Counselling Approaches

Psychodynamic Counselling …………

Psychodynamic counselling is based, among other things, on the unfolding of a person’s life experience from birth onwards.  It includes an understanding of the network of relationships that develop during growth into adulthood.  It draws upon the insights of psychoanalysis as a way of understanding the human personality, including the way individuals interact with each other.  It takes note of the unconscious mind as well as conscious attitudes, and aids the resolution of unconscious conflicts, which allows for the development of a person’s full potential and fulfilment.

 

Human beings have a tendency to repeat patterns of behaviour.  These patterns may repeat themselves in the counselling room and this enables the client to look at his/her behaviour patterns without fear of rejection.

 

The counselling relationship is different from social relationships in that it is limited to the counselling sessions.  It provides a safe place in which to explore past and present feelings, attitudes and behaviours and the meaning of past and current relationships in a way that can bring fresh understanding and allow for meaningful change.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT ) ……….

When clients seek counselling for emotional problems, they typically describe their problems in terms of their feelings or in terms of situations with which they cannot cope.  The anxious client, for example, may describe how panicky he feels and how hard he finds it to deal with social situations.  People rarely come for counselling complaining about their thinking, although self-defeating thinking is often a major reason for their difficulties.

 

A common assumption made by many clients and by people in general, is that other people or unfortunate circumstances are directly responsible for the unpleasant way they feel.  For example, one often hears comments such as ‘he makes me so angry’ or ‘she really made me look stupid’.  These statements assume that the other person caused the client to feel in the way he did.  If this were true, then everyone in a particular situation would experience the same emotions, a fact which is evidently not the case.

 

Take, for example, the case of public speaking, three speakers may give the same talk which is equally well received by the audience.  One speaker may notice the applause and be pleased about the way she performed.  The second speaker might feel depressed because he thought that the audience was only clapping to be polite and that actually, they were bored.  The third speaker might feel angry because she had put a great deal of effort into preparing the talk and she thought the audience was not sufficiently appreciative.  It is clear from this example that the same event may lead to a range of emotions depending on how the event is interpreted and evaluated.  It is, therefore, not events that produce bad feelings, but the ways these events are appraised.

 

When people hold unrealistic and negative beliefs about themselves or their experiences, an emotional upset will result.  If this negative thinking is extreme or persistent, it may lead to an emotional disorder.  Depression is likely to result, for example, if a client starts to hold false beliefs such as his life being totally pointless or that he is worthless.

 

CBT seeks to help a person think more realistically, to question the false assumptions and core beliefs that create consequential bad feelings and maladaptive behaviour patterns about themselves, other people and the world in which they live.