FREE ESSAY ON COUNSELING PROCESS

COUNSELING PROCESS

I. Title
Overview of Counseling and Psychotherapy
II. Definition
Psychotherapy is the treatment of individuals with emotional problems, behavioral
problems, or mental illness primarily through verbal communication. At one time the term
psychotherapy referred to a form of psychiatric treatment used with severely disturbed
individuals. Counseling, on the other hand, refers to the treatment of people with milder
psychological problems or to advice given on vocational and educational matters.
Counseling psychologists usually work in schools or industrial firms, advising and
assisting people. Today the distinction between psychotherapy and counseling is quite
blurred, and many mental health professionals use the terms interchangeably.
III. Presentation and Discussion
Psychotherapy is an important form of treatment for many kinds of psychological problems.
In most types of psychotherapy, as well as counseling, a person discusses his or her
problems one-on-one with a therapist. The therapist tries to understand the person's
problems and to help the individual change distressing thoughts, feelings, or behaviors.
People often seek psychotherapy when they have tried other approaches, like counseling,
to solving a personal problem. For example, people who are depressed, anxious, or have
drug or alcohol problems may find that talking to friends or family members is not enough
to resolve their problems. Sometimes people may want to talk to a therapist about
problems they would feel uncomfortable discussing with friends or family, such as being
sexually abused as a child. Finding a therapist to talk to who is knowledgeable about
emotional problems, has patients' best interests at heart, and is relatively objective
can be extremely helpful.
Psychotherapy differs in two ways from counseling or from the informal help or advice
that one person may give another. First, a trained, certified, or licensed therapist
conducts psychotherapy. In addition, treatment methods in psychotherapy are guided by
well-developed theories about the sources of personal problems.
The concept of counseling, on the other hand, is essentially liberal in that the
assumptions underlying its theory and practice are, first, that each individual has the
right to shape his own destiny and second, that the relatively mature and experienced
members of the community are responsible for ensuring that each person's choice shall
serve both his own interests and those of the society to which he belongs. Anybody can
give advice to anyone who needs it. Thus, counseling can take place almost anywhere and
at anytime. The counselor does not attempt, however, to solve the person's problems for
him. Adjustment is an individual matter that each person must discover for himself, and
the counselor mainly tries to clarify the person's own thinking so that he can be
guaranteed the fulfillment of his personal needs and aspirations.
Mental health professionals agree that the effectiveness of therapy depends to a large
extent on the quality of the relationship between the client and therapist. In general,
the better the rapport is between therapist and client, the better the outcome of
therapy. If a person does not trust a therapist enough to describe deeply personal
problems, the therapist will have trouble helping the person change and improve. For
clients, trusting that the therapist can provide help for their problems is essential for
making progress.
The founder of person-centered therapy, Carl Rogers, believed that the most important
qualities in a therapist are being genuine, accepting, and empathic. Almost all
therapists today would agree that these qualities are important. Being genuine means that
therapists care for the client and behave toward the client as they really feel. Being
accepting means that therapists should appreciate clients for who they are, despite the
things that they may have done. Therapists do not have to agree with clients, but they
must accept them. Being empathic means those therapists understand the client's feelings
and experiences and convey this understanding back to the client.
IV. Summary
What is more effective then? Psychotherapy or counseling? This question has been hotly
debated for decades, and research on this issue presents many difficulties. In conducting
studies that compare different therapies, researchers seek to make sure that each
treatment group is as similar as possible. For example, researchers may limit the groups
to people with the same severity of depression. In addition, within each treatment group,
researchers try to make sure that therapists are using the same techniques and are
trained similarly. However, patients do not come to therapy with simple problems that fit
easily into studies. Furthermore, therapists of the same theoretical orientation may vary
in their techniques and in the skillfulness with which they apply them.
Because of these problems, there is no conclusive answer about which type of therapy is
best. Most studies have failed to demonstrate that any one approach is superior to
another. 
Some researchers suggest that all therapies share certain qualities, and that these
qualities account for the similar effectiveness of therapies despite quite different
techniques. 
V. Conclusion
Almost since the inception of psychotherapy, therapists and their clients have asked,
Does it work? Does psychotherapy help people resolve their problems, feel better, and
change the way they deal with other people? Therapists and clients are not the only ones
asking these questions. In recent years, the agencies that fund mental health
services-health insurance companies, health maintenance organizations, and government
organizations-have increased their scrutiny of the effectiveness of various
psychotherapies in an effort to contain costs.
Measuring the effectiveness of psychotherapy is an extremely complex task. Asking
psychotherapists or their clients, How helpful has therapy been? is only a start. The
answer does provide some information about how therapists and their clients perceive
therapy. However, it does not answer the question of whether psychotherapy is effective
because both therapists and clients have vested interests in believing that therapy
succeeded. Therapists want to uphold their professional reputation and sense of
competence, and clients want to feel that their investment of time and money has been
worthwhile. Because of these biases, most studies of effectiveness rely on other
evaluations of a client's improvement: psychological tests given before and after
treatment, reports from the client's friends and family, and reports from impartial
interviewers who do not know the client or whether the client received any therapy.
VI. Recommendation
It is evident that psychotherapy and counseling each have their own specific functions in
different problems. It is safe to assume that if counseling does not work, then it could
be psychotherapy that can do the job. For instance, all therapies offer people hope for
recovery. People who begin therapy often expect that therapy will help them, and this
expectation alone may lead to some improvement. Also, people in psychotherapy may find
that simply being able to talk freely and openly about their problems helps them to feel
better. Finally, the support, encouragement, and warmth that clients feel from their
therapist lets them know they are cared about and respected, which may positively affect
their mental health.