Counseling theory
Rational-emotive therapy stresses the ability of the clients to think on their own and change by making good judgments and taking action. Rational-emotive therapists believed that the problems of the clients are rooted in childhood and in their belief system, which was formed during childhood. The counseling involves method solving and dealing with emotional problems. The counselor assist the client eliminates self-defeating outlooks and perceive life in a rational manner.
According to Patrick PK.(2007) rational emotive therapist believed that cognition, and emotion are not incongruent human aspects but are basically, integrated and holistic. In fact, this aspect is marching with other cognitive-behavioral aspects. Some of the strengths of rational-emotive and its application is its simplicity. Rational-emotive takes into consideration development levels as significant when dealing with patients, moreover, rational-emotive therapy have absence of moral perspectives. Rational-emotive therapy is important for counseling profession.
Its effectiveness, short-term aspect and low cost are the reasons for its attractiveness. The reality therapist assist the client controls the world around them and satisfy their individual’s needs. The therapists believe that the client can change their life for the better. The therapy looks at the what and the why actions of the clients. Emotional problem is a result of client’s perception and feelings. Reality therapy is thus based on the aspect that client accept the past and begin to behave in a responsible manner. Reality teaches the client a better ways of living and become more effective in satisfying their needs.
Existential – humanistic tradition Existential therapy is based on freedom of choice in changing one’s life. The therapists believe that the individuals are responsible in shaping their own life and a need for self- awareness. The therapy focuses at the present and at the future life of an individual. The therapists help the client recognize their freedom and perceive their possibilities of their future. They assist the client recognize their responsiveness of the future events. The therapy is well suited to assist the client make good choices affecting their lives.
The theory is based on the following core aspects: contact, open participation of each other and mutual influence; genuineness, to be reliable, harmonious, human and transparent; unconditional positive regard, accepting individual’s being despite of his or her behavior; and empathy; understanding the moment experience of an individual. Other basic aspects of human conditions in existentialist approach include capacity for self-awareness, the freedom and responsibility tension, the identity creation and the establishment of effective relationships and the recognizing distress as living conditions.
The existentialists uphold that person ability for self-consciousness provides them freedom possibilities as well as recognizing that they are finite and have limited time. Thus individuals are free to choose the available alternatives in living and have an effective responsibility to shape their personal destinies. The result of our choice is based on the way we live and hence individuals should be responsible in directing their lives. The existential therapy focuses at helping clients to reflect on life, identify alternatives and chose the best alternatives.
The therapists aimed at making people become aware of how to acknowledge situations and take control so as to shape their lives by looking for options that can create a meaningful life. 3. Logotherapy and gestalt therapy The main aspects of the logotheraphy are based on its need to consider person in their irreducible wholeness, as subjects endowed with values and presenting existential thematic that cannot be dealt with by purely psychological means. Logotherapy therapy begins with the soul and has a true intuitive consciousness and an invariable internationality towards individual’s values.
Hence, during therapy, themes that are relating to the meaning of life are placed at the heart of counseling intervention and human behavior guided to search for meaning and existential truth in all of its diverse manifestations. Therapist therefore contrasts various human forms of irresponsibility and led the clients towards the recognition of various possibilities and freedoms inherent in their choices. The therapy provides specific forms of intervention, which include self-transcendence and self-detachment.
Everyone experiences moments in life may be considered normal and not really require any attention. However, individual may cope with this experience by forcing the circumstances but only to become knotted in a mesh. To overcome the situation, this therapy used the dereflection method, based on the intentionality concept. Gestalt therapy conversely incorporates the body and mind aspects, by emphasizing consciousness and integration. Incorporation of behavior, feelings and perception is main aspect in the Gestalt therapy.
Patients are perceived as being able to recognize how the impacts of the previous life could change their life. The therapist assist the client realizes their personal responsibilities, avoiding problems; experience thins in a constructive manner and in a present awareness. The therapy lead the client have awareness of every moment in their life experience and challenge the client to accept to take care of themselves instead of others doing for them.
Multicultural therapy is counseling that involves clients from differing racial, ethnic, and cultural groups and, thus, multicultural clients refer to clients from minority populations. It is significant to include cultural aspects when dealing with multicultural clients. Incorporating cultural variables in the therapeutic process requires one to be literate in ethnic and cultural information. Eliciting cultural information from clients allows the counselor to work with many diverse clients without having to become experts on particular ethnic groups.
Hence, counselors must recognize the necessity of ethnic knowledge and cultural information elicited in conversations with clients. Multicultural therapist share common aspects, which include exploring client’s worldview, considering the role of acculturation, and taking additional roles. Exploring clients’ worldviews is a fundamental part of multicultural therapy. Therapists must find out the similarity and differences of the client’s value system from the country of origin as well as system in the destination country.
Exploration enables counselors to get information concerning how the clients view themselves after being exposed to new cultures. Acculturation is a vital aspect in exploring cultural issues. It is adjustment in which individuals from other culture are subjected to when entering a new culture. Therapist must look at the adaptative strategy that clients are deducing during therapy to assess accurately their level of acculturation. The clients should be encouraged to adjust the old rules for the actual consideration of the current situations.
Lastly, when dealing with clients of minority cultures, the counselors are encouraged to take on additional rules. These include changing the idea of counseling as visualized and institutionalized in this county and enfold further styles of intervention. Such addition includes consulting help agencies and elucidating process and laws unusual to the client (Patrick, 2007).
Reference:
- Patrick PK. (2007). Internet counseling: trend, application & ethical issues. In: Patrick PK (ed).
- Contemporary Issues in therapy. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
