therapist.
However, other than the initial general desire to remove, conquer or ‘cure’ their presenting issues,
there is normally little understanding of what life will be like once the issue is addressed. For
example, a client with a phobia about flying may realise intellectually that, without this phobia,
they would be able to fly - but be unaware of the many implications, resolving it will have
throughout their whole life. The new ability to fly may open up a whole range of experiences and
profound life changes, leading to a radical positive shift in the psyche, and an increase in
confidence and well-being.
Similarly, with more complex issues, such as relationships, it is often difficult to grasp the
implications of future positive changes. Is the resolution to a difficult marriage a change in the
behaviour of a client and/or their partner and them both working together to improve their
relationship, or separating? Usually, the client, as with any human being in such circumstances,
arrives at therapy simply with the wish to ‘make it better’ or ‘fix it’ or very likely that you as a
therapist will ‘fix it’. With regard to this it is important for you as a therapist to consider what the
client expects of you. The client will often have expectations of you that are unrealistic and it
would be helpful for you to engage with a client’s expectations of any therapy to be undertaken.
This in itself is empowering for a client on their journey for change and growth.
As therapy progresses, the therapeutic relationship may begin to move into what may be termed
the ‘end-game’ or to a place the client wishes to be. After some sessions – and it may take some
time, the therapist will gain an understanding of the client’s present and presenting issue(s), and
some understanding and exploration of the past has occurred. It is a complex matter of skill,
judgement and intuition in determining when therapy is moving towards completion.
It is important to realise that the normal therapeutic process involves a greater focus upon the
future of a client during the ‘end-game’ of therapy and the closure of the therapeutic process: that
is to say, during the last sessions of the contracted therapy period and also when the therapy itself
finally ends.
It is hoped that you have prepared for this session by doing the necessary background reading as
you were guided to do so at the end of the last class. If not it is very important to start to do this as
soon as possible as when you come to class you may find it difficult to engage with some of the
theoretical concepts discussed and practiced in your counselling skills groups. The main themes
for today’s class are the following: - Contracting with clients
3
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Module 3 S-MOD2/3-002 - Definitions of a Client’s Future
- Working with a Client’s Future
3 The Analytical Psychology Model and the Future
4 Jung’s Conception of the Human Psyche and Comparisons to Freud’s Model of the
Typological Mind
5 Core Counselling Skills Practice
4
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Contracting with Clients
Contracting is an important feature at the commencement of a therapeutic relationship as well as
an ethical requirement.
In counselling and psychotherapy contracting is a mutual agreement between a therapist and
client and is an ethical matter which professional bodies in these fields encourage and adhere to.
This may be a verbal or written agreement which covers areas such as, but not limited to:
• When counselling sessions are held (date and time etc) as well as their length (usually 50
minutes)
• The limits of confidentiality and how this may be bypassed by Law
• Details about fees and methods of payment
• Therapist methods of working, qualifications, insurance and membership of ethical bodies
• How a therapist may be contacted outside the times of therapy
• Health and safety matters (especially if counselling takes place within an organisational
setting)
• How missed or cancelled sessions are managed
• If therapy is time-based what is the expected length of therapy
It cannot be stressed enough how important it is that boundaries are maintained in the
counselling relationship and contracting is a way to ensure this from the very beginning of
therapy.
3.1; 3.2.
The Client’s Future
1.1; 1.2.
We will define the client’s ‘future’ for therapeutic purposes as:
1) The cementing of the therapeutic relationship through mutual exploration of future issues
in the ‘end-game’ of therapy
2) The client’s consciousness of their future: hopes and fears
3) The development of the client’s future self
4) The therapist’s diagnosis of the link between the future which the client hopes for, or
fears, and the presenting issue
5) The resolution of therapy.
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The most important time for the therapist to understand and ‘map out’ the client’s future is during
the last sessions of therapy and as therapy moves towards its closing phases. This will enable you
to bring the client’s past and present together and then assist them in moving their life forwards in
every sense. However, this needs to be fluid as on-going circumstances will often change for
clients and therapists need to be very much aware of this and be as pro-active in engagement with
clients rather than being rigid. - The therapeutic relationship and the exploration of a client’s future
Throughout therapy, you should be aware of your client’s hopes and concerns for the future. You
should determine what kind of energy, and what skills, exercises and approaches, should be
utilised to explore these future issues.
Your first determination of the client’s sense of the future can be deduced from their presenting
issue. Simply put, you and your client together will, in the initial stages of therapy, define what
they wish to achieve. This may be difficult for a client to envisage so a therapist again needs to be
mindful in the fluidity of the place clients see themselves as being in the given moment. The focus
will either be on removing a negative energy, behaviour or experience, or gaining a positive one.
You should take note of your client’s overall sense of future issues and what may arise from them
making any changes especially if other people are involved – and there are consequences. Do
they feel incapable of resolving their present issues and moving on, or incapable of moving
obstacles? There is a difference. A client may also feel totally overwhelmed. What therapeutic
strategies or models can you as the therapist employ in assisting them? Of course, at this stage of
your training you are learning about strategies and models so this at present will be an on-going
process for you as a trainee in honing your theoretical knowledge and core counselling skills as
well as your own personal and professional development.
You will need to be mindful of where you are in the present with a client at any stage of your work
with them, as well as to consider later therapeutic sessions. When is it appropriate for instance to
move from discussions about the client’s past, and the on-going present, to then focus more upon
their future? What techniques can and should be employed here? What is the goal of such
exploration with a client?
Similar to your work with your client’s past, an overall intuitive approach is important. Your client
may speak of life without a spouse who has recently passed away in neutral and business-like
tones. Does this mean they have come to terms with everything and are ready to move on, or
does it mean they are surpressing their emotions and just putting on a brave face? At what stage
are they in their process? ‘Process’ is the key word here.
Clients will most likely not have a defined sense of the future as far as their inner lives go at the
start of therapy, and perhaps for some considerable time, so a therapist must take this into mind.
Information Needed:
An overall general understanding of your client’s future issues.
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Therapeutic Response:
Gain an overall idea of what areas of your client’s future need exploration and therapeutic work.
Plan the last session(s) of therapy to utilise exercises which may address your client’s future
issues.
The Wheel of Life
This exercise below is to clarify a client’s life goals and can be a good way of judging the
progression of therapy and identifying key targets.
Regarding the centre of the wheel as 0 and the outer edge as 10 the client should rate each area
of the wheel according to their current satisfaction. They should be encouraged to do this task
quickly without thinking about it too much. The segment created can then be coloured in. A
completed sample ‘wheel’ is included below.
As we can see from this wheel, the client enjoys good overall health and has a ‘reasonable’
relationship with their significant other. However, other areas of the clients’ life, such as career,
money and spirituality seem to be limited. A blank wheel is included at Appendix 1 for the
counselling skills exercise.
1.1; 1.2; 3.1; 3.2.
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The Lottery Test
This is a simple test which can be used to test for vocation and life goals. It is usually a fairly easy
question for clients to answer because it is something that lottery players think about every time
they buy a ticket.
The simple question is:
‘If you won the lottery tonight, so that money was no object, how would this change your career,
your relationships and your sense of life’s purpose?’
In other words:
‘Would I be doing what I’m doing today if I won the lottery? (albeit in a more relaxed way!) If not,
what does this say about how what I am doing relates to my authentic self?’
The 5-year Plan
Businessmen use five-year plans in order to clarify the future of their companies and focus
direction of effort. This technique can be useful for therapists’ self-assessment and for clients.
The questions that the client needs to answer are as follows:
1) Where, ideally, would you like to be in 5 years’ time?
2)
When this question is answered, ask the following question…
3) So where do you have to be in THREE years’ time in order to get to that ideal state?
Then ask…
4) So where do you have to be in ONE year’s time, in order to get to the state described in 3
years?
And finally…
5) So what do you have to do TODAY in order to get to the state described in one year’s time?
Always remembering: If you always do, as you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve
always got! - The client’s consciousness of their future: hopes and fears
How is your client conscious of their future? Do they feel optimistic and empowered, ready to
move on, and are they seeing obstacles in their present and past as easily resolvable? Do they
face their future with fear and trepidation? How do they think their future will change if they
resolve their presenting issue? Are they able to define and realise future goals, dreams and
aspirations? Or do they feel that their past and present difficulties will prevent this?
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Information Needed:
A thorough understanding of (a) your client’s attitude to their future; (b) their readiness to move
forward and realise that the future can be different from present and past; to grow and evolve; (c)
their understanding of what elements of their past and present affect their future selves.
Therapeutic Response:
Assess your client’s consciousness of their future. What does your intuition and judgement tell
you about this consciousness? What do you have to say to your client about their consciousness
of their future, and does your understanding correlate with, supplement or even disagree with
theirs?
This is an exercise which uses visualisation without hypnotic induction in order to allow
spontaneous free association of symbols. It can be used with clients for life-path definition and
clarification. The symbols that emerge for your client are discussed afterwards in an open-ended
fashion. You should emphasise to your client that there are no ‘right answers’. The symbolism
used below is taken from a Jungian perspective.
Begin by asking your client to close their eyes and make themselves comfortable. The idea is to
prompt them to see images rather than feed images to them. Make sure that you PACE SLOWLY
to afford your client the time necessary to enjoy and remember their experience.
Imagine that you are in a wood.
How does that wood feel to you?
What does it look like?
What season is it?
Is it a nice, or a nasty place?
Now before you - you see a path. Describe the path.
As you walk on it, how does it make you feel?
Where do you think that you may be headed?
You look down on the path and see a key…
What kind of key?
What might it fit?
Do you take it with you - or leave it behind?
Continue walking along the path, you now find a coin…
What kind of coin?
Do you keep it or leave it?
Next you see a cup. What kind of cup?
What is it filled with?
Do you drink?
Do you take it or leave it?
Next you come across an angry animal blocking your path…
What kind of animal?
What do you do?
Next you come to some water (important to use this phrase)
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What kind of water is it?
How does it make you feel?
You notice that the path ends in a wall.
What kind of wall?
How does it make you feel?
What might be on the other side?
You look over the wall…
What do you find?’
Now have your client open their eyes and write everything down.
Discuss the client’s results and do not reveal the key (listed below) until you have asked the client
questions such as ‘What sort of cup did you have?’.
The Key: (this key is taken from a Jungian perspective)
Wood = Life
Path = Life’s Journey or Direction
Key = Education or Learning
Coin = Money, career
Cup = Religion/spirituality
Animal = Obstacles
Water = Sex
Wall = Death
Over Wall = Life after Death.
The Analytical Psychology Model (Carl Jung 1876-1961) and the Future
Carl Jung was a pupil of Freud, but one who totally disagreed with aspects of Freud's teaching,
especially the leaning towards the reliance on sex to provide many answers. Jung developed his
own approach, which became known as Analytical Psychology, often using the well-known ‘Word
Association’ tests, and you will certainly have heard of the terms ‘extravert’, ‘introvert’ and
‘complex’, all devised by Jung. He agreed with Freud that man is driven by libido, but felt that it
was in the nature of a ‘life force’ which was responsible for all development within the natural
world.
His work differed, in particular, with regard to the unconscious, in that he believed that our
unconscious is partly a personal unconscious and partly a collective unconscious. The collective
unconscious is common to us all, where we essentially are born with a blueprint, both physically
and psychologically, for life. Interestingly, he based his theory on research which showed
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uniformity of ideas or customs throughout the culture of a race. He also discovered that these
themes often showed in the fantasies of psychotic patients, who could not possibly have known of
this material.
Further research into the analysis of dreams also indicated that these culture themes were
regularly forming the foundation material of dreams, especially on the themes of birth, sunand/or mother-worship. Jung felt that the almost universal use of symbols indicated origins in a
collective unconscious, which was more dominant than the individual unconscious.
In a nutshell Jung’s Analytical Psychology approach regards a person's beliefs and behaviours as
the result of both conscious and unconscious beliefs; and this may be extended further for Jung
strongly believed that homo sapiens through our evolution have developed a ‘collective
unconsciousness’, and in that process has created in the human psyche ‘archetypes’ that have a
profound influence on our development as individuals and as a species.
You will notice some similarities with Freud’s Psychodynamic model as Jung originally began as a
student of Freud but went on to develop his own system, Analytical Psychology.
KEY TERMS:
The Psyche
The psyche Jung maintained is composed of several autonomous and inter-dependent subsystems. When these are in conflict with each other the Self cannot become fully realised.
Ego
The centre of consciousness in the present which is known at any given moment.
Personal Unconscious
The unique and individual aspects of the human personality whose elements were once conscious
but have become repressed for whatever reason but may be recollected into the present by
therapy.
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Collective Unconscious
The on-going evolutionary development of the human species in which Archetypes develop. The
collective unconscious contains archetypes that are manifest in the human species no matter how
culturally and historically divergent. The collective unconscious consists of ideas, images which are
materialised as dreams, myths, religions, legends, and indeed in their representations in works of
art. It is an invisible structure which enables the human psyche to operate and have effective
contact with the natural world.
Archetypes
This word and conception originated in ancient Greek Platonic philosophy as a recurring symbol of
something important which helps humans to relate to the world they live in.
Some of the Archetypes identified by Jung:
Persona
Is the mask which enables us to act out our roles in relationships and society at large. To Jung the
development of a persona was entirely necessary for a healthy functioning psychic life.
Shadow
We may over identify with our persona, neglecting our own and others’ emotional needs, which
creates our shadow side. The shadow is our feared and repressed nature. In myths it is the devil,
the witch, evil spirits whom we blame for our own dark nature. It can influence whole nations
(Nazi Germany), crowds (hooligans) and groups (diploma students). When it is collective aspects of
our personality engage negatively in aggression or passive-aggressiveness. This may also be seen
in aspects of culture that are repressed and create stereotypes which damn individuals or groups
who do not conform to ‘norms’.
Integration
In an integrated personality the Shadow may be a healthy avenue of not identifying with it too
closely but at the same time recognising aspects of our drives and personality.
In therapy this may mean a counsellor identifies areas personal prejudice, understandings of
archetypes (and stereotypes) which may interfere with engagement with clients in matters of
Freud’s Psychodynamic transference and counter-transference, and Rogers Person-Centred
projection and acting out.
1.1; 1.2; 2.1; 2.2; 3.1; 3.2; 3.3. - The development of the client’s future self
During this stage of the therapeutic relationship, an inkling of the direction of the future self of the
client should emerge.
Some prominent therapeutic models have an understanding of the ideal direction of future
individual human development. We have already explored Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and self-
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actualisation (e.g. Rogers’ Person-Centred model) in previous units. Other models, such as Jung’s
concept of Individuation, should be explored further by interested therapists if they wish to follow
Analytical Psychology.
In what manner can your client be led towards a manifestation of their future self which is
healthy, whole, and fulfilling on as many levels as possible? How far is your client from realising a
more healthy and whole ‘future self’? Is your client’s self-image improvable and is this
improvement sustainable in the long-term? Again as ever and always, how is your client in their
self-process in the here and now? Are you as a therapist still trying to ‘fix’? If so, why so?
Information Needed:
Understanding your client’s likely future self.
Therapeutic Response:
How will your client’s self-esteem and sense of self progress in the future? What therapeutic
measures can be taken to assist their movement towards wholeness and self-actualisation?
Stepping into the Future
This is a technique which utilises visualisation and works best when the client is in a relaxed state.
The aim is to focus the client’s efforts on moving forward towards a desired future state.
You can use this exercise with a client straightaway - allowing their subconscious to come up with
the goal or you can talk to your client before you begin this procedure (you may like to use some
of the techniques above) and establish a desired goal state.
Get your client comfortable (use a mindful approach by getting them to go through a body scan to
engage with any anxiety, feelings of tiredness etc).
Now as you relax, I would like you to imagine that you are sitting in front of a large television
screen. It is so large that it fills your entire field of vision.
At the moment on the screen there is just a swirling mass of coloured dots, sometimes blinking on
and off as they dance around the screen. Swirling and dancing around before your eyes.
As you watch, I would like you to think about your ideal future. You may be thinking about a goal
that you desire. You may be thinking about solving a problem. Either way, think about your
DESIRED future - the future in which your goal has been attained. And as you do this a picture
starts to form on the screen. At the moment the picture is small. As you look at this picture you
notice that it represents you attaining your goal. As you watch, the picture becomes clearer and
clearer, sharper and sharper. And the more you focus on this goal, the more the picture becomes
clearer and sharper. You can hear the sounds that go along with this vision. You now feel the
emotions that go along with this picture. Perhaps you feel happiness, excitement, satisfaction,
contentment, calm. Name the emotions you feel and recognise that YOUR future has made you
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feel this way. Make it real in your mind. This is what success feels like. This is what YOUR FUTURE
feels like.
Now that that picture is on the screen, in the top left hand corner, imagine YOUR FIRST STEP
towards that future. You know what to do. Using your knowledge and your wisdom you know
what to do. Imagine this FIRST STEP now. Just putting one foot in front of the other one. A simple
step. You have been taking steps your whole life. How easy it is to take JUST ONE STEP. And now
you see that the picture of your ideal future has become larger. You take a moment to look at that
picture again and soak up the feelings. And now you imagine that you take the NEXT STEP into
your future. From the vantage point of the FIRST STEP the NEXT STEP is just another step. And you
know how easy it is to take JUST ONE STEP. And you notice that the picture of your future has
become bigger again. It has become much bigger because it is nearer.
Continue with this exercise, taking JUST ONE STEP AT A TIME. Starting from your LAST STEP, take
the next step in your mind, and then the next and the next until you reach your goal. You notice
that with each step the picture becomes larger and larger, nearer and clearer, until this picture fills
the whole of the screen. Until you have reached your goal. When you have reached this point, tell
me you have reached your goal by saying out loud ‘I have reached my goal’.
[WAIT for client to finish with this exercise]
Good - well done. Congratulate yourself on reaching your goal. How do you feel? The picture is
very large indeed in front of you now. It fills your entire field of vision. And as you look at it, you
notice something strange again. The picture is so large, you cannot see where the screen ends and
reality begins. It is almost as if you are REALLY THERE.
You may decide RIGHT NOW - RIGHT THIS MINUTE that you are ready to step into the future. You
have taken all the steps in your mind and you may decide that this is enough YOU ARE READY
RIGHT NOW - RIGHT THIS MINUTE TO STEP INTO THE FUTURE. You have come this far and you
realise that now the future is ONLY A SINGLE STEP AWAY. Just ONE step into the future. You might
decide to take that step.
You realise now that whether you take the step into the future or not, it is YOUR decision to make.
Only YOU can step into this future. No-one can do it for you. Only YOU can step into the future.
And you now realise, happily, contentedly, that YOU CAN DO IT, you HAVE DONE IT. You have
identified the steps you need to take you into your future, and now you know the way it is EASY.
And now you take a few moments to relax. Revel in the feelings that YOUR FUTURE bring you.
Take some time to review the steps that took you there. Make sure you REMEMBER THE WAY.
And continue to relax.
When you have concluded this exercise with your client, make sure to discuss it fully and write
down the steps the client describes. This can then be used as an action plan. Essentially, your
client has come up with this action plan and so, should not object to its implementation. If he/she
does - check that your client is not playing the game of ‘Why don’t you - yes but’! (Berne, E,
(1964)). You can then use this action plan to check for progress at each session.
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1.1; 1.2; 2.1; 2.2; 3.1; 3.2; 3.3. - The therapist’s diagnosis of the link between the future which the client hopes for, or fears,
and the presenting issue
Information Needed:
The listening skills to understand and map the link between presenting issue and the future.
Therapeutic Response:
You should move from your diagnosis of your client’s problem to methods of moving them into
the future. - The resolution of therapy
In this module, some different skills and models have been utilised as each component of the
client’s future has been explored. The final element of this exploration will involve the end of the
therapeutic process.
Information Needed and the Therapeutic Response:
Knowing when to end therapy and assessing the failure or success of the process, moving the
client on. How will you empower a client to do so?
The End is in the Beginning
Acquisition is a task that is made simpler when there is an identifiable target. In other words, a
successful conclusion to therapy is much more easily attained when you know what that
conclusion will be. It is therefore very important to have a conversation with your client early on
in therapy (maybe even during the first session) about what constitutes a successful conclusion to
therapy. Of course, you may find that having attained this goal, your client wishes to continue to
tackle other problems or issues. It may even be possible that the resolution of one issue will
reveal another - be flexible, but make sure that both you and your client know at all times where
you are trying to go.
This is why contracting is important and we looked at it earlier today.
The End of Therapy
One thing that can be fairly certain about your relationship with your client is that, at some point
that relationship will come to a close. Closure itself is a vital component of the therapeutic
process and can happen in a number of ways. It is worth reviewing these.
1) Closure by the therapist
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The therapist may determine that therapy is at an end because the client has fulfilled the goals of
therapy. Simpler therapeutic engagements will make this a simpler decision. Alternatively, it may
be felt that the therapy is no longer assisting the client and that the therapist feels it unethical to
continue under the circumstances. A third scenario is where an initial presenting issue leads on to
deeper therapeutic exploration, and the initial therapy is extended as client and therapist change
course to explore new possibilities.
2) Closure by the client
The client may determine that therapy is at an end. This kind of closure can fall into two
categories:
a) Communicative Closure.
This is when the client engages with the therapist and there is mutual engagement in
ending the process. The client may feel happy with the result of therapy and decide to
terminate it having achieved their goals; or may feel that there is no further point in
continuing as the therapy is unsuccessful.
b) Non-Communicative Closure
This is where the client stops showing up, or possibly leaves a message on an answer
machine, or otherwise ends therapy without the communication of resolution - for
example, by making an appointment but then simply not arriving.
1.1; 1.2; 3.1; 3.2.
Closure is always a learning process for the therapist. Successes and ‘neat’ closures can be
satisfying and rewarding, whereas unsuccessful or ‘messy’ closures can be very challenging. It is
always important to record the closure of therapy with clients in your personal as well as your
case study material. Please talk about any difficult closures with your tutor.
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STUDENT PREPARATION FOR THE NEXT MODULE
Please ensure that you prepare yourself for the next module. This is very important so you may
fully engage with your learning community on that day rather than coming to class ‘cold’ so to
speak. This is a matter of personal responsibility regarding yourself and to other members of your
learning community.
Upon being admitted onto this course you will have been given an over-view of all six modules and
the reading matter pertinent to each of those modules. Obviously, it is not required that you read
every item of literature cited, but at least that you do some background reading regarding each
module before attendance.
Module Handouts:
These will be available in Moodle.
Assignments:
Your tutor will give you guidance at the end of each module. Assignments must consist of the
following: - An introduction with aims and objectives – in other words what you want to convey in your
assignment. - The main body of your text must include relevant cited sources supporting what you write
according to the Harvard Referencing System. - A summative conclusion in which you summarise the main points of the main text to show that
you have answered the assignment brief. - A bibliography citing sources you have used according to the Harvard Referencing System.
Tips for writing assignments:
If you wish to quote, do so sparingly. Marking tutors want to read what you have to say – not
anyone else – so they can assess that you understand what you have written. You are to cite the
literature related to each module and not course handouts or internet sources unless you find
significant evidence to enhance your assignments. Internet sources need to be recognised and
accountable sources.
Plagiarism:
This means copying and pasting material that is not your own work, also known as cheating. It is
easily identifiable and any work submitted where there is evidence of plagiarism will be failed.
If you wish any further support from your tutor about writing an assignment please ask your tutor
in class or by telephone.
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Reading for next Module:
Reeves, A “An Introduction to Counselling and Psychotherapy: From Theory to Practice”
1
st Edition (2013): Ch 6.3
2
nd Edition (2018): pp 239 - 243
Sanders, D & Wills F, “Counselling for Anxiety Problems”
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Appendix 1
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Appendix 2
Client Role Plays
CLIENT A
You are the client and you should not show this information to the others in your group.
You are in your mid-30s and in a dead-end job you have been in since you left school at the age of - You have few qualifications except your present work experience with a supermarket chain
and want to ‘get a life and career’ but you feel overwhelmed at any prospect of ‘moving on’. Your
parents did not have high expectations of you as you skipped school often. They were and still are
loving parents, but you feel you have let them down as well as yourself. You are single and live
alone and on a low wage.
CLIENT B
You are the client and you should not show this information to the others in your group.
You are 60 years old and have been married since 21. Your husband/wife is very kind to you but
you feel stuck in a marriage that has over the years become a loving friendship. You feel that there
was originally no romance in your relationship and you married as it was expected of you at the
time. You now feel trapped and as you enter your 60s you are wondering if this is it is how it going
to be from now on. You feel very disloyal in your mind about your marriage and feel you have no
options as you are getting older.
CLIENT C
You are the client and you should not show this information to the others in your group.
You feel at the end of your tether. All your life you believe that you have had to make other
people happy at the expense of your own happiness. Your partner divorced you two years ago as
you had an affair. You have a good job but live alone. Your workmates are fine but you have no
real friends. You have recently had an anxiety attack and you don’t know what to do about your
future.