Guidance & Counselling

132 TOPIC 5 BEHAVIOURIST COUNSELLING THE COUNSELLING PROCESS When carrying out the counselling process, behaviourism approach counsellors must also master the following skills as proposed by Erford (2014): (a) Listen attentively; (b) Appreciations the clients; (c) Acceptance; and (d) Understand that the client is unique. These skills have been explained in Topic 4. A counsellor needs to build a positive relationship with the client in order to ensure that the counsellor truly understands the clientÊs problem before initiating a strategy for the client. A positive relationship can also motivate the client to succeed in changes towards adjustive behaviour. In the counselling process, the client will be engaged in analysing, planning, processing and evaluating his behaviour management programme. The behaviourism counsellor will try to eliminate various behaviours which are regarded as maladaptive behaviours. At the same time, the client will learn adjustive behaviours that he will maintain according to the plan. The role of the counsellor is to encourage and help his client make the change(s). 5.5 1. Explain how behaviour is learnt from the perspective of behaviourism counselling theory. 2. Think of a behaviour which you regard as maladaptive and try to detect how the behaviour is learnt. Share your answers with your coursemates in the myINSPIRE online forum. ACTIVITY 5.5 Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

TOPIC 5 BEHAVIOURIST COUNSELLING 133 To implement the behaviourism counselling process, a counsellor must have received training and experience in human behaviour modification and is willing to be a consultant, teacher, advisor, reinforcer and facilitator. In terms of personality, he needs to be friendly, inquisitive, willing to help others and sincere. What are the duties of a counsellor? He should be able to help the client analyse his behaviour and to interpret the problem as well as to choose an objective to be achieved. The counselling process will be simpler if the counsellor and the client manage to create a means of communication which is effective for the both of them, having trust in each other and be cooperative. The good relationship factor must be maintained for as long as the client and the counsellor work together in finding ways to help the client make the necessary changes. More specific ways to do this are explained in Topic 3 on communication skills. STRATEGIES TO HELP CLIENTS Several strategies on how to help clients will be explained in this subtopic. A counsellor can use the chosen strategy for the purpose of reinforcing a desired behaviour or eliminating an unwanted behaviour. Most importantly, the involvement and cooperation between the client and the counsellor must be maintained. The selected strategies which are explained in the following are only related to external behaviour: (a) Role play; (b) Assertive practice; (c) Token economy; (d) Self-management; (e) Self-monitoring; and (f) Self-reinforcement. 5.6 Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

134 TOPIC 5 BEHAVIOURIST COUNSELLING 5.6.1 Role Play Role play is being used regularly by counsellors as a strategy to train clients in various behaviours which they find very difficult to do before. It can be referred to as acting and training which are guided by the counsellor with a specific purpose. Professional counsellors who follow the behaviourism counselling approach use role plays when they conduct assertive practice, modelling (imitate otherÊs behaviour) and career counselling. Role play is the best technique to expanding the counsellorÊs awareness and showing clients that there are many alternatives to acting behaviours of others. For example, to teach an extremely shy student to talk in a group discussion, counsellors can use role play whereby the student is asked to give an opinion to his counsellor. Figure 5.7: Role play whereby a student (acting as a teacher) tells a story in front of his group in the classroom The rationale is to help students practise giving out their opinions within a safe environment. When the counsellor (or teacher) feels that the student is confident enough, he will be allowed to return to his respective group (see Figure 5.7). The class teacher must cooperate with the student by helping him to adjust gradually and not to force the student because if the student is still nervous and shy, his feelings will be jeopardised. Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

TOPIC 5 BEHAVIOURIST COUNSELLING 135 Role play techniques can also be used to help the student to be more assertive especially when he finds himself having difficulties to respond whenever other people take advantage of him. Role play gives the individual an opportunity to try out a new behaviour in a safer situation or environment before it is practised in places or situations where trouble frequently arises. Limitations of Role Play Even though the use of the role play technique is effective, it also has its limitations as follows: (a) It depends on the counsellorÊs skills and eagerness in administering it; and (b) It also depends on the clientÊs own desire to experience, listen and feel the new behaviour which may be difficult for him to do before. 5.6.2 Assertive Practice Assertive practice is a technique which is used to teach a client how to gain his confidence in coping with those whom he perceives as a threat (Palmer, 2015). We must remember that this technique must not be used to teach the client how to be aggressive. The main purposes of the assertive practice are: (a) To actively give strength to initiate any chosen desired behaviour. In other words, to act without causing any physical and emotional injuries to other people; and (b) To guide clients who are passive, dependent and unmotivated so that they will find an alternative to a more productive solution. Many counsellors find that their clients need to develop their assertive skills in enhancing their self-management and problem-solving skills. Clients would lose their self-esteem if they allow other people to take advantage of them, if they are unable to face their parents, employer, husband/wife or other people in an appropriate manner or if they behave aggressively instead of assertively and cause unwanted responses by other people. Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

136 TOPIC 5 BEHAVIOURIST COUNSELLING Assertive practice or exercise is usually carried out in the following ways: (a) Role playing and modelling passive, aggressive and assertive situations which the client usually experiences; (b) Through problem exploration and interpreting; (c) Repeating the selected role play exercises several times; (d) Role-reversal, which is to act out situations in which the client is unable to behave assertively; and (e) Implement the desired assertive behaviour gradually (successive approximation). Through assertive practice, not only will the client be able to shape his new behaviour in a safe environment with his counsellor, but the client, together with the counsellor, will also be able to analyse his behaviour which can be gradually shaped. When the client finally feels comfortable and is able to respond with the new behaviour, he can try it in his daily life. 5.6.3 Token Economy (Rewarding Gifts) One of the common behaviourism techniques used is the token economy or rewarding gifts (Kazdin, 1977, as cited in Palmer, 2015). This is an organised procedure where token or gifts are given as reinforcements for appropriate behaviours. The token can be in the form of tangibles such as plastic coins, points or anything that can be cashed in for valuable things or special privileges. The use of token economy is proven to be effective. It is used in many institutions such as hospitals, clinics, nurseries as well as prisons. This procedure is very versatile and can be used in various situations (see Figure 5.8). For example, in the school environment, a counsellor can prepare a token economy structure to be used as reinforcements for students who behave positively. On the other hand, to list down the types of punishments, penalties or loss of privileges if a student breaks the rule or fails to carry out his responsibility. This technique is very effective when used with clients who have problems with everyday behaviour or with more complex behaviour. Users of this technique discovered that it is very suitable to be used especially to eliminate maladaptive behaviours or to mould adjustive behaviours. Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

TOPIC 5 BEHAVIOURIST COUNSELLING 137 Figure 5.8: Token economy is applied during School Achievement Day The question now is, „Can a behaviour which was modified through this strategy be maintained or would the behaviour diminish after a short while?‰ For example, after a student who behaves aggressively (has the tendency to get into fights and likes to disturb other students) underwent the changing process with the technique, there seems to be some positive changes in his behaviour. Are the positive changes sustainable? Professional behaviourism counsellors assert the effectiveness of the token economy strategy. However, they also agree that some problems do exist in ensuring that the achieved changes are maintained and sustained. Counsellors who plan and prepare the token economy structure must be prepared to ensure that the changes can be maintained by implementing the following steps: (a) Ask for assistance from other workers such as the class teacher, teachers who have taught or are still teaching the student, request for parents to make commitments to help and to understand the concept as well as the objective of token economy; (b) Select behaviours which would most probably receive reinforcements from the society and the environment; (c) Adhere to behaviourism modification principle such as reward token or gifts instantly, be fair and consistent; Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

138 TOPIC 5 BEHAVIOURIST COUNSELLING (d) The token or gifts used as a reward must have reinforcement value; and (e) Ensure that the modified behaviour is also a desired behaviour other than in the school environment. 5.6.4 Self-management, Self-monitoring and Self-reinforcement Erford (2014) suggested a technique called self-management, self-monitoring and self-reinforcement which is gaining popularity. The technique involves the client as a collaborator participant who is active in the counselling process. In comparison, earlier behaviourists viewed the client as being passive. The characteristics of this technique are as follows: (a) Clients play an active role in each counselling phase; (b) Clients give their own opinions, follow the counsellorÊs advice and construct their own specific and effective plan; (c) ClientsÊ thinking process is given attention and focus; (d) Clients are expected to be more responsible and diligent in achieving the desired changes; (e) Clients learn how conduct self-reinforcement; (f) Clients are asked to observe, monitor, record, self-reinforce and sometimes asked to interpret behavioural data that they have recorded; and (g) The counsellorÊs role is more of a mentor or educator instead of an expert or instructor. How can we ensure that the modified behaviour continues to be practised by the client? Post your suggestions on the myINSPIRE online forum. ACTIVITY 5.6 Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

TOPIC 5 BEHAVIOURIST COUNSELLING 139 According to the proponents of behaviourism theory, the said procedures can be made into a framework to be applied to the selected strategy. Self-management strategy has specific steps to be adhered to in order to achieve the desired objective. You must understand the steps described in the following so that the discussion on the behaviourism concept is more comprehensible. Steps to Self-manage, Self-monitor and Self-reinforce (a) Step 1: Conceptualisation, Definition of Problem and Choosing Objective in Behavioural Form (i) Conceptualisation happens when you are forming a concept of what you want to achieve. Before you could define or choose your objective of behavioural change, you need to first know what is the concept or term that you are heading for. (ii) After gaining or finding the concept, you then need to define the problem that you have with the concept, or issues that are relevant to the concept found. (iii) Decide the target objective to be achieved individually. (iv) The objective must be: Comprehensible, important and valuable to the client; Analysed and measured objectively; Realistic and achievable; and Positive and constructive. (v) Statements about target objective must include: The clientÊs needs at an achievable standard, or be eliminated; and Gradual achievement of target objective according to the agreed scheduled dates. Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

140 TOPIC 5 BEHAVIOURIST COUNSELLING Example Counsellor : What you really want to do is to achieve your target to lose your weight and this time, it will be maintained. Client : Yes, thatÊs right because what IÊm focusing on now is my health. Counsellor : Alright, I think you have already made a commitment to lose weight and you want to start it as soon as possible. LetÊs decide how many kilograms you want to lose and plan a realistic and safe schedule. LetÊs schedule the dates to achieve your objectives. Figure 5.9: A client who has a weight problem asks the counsellor for his opinion Source: https://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/ 8273ad54564d7558eb1829a6523781ea?width=1024 (b) Step 2: Managing and Monitoring Target Behaviour (i) Choose appropriate aims based on clientÊs objectives. (ii) Start baseline assessment before implementing behaviour modification strategies. Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

TOPIC 5 BEHAVIOURIST COUNSELLING 141 (iii) Start monitoring and take note of any related targets. To monitor, the client needs to: Take note of his behaviour right after it happens; Use paper and pencil, a watch or any appropriate recording device to record behavioural data; and Implement frequency calculation, time recording or use other monitoring strategies to record the behaviour. Example Counsellor : How are you going to change the way you record and monitor your behaviour this time in order to ensure that you stick to the schedule and achieve the targeted weight? Client : Oh, IÊve already figured it out ă weight-lifting, calorie count, types of exercises and how I am going to track my daily activity. I have also thought about several methods to monitor what I do so as not to lie to myself. Counsellor : You mentioned „several methods‰. What are the methods that you intend to use? I really want to see you make it this time. LetÊs take a look at the details on the things that you want to do and how you are going to do it. Client : Alright. I want to show you what IÊve written in the record about my activities. Counsellor : This is a good list (while examining the note). LetÊs check and discuss together. Maybe we could think of other ways which can help make your activity monitoring a little easier. Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

142 TOPIC 5 BEHAVIOURIST COUNSELLING (c) Step 3: Environmental Changes and Taking the Right Step Continue to take notes or to record target behaviour. (i) At the beginning, try to avoid the environment and situations which will surely cause unwanted response or maladaptive behaviour. (ii) Change the atmosphere, situation and/or environment to make sure that you: Realise what you are doing; Limit the stimulus that causes unwanted behaviour; and Simplify behaviour which gives satisfaction. Example Counsellor : This is one step where you have to change to other ways. If you continue with your past behaviour, it will be hard to instil this new behaviour. You will still be eating like you used to eat back then and performing the same physical activities. This will not help you at all. In my opinion, you need to make a drastic change if you want to achieve your target weight. Client : Yes, I do realise there are a few things that I must do. Firstly, I must try to eat less fattening food. Secondly, lower the calorie intake during each meal. Counsellor : OK, is there anything else? Client : Well, IÊm thinking of going for daily exercise ă maybe every morning. Counsellor : ThatÊs really good. Let us discuss that. We should also think of a way to avoid the cravings to eat like you used to. This will ensure that your plan will work. Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

TOPIC 5 BEHAVIOURIST COUNSELLING 143 (d) Step 4: Generating Appropriate Reinforcement and Determining Meaningful and Effective Outcome for Client Continue recording target behaviour. (i) Identify reinforcement and its result. Positive reinforcement results in positive outcome while negative reinforcement is regarded as unpleasant. (ii) Some characteristics to the implementation of reinforcement are: Appropriate behaviours are given immediate reinforcement; Criteria for reinforcement should be realistic and easy to perform; People who are close to the client need to support him in achieving the desired behaviour target; Set up a phased schedule so that the achievement for each phase will be reinforced; Provide extrinsic and intrinsic reinforcements; Reinforcement has the ability to affect behaviour; and Reinforcement is scheduled for short-term, mid-term, and longterm incentives. Example Counsellor : I want you to have sufficient rewards to ensure that you follow the plan but be careful not to set up a target that is too high and unachievable. And donÊt regard yourself as the only one who can offer rewards and reinforcements. I want to know the people whom you regard as strong supporters, those who can administer the rewards. This will increase your chance to achieve your target. Client : IÊm sure my wife will help me with this. After all, if I lie to myself when IÊm eating, IÊm sure my wife will stop me. Counsellor : Good! Put in another few names of people who can help you. Then we will plan a strategy where you can divide specific tasks to them for your sake as well as theirs. Client : OK. This time I really want to lose weight. Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

144 TOPIC 5 BEHAVIOURIST COUNSELLING (e) Step 5: Maintaining the Achievement and Counting the Success Continue to take notes and observations. Continue to think of suitable rewards for the desired behaviour. (i) Create an effective evaluation or feedback system to make sure that the self-management, self-monitoring and self-reinforcement can be modified and enhanced or can be used again to maintain the targeted objective; and (ii) Maintain the learnt behaviour by: Lessening self-noting; Lessening reinforcement; Getting social support; and Using the strategy to change some areas which the client regards as important. Example Client : What I want is to seriously involve my wife in helping to control my weight and to maintain it even after I have achieved my target. Counsellor : Is there any possibilities that she might offer reinforcement for your behaviour? Client : Certainly not! She takes good care of my health. Counsellor : If that is so, I suggest that you ask your wife to be your assistant in your quest to maintain the target objective. Try to think of a few other names, people who can continuously support you to refrain from going back to your old eating habits. It would certainly be a pity if you return to your old habits after all the physical activities that you had put in all this while. Client : OK. Thank you. Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

TOPIC 5 BEHAVIOURIST COUNSELLING 145 The purpose of a theory and why counsellors need theory before conducting counselling process are to explain an event after making few observations, to use the theory to overcome certain situations and to make behavioural predictions. Behaviourism counselling theory was derived from various related learning theories from proponents such as Pavlov, Watson, Wolpe, Skinner and other cognitive behavioural therapists. Counsellors need to understand how their clients view their own problems. By using the behaviourism approach, counsellors will be able to explore their clientsÊ problems based on the counsellorsÊ understanding of adjustive and maladaptive behaviours. Several practical techniques such as role play, assertive practice, token economy as well as self-management, self-monitoring and self-reinforcement are effective to reinforce a desired behaviour or to eliminate an unwanted behaviour. Adjustive behaviour Assertive practice Behaviourism Behaviourism counselling theory Inappropriate behaviour Maladaptive behaviour Reinforcement Rewards Role play Self-management Self-monitoring Self-reinforcement Token economy Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

146 TOPIC 5 BEHAVIOURIST COUNSELLING Erford, B. T. (2014). 40 techniques every counsellor should know (2nd ed.). Boston: Pearson Education. Frank, J. D. (1971). Therapeutic factors in psychotherapy, American Journal of Psychotherapy, pp. 350ă361. Lazarus, A. A. (1981). The practice of multimodal therapy. New York: McGrawHill. Lundin, R. W. (1966). Principles of psychopathology. USA: Charles E. Merrills. Myers. J. K., & Roberts, B. H. (1959). Family and class dynamics in mental illness. New York: Wiley. Palmer, S. (2015). The beginnerÊs guide to counselling and psychotherapy (2nd ed.). London: SAGE Publication Ltd. Smith, M. L. & Glass, G., (1977). Meta-analysis of psychotheraphy outcomes studies. Journal of American Pscyhologist. pp. 752ă754. Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

INTRODUCTION This topic introduces the person-centred theory proposed by Carl Rogers. Person-centred counselling is an approach to help an individual or a group of people based on the philosophy that psychological growth will occur when an individual or a group of people perceived that they are treated honestly, kindly and emphatically. Placing total trust in the counsellor is the foundation of person-centred counselling. Carl Rogers (1902ă1987) believed that each individual has the tendency to fulfil the potential which he owns (self-actualisation). As such, each individual will act and move forward to fulfil this tendency. You will find this theory to be more meaningful if you can fully comprehend important concepts such as congruent, unconditional positive regard, empathy, phenomenology and others. Topic 6 Personcentred Counselling By the end of this topic, you should be able to: 1. Recall the life history and personality theory of Carl Rogers; 2. Identify the counselling process which is based on the personcentred counselling approach; 3. Explain several strategies to help clients; and 4. Analyse important concepts in person-centred counselling theory. LEARNING OUTCOMES Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

148 TOPIC 6 PERSON-CENTRED COUNSELLING GENERAL INTRODUCTION Carl Rogers (Figure 6.1) was the first proponent of the person-centred theory. He was born on 8 January 1902 in Oak Park, Illinois and passed away in 1987. Born and raised in a disciplined, religious and morally upright family, Rogers started his tertiary education at the University of Wisconsin in the field of botany. But two years later he changed his major to religious studies at the Union Theological Seminary in New York. However, Rogers moved out of the religious group because of his controversy regarding the religionÊs doctrine and for boldly questioning the meaning of life. Figure 6.1: Carl Rogers (1902ă1987) Rogers preferred to regard himself as a clinical psychologist. He furthered his studies at the Teachers College, Columbia University and received his PhD in 1928. When he was in Columbia University, Rogers tried to harmonise contradicting ideas such as Freudian vision belief with scientific statistical methods, religious beliefs with scientific beliefs, intuition with objective and clinical with statistics. Rogers had several experiences working as a psychology expert when he was appointed as the Director of Child Study at the Department of the Society and Prevention of Cruelty to Children at Rochester, New York (1928ă1940), Professor of Clinical Psychology at Ohio State University (1940ă1943), Psychology Professor and Counselling Director at University of Chicago (1945ă1957), Psychology and Psychiatry Professor at University of Wisconsin (1957ă1963), Director at Western Behavioral Sciences Institute (1963ă1968) and Director at the Center for the Studies of the Person (1968ă1987). 6.1 Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

TOPIC 6 PERSON-CENTRED COUNSELLING 149 6.1.1 Personality Theory (View towards Human) Humans are generally characterised as positive. They are forward moving towards self-actualisation, stabilisation and socialisation. Rogers (1959, as cited in Bieling, 2009) did not accord to the belief that human beings are generally prone to sin, as proposed by Christians. He also disagreed with Freud who stated that human beings are irrational, unsocial and vicious, and tend to be destructive to themselves and other people. According to Rogers, human beings do act as what was stated. However, at that time, he is in a neurotic condition and does not fully function like a real human being. Human beings are free to experience and fulfil basic human needs when they can operate well. To Rogers, human beings are actually positive and sociable, trustworthy and constructive (Bieling, 2009). For example, the behaviour of humans can be compared to that of lions. According to Rogers, lions are constructive animals and they are trustworthy among lions. Even though lions have always been described as wild animals, they possess good qualities. They only kill when they are hungry, not whenever they want to do so (see Figure 6.2). Figure 6.2: A pride of lions resting under a tree A lion grows from a cub which is very dependent and transforms from being a selfish creature into a cooperative member of the group, always putting the groupÊs needs first. Similarly, what is clear here is that Rogers (1959, as cited in Bieling, 2009)Ê view of humans is very positive. It is also similar with the views of Maslow (1968 as cited in Beiling, 2009) and Goldstein (1993, as cited in Bieling, 2009) who emphasised that organisms move forward to achieve their own potential. There is no such thing as destructive drive in humans as everyone moves towards a healthy personality, self-actualisation and self-realisation. Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

150 TOPIC 6 PERSON-CENTRED COUNSELLING MAIN CONCEPTS Let us take a look at the main concepts which were proposed by Rogers. 6.2.1 Phenomenology One of the concepts which was proposed by Rogers was his phenomenology view. According to Rogers (1951, as cited in Casemore, 2011), „An individual perceives this world according to his unique view and these perceptions become his background for the phenomenology. An individual reacts to the environment as how he sees it and the environment might not be similar with the definition of environment as viewed by other researchers.‰ Figure 6.3: How a person views the world from his own viewpoint The background of a personÊs phenomenon includes his conscious and unconscious perceptions, either symbolised or unsymbolised (see Figure 6.3). The important determiner is the symbolised behaviour (conscious) especially with regard to a healthy person. Even though the phenomena world is a personal realm, (particularly for clinical cases) it can be perceived here as it appeared to the individual. In other words, the individual is able to perceive the behaviour with his own eyes and how the hypothesis of the matter can provide psychological meaning to him. When a counsellor goes through the counselling process, it seems as if he is involved with the drama which the client experiences and enters the clientÊs phenomenon realm. 6.2 Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

TOPIC 6 PERSON-CENTRED COUNSELLING 151 6.2.2 Concept of Knowing There are three ways of knowing: (a) Subjective knowledge refers to the knowledge which we acquire from our own inner reference; (b) Objective knowledge refers to the knowledge that we know and is validated by other peopleÊs observations; and (c) Interpersonal knowledge is the knowledge which is acquired from other peopleÊs world through the attitude of empathy. Through phenomena, we use our empathy skills to understand the background of a person ă the phenomenology knowledge. All types of knowledge must be used in therapy and research. From the aspect of theory formation, Rogers (1951, as cited in Casemore, 2011) started with a simple observation and later developed it to perfection. RogersÊ session usually started in his clinic because in his clinic there were phenomenon subjects which can be observed and later combined to form the complete picture. Therefore, we observe that the hypothesis proposed by Rogers was explicit as well as vividly explained and in an orderly manner for each phenomenon (Casemore, 2011). In our daily lives, we come across human beings who have various personalities and life principles. Have you ever wondered how they come to form their own life principles, especially how they view the world around them? Do their personal experiences influence the way they view their environment and their life? Share your answers with your coursemates in the myINSPIRE online forum. ACTIVITY 6.1 Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

152 TOPIC 6 PERSON-CENTRED COUNSELLING 6.2.3 Structure of Personality There are two main important construct that we must know in order to comprehend RogersÊ personality theory. They are: (a) Organism Psychology views the organism as the centre of all experiences. Experience involves everything that an organism consciously goes through in time. The entire experience is referred to as phenomena background, which is the frame of reference known only to the individual. How a person behaves depends on his phenomena background (subjective reality) and does not depend on stimulus condition (extrinsic reality). Phenomena background is dissimilar to awareness background. Life background phenomena involve consciousness (symbolised) and unconsciousness (unsymbolised) while an awareness background needs emergence (imagining) of certain experiences. An individual in general will validate the emerged experiences with the situation of the environment. Validation of the world enables an individual to live realistically. However, there are also unwanted perceptions or uncomplete perceptions which an individual has experienced and these untested experiences could cause a person to behave unrealistically and thus destroy himself. The question here is: „How can we determine which representations of perception are correct and which are the unrealistic ones?‰ Rogers (1951, as cited in Casemore, 2011) clarified by stating that „whatever is experienced or thought by an individual is not the reality for him. It is actually a temporary hypothesis towards reality, a hypothesis which might be true or untrue. An individual will not make an evaluation unless he has made an attempt. What is an attempt? It involves the validation of the centre of truth of all the knowledge acquired by hypotheses which are formed from organisms based on previous information. Just like how we test salt, which is by tasting it.‰ Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

TOPIC 6 PERSON-CENTRED COUNSELLING 153 (b) Self Self is a part of phenomena background which will gradually be separated. It is a concept of a whole perception of the characteristics of „me‰ which is consistent and well-arranged. It is also the perception of the relationship and values between „me‰ and other people, with various aspects of life. It is a totality in consciousness, an ever-changing gestalt but it is specific within particular duration. Figure 6.4: A stylish model on the cover of a magazine Source: www.trendhunter.com An individual perceives an object and behavioural experience which seems to relate to him as an object. He gives meaning to the object. All or the whole of perception and meaning system contribute to the phenomena background known as „self‰. For example, how you perceive Figure 6.4 might be different from other peopleÊs perception. The self-concept is related to the ideal self. Ideal or superior self is the self-concept which is desired by an individual. It involves perception and meaning which is related to self-appreciation by individual as well as significance to people and society. Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

154 TOPIC 6 PERSON-CENTRED COUNSELLING There are a few interesting characteristics of the self-concept by Rogers. They are described in the following: (a) RogersÊ view of self is similar to the general psychology understanding towards perception; (b) The self contains configurational characteristics, representing one which is fully organised and consistent. Even though self is said to be ever-changing, it has a pattern, it is integrated and organised. It does not evolve from thousands of stable stimulus which react independently but it is a whole fixed pattern which changes with each new addition and yet maintains the same quality; (c) Self is not homunculus or a miniature of a human being. Self does not do anything. An individual does not have a self which controls his or her behaviour. Instead he has an integration of experiences which is known as self; and (d) The integration of experience and perception (known as self) manifests in awareness. The self is always a measure in consciousness. In the thousands of counselling sessions conducted by Rogers, there are numerous statements which refer to self such as real self and ideal self. These experiences have greatly convinced Rogers of the self-concept experience which humans go through and that the purpose of human is to be the real self. 6.2.4 Process of Personality Growth Rogers focuses on the view of personality which emphasises changes to perfection. Humans are forward moving thus they have the perfection pattern. Unlike Freud who assumed that personality is constant, Rogers believed that the personality energy can be channelled. There is no drive in human being but instead it has more tendency towards self-perfection or self-actualisation. „The organism has one basic tendency and striving ă to actualise, maintain and enhance its experiencing organism.‰ (Rogers, 1951, p. 487, as cited in Casemore, 2011) Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

TOPIC 6 PERSON-CENTRED COUNSELLING 155 Rogers did not believe that human beings have many motives. The concept of perfection involves: (a) Tendency of an organism to move from an easier structure to an everchanging one; (b) Moving from dependency towards independency; (c) From constancy and resolute to changes and freedom; (d) Organism having needs or tensions; (e) More focus on satisfaction or enjoyment which can be acquired from the activities which can enhance the growth of organism; (f) Creative activity by the organism; and (g) Organism which works to maintain the consistency between self-perception with congruence and perception towards experiences. „Most of the ways of behaving that are adopted by the organism are those that are consistent with the concept of self.‰ (Rogers, 1951, p. 488, as cited in Casemore, 2011) Organism does not move to find enjoyment or to avoid pain but it moves solely to maintain its organisation (structure). Therefore, an individual is only true to himself. A person will behave with consistently by maintaining his self-concept even though the behaviour does not benefit him. For example, an individual who considers himself a lazy person will try his hardest not to attend lectures even though by doing so he will be left behind in many aspects! Following that, a question arises which is: „When does an individual experience inconsistency in him, and how can we maintain the consistencies during such situation?‰ Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

156 TOPIC 6 PERSON-CENTRED COUNSELLING To expand on this question, Rogers stated that: „An individual experiences incongruence when he is in conflict between the perceived self and the real experience. For instance, if a person considers himself as someone who does not favour hatred but now has feelings of hatred for someone, then he is in the state of incongruence.‰ (Rogers, 1951, p. 531, as cited in Casemore, 2011) Incongruence is a condition of inner tension and disorder. When incongruence occurs and the individual fails to realise it, he will be easily worried. Figure 6.5: An individual is in the state of anxiety because he is taking his examination Anxiety happens because of inconsistencies between the experience and the perception towards self (Figure 6.5). In many instances, when an individual imagines his experiences, it will appear in his awareness. However, an individual is also able to maintain unsymbolised experiences which will not reach his awareness level. Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

TOPIC 6 PERSON-CENTRED COUNSELLING 157 6.2.5 Subception Process An individual could experience a stimulus by not bringing it to the awareness level. For example, a person could recognise certain experiences which are threatening or conflicting with his self-concept but does not imagine the experience, thus, he remains unaware of it. Because the purpose is to maintain the congruence between the self and the experience, an individual denies the experience at the awareness level. This denial causes him to worry. However, the ignored experience might appear in his awareness. An organism must maintain its self-concept and it responds by enhancing its defence ă defending the self-experience which conflicts with the self. There are two processes of defence, namely distortion and denial. Distortion is the fact that you need help and you are starting to realise it. Still, you do not want to give up on the distorted belief that others are at fault and not you. Denial is the refusal to accept reality or fact, acting as if a painful event, thought or feeling did not exist. It is considered one of the most primitive of the defense mechanisms because it is characteristic of early childhood development (Steward 2015). 6.2.6 Personality Growth Rogers did not specifically study individual growth from infant to adult. He believed in the general personality development for all individuals. ChildrenÊs growth depends on the support from their parents and the environment. Studies on children with high self-esteem show that they come from families who practise acceptance, showing interest, attending and kindness with permissive lifestyle, and practise democracy instead of being abusive (Figure 6.6). Figure 6.6: A happy family Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

158 TOPIC 6 PERSON-CENTRED COUNSELLING Growth process occurs naturally. The organism develops, distinguishes experiences, becomes freer, enhances its socialisation ability and continues to look for the perfection of self-experience. The self will separate from the phenomena space and will be different and complete but at the same time maintains its completeness. In self-development, the human or organism self-experience will need to compete with the demands of other people. Humans will always disregard other peopleÊs demands. However, if those demands are stronger than the self-experience, the process of filtering will occur. Rogers believed the most important thing is that children can grow in congruence and find perfection. A healthy child lives in an environment in which he is free to accept himself, is accepted by his parents even though there may still be behaviours which are quite difficult to be accepted by them. 6.2.7 Psychological Disorder A healthy person is able to accept a variety of experiences which forms an entire object or experience (gestalt). When there is congruence between the experience and the self, the individual will be open to experiences and will not be defensive. On the contrary, the following characteristics can be observed in someone who is neurotic (being disorderly): (a) Structure of self is no longer in parallel with the experience of organism; (b) Often denying experiences which emerged in his awareness, either through distortions or denials; and (c) The effect is an individual who is intolerant, resolute and defensive about his incongruent self. An individual also uses defence mechanisms such as rationality and fantasy (FreudÊs terminology) but the most important exposition of the person-centred approach is distortion and denial. Rogers believed that in order to cure a disorderly person, a counsellor needs to possess a certain attitude and has sufficient knowledge and expertise, which is also known as the „necessary and sufficient conditions‰. These conditions are necessary to exist in order for constructive personality change in clients to occur. Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

TOPIC 6 PERSON-CENTRED COUNSELLING 159 This attitude involves congruent, positive unconditional regard and empathy. (a) Congruent The concept of congruent refers to the self of an individual which matches what he experiences. The self is similar to the experience. A counsellor who wants to help his client must be a person who does not encounter inconsistent and conflicting experiences. (b) Positive Unconditional Regard All humans want a meaningful relationship ă to be accepted, loved, respected and trusted. A counsellor, when communicating with the client, must accept the client with an open heart, does not evaluate the clientÊs strengths and weaknesses, and appreciates the relationship with the client. The unconditional regard enables the client to communicate openly and talk freely with the counsellor. (c) Empathy The concept of empathy denotes the ability of the counsellor to understand and help the client as precisely as what the client experiences. It is as if the counsellor goes through what the client went through, if not emotionally at least cognitively. By accurately perceiving the clientÊs inner world, the counsellor will be able to understand the client better. COUNSELLING PROCESS When Rogers introduced this therapy, he was well-received particularly because his approach was different from those practised at that time, which was psychoanalytic therapy or behavioural therapy. The person-centred approach focuses on the relationship built by the counsellor and the client. The counsellor must have certain characteristics to make the relationship meaningful for his client and become effective in counselling sessions. Meanwhile, the client needs to experience certain psychological conditions before undergoing the counselling session. 6.3 Sometimes a counsellor can get too involved with the clientÊs problem. What are some of the ways of avoiding this from happening? SELF-CHECK 6.1 Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

160 TOPIC 6 PERSON-CENTRED COUNSELLING 6.3.1 Therapy Conditions According to Rogers (1957, a cited in Casemore, 2011), the changes in human personality during counselling are vital in shaping the personality and encouraging the client to attend the counselling session. Rogers proposed that the personality changes in individuals during counselling refer to the inner and outer changes towards integration and reduction of inner conflicts. More energy is needed to live more effectively and for behavioural changes which are considered as more mature. Based on his clinical experiences, Rogers suggested a few important conditions to start the positive change. These conditions, when used simultaneously, are sufficient to initiate change. Initially, Rogers (1957, as cited in Casemore, 2011) proposed the conditions as a series of hypotheses which needs to be tested up until 1985. After conducting the experiments all these while, Rogers (1985, as cited in Casemore, 2011) still considered these conditions as feasible and acceptable. Those conditions are regarded as a guide to understanding the relationship between the counsellor and his client in the person-centred theory. Rogers (1957, as cited in Casemore, 2011) advocated six important conditions to initiate personality change during the counselling session. Important and continuous conditions which are needed for some time during counselling in order for the personality change to occur are as follows: (a) Two persons in a psychological relationship; (b) The first person, known as the client, who is in a state of incongruent is easily influenced or worried; (c) The second person, known as the counsellor, is congruent and integrated in the relationship; (d) The counsellor accepts the client unconditionally; (e) The counsellor understands empathically the clientÊs inner frame of reference and tries to communicate it; and (f) The counsellorÊs effort to communicate the empathic understanding and unconditional regard to the client is achieved at least in a small part. Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

TOPIC 6 PERSON-CENTRED COUNSELLING 161 If all the six conditions exist in the counselling process and is continued for a certain period of time, other conditions are not necessary to initiate a personality change. The six conditions proposed by Rogers encompass three major concepts which are: (a) A Relationship Pattern The first condition is that the counselling must be conducted as a relationship. This means the first condition demands that both persons communicate and perceptualise the different scope of experiences between them. Rogers considered the first condition as necessary presupposition to give notion to other conditions. From another aspect, the presupposition is the definition to the meaning of counselling as proposed by other authors such as Arbuckle, Patterson, and Corey (1974; 1974; & 1984, as cited in Casemore, 2011). According to Rogers (1957, as cited in Casemore, 2011), counselling is an extremely personal and subjective relationship between one individual and another individual. All of the experts defined counselling as a relationship. (b) A Psychological Situation That the Client Undergoes Clients who are in need of guidance from a counsellor must be in a state of incongruence and they must be easily influenced and feeling anxious. A person suffers from incongruence when his experience does not match with his self-perception. Rogers (1957, as cited in Casemore, 2011) illustrated this point by describing a situation whereby a mother pretended to be sick in order to give an excuse to ask her son to stay at home to make her happy. To perceive this desire consciously would conflict with her self-perception that she is a good mother. Thus, being sick consistently fits in with her self-concept. With such thoughts, she was able to realise her distorted experience (for her son to stay at home with her). In reality there is incongruence between her self-perception (a sick mother who deserves attention from her son) and the actual experience (a mother who refuses to allow her son to leave). When a person fails to notice his incongruent experience, it would result in him feeling anxious and restless. This can happen when some drastic experiences cannot be left unattended by the person involved and in a situation whereby the state of incongruence is realised little by little. The former might cause the person to take it as a personal challenge whereas the latter would stir his anxiety. The two situations prove that the actual experience of a person is not congruent with his self-concept and usually this is what the counsellor noticed when the counselling session starts. Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

162 TOPIC 6 PERSON-CENTRED COUNSELLING (c) Three Types of Attitudes Which Counsellors Hold On To Let us take a look at the three qualities which are crucial for a counsellor. (i) Congruence The first quality which is necessary for a therapeutic development is congruence, genuineness or integrity. This means that during the interaction between the counsellor and the client (Figure 6.7), the counsellor is free to express his true colour, not acting on false pretences. It is impossible for the counsellor to keep up the pretence every time during the whole duration of the counselling process. Hence, it is a necessity to act genuinely throughout the whole interaction with the client. Figure 6.7: A counsellor providing input to his client during a counselling session Source: http://www.crusebucks.org.uk/bereavement_counselling.htm (ii) Positive Unconditional Regard When the counsellor feels that she is experiencing the warm feeling associated with accepting every aspect of the clientÊs experience as part of the personÊs life, the counsellor has achieved the level of positive unconditional regard. This shows that there is no positive or negative prejudgment. It involves accepting all of the clientÊs experiences regardless of negative (described as „bad‰, sad, scary or strange experiences) or positive (described as „good‰, positive, mature, confident or positively socialised) ones. All these, including whether or not the client is consistent, are warmly accepted by the counsellor and not for reasons to dominate or to fulfil his needs. Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

TOPIC 6 PERSON-CENTRED COUNSELLING 163 (iii) Empathy A counsellor has to comprehend the clientÊs experiences empathically. In a sense, he has to try to put himself in the clientÊs shoes. The counsellor has to try to stimulate the anger, pain and guilt felt by the client even though he is not actually experiencing the emotions. When the counsellor is clear about the clientÊs feelings and the situation, he can express his understanding and interpret the meaning of the experience to his confused client. A counsellor needs to be empathic in order to: Understand the clientÊs feelings; Clearly comprehend the clientÊs messages; Articulate proper and relevant language and point of view; and Express suitable intonation to indicate that he is able to share the clientÊs experience. 6.3.2 Personality Development In order to comprehend all the three qualities recommended by Rogers, one has to view RogersÊ theory of personality. The readiness of a counsellor to start a session with the client demands a clear picture of the type of personality that he is dealing with. This theory has been gradually developed from RogersÊ individual and group counselling sessions. According to Rogers, from these counselling sessions, he gained insights into the meaning of therapy, the dynamics of interpersonal relationships as well as the structure and functioning of personality (Rogers, 1957, as cited in Casemore, 2011). Have you ever heard of a mother experiencing post-partum psychosis soon after she has given birth? In your opinion, what are factors that cause such as condition? Share your opinion with your coursemates in the myINSPIRE online forum. ACTIVITY 6.2 Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

164 TOPIC 6 PERSON-CENTRED COUNSELLING Through his therapeutic experiences, Rogers found that when a counsellor accepts the client unconditionally and understands emphatically what is going on within the client, the process of change will begin. When this happens, the client will gradually be aware of his own feelings and the actual experience, hence, the congruence of his self-concept with his entire experience. When the individual reaches the maximum level of congruence, he is said to be a fully functioning person. The change that is taking place occurs because the individual, as he experiences freedom, will have the tendency to move forward towards maturity. RogersÊ theory of personality very much relies on the phenomenological theory. This theory of personality makes use of self-concept to explain individual development. „It pictures the end-point of personality development as being a basic congruence between the phenomenal field of experience and the conceptual structure of the self ă a situation which, if achieved, would represent freedom from internal strain and anxiety, and freedom from potential strain; which would represent the maximum in realistically-oriented adaption; which would mean the establishment of an individualised value system having considerable identity with the value system of any other equally well-adjusted member of the human race.‰ (Rogers, 1951, as cited in Casemore, 2011) An organism has a tendency and a basic aim ă to reach perfection, maintain and develop its experiences. Thus, the organism is equipped with a moving force with one aim in life. The tendency to move forward is held firmly by every counsellor to encourage personality change in his client. According to Rogers, self-development can only operate when certain alternatives have been clearly perceived and viewed holistically by the client. In other words, a certain someone will not be able to perfect himself unless he can differentiate between the progressive and regressive behaviours. Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

TOPIC 6 PERSON-CENTRED COUNSELLING 165 6.3.3 Therapy Process Even though an individual has the potential to move forward, he is also open to the influences of the environment, particularly social settings. If the judgment according to a child as he grows up is positive (positive unconditional reception), his self-development will not interfere with his tendency to move forward. This means that his self-worth flows with the development of the organism and is not threatened. This will then lead to the development and individual adjustment for a more effective life. Unfortunately, as one grows to maturity, not all the evaluations received are positive. Some may be negative. These help shape a personÊs self-concept. When a significant other in the person's world provides positive comments that are conditional rather than unconditional, the person introjects the desired values, making them his own and acquires conditions of worth. Nevertheless, if the evaluation is in conflict with his self-evaluation, his self-concept will develop in a distorted manner and he will be surrounded with feelings of insecurity especially if the views of the people around him seem to be more influential. Since he has to maintain his integrity of the self-concept, this threatening experience will be perceived distortedly or denied into unawareness. In other words, the experiences that conform to his self-concept will be perceived and developed into awareness while those which are not will be distorted or denied into unawareness. The experience which has been accurately accepted into his self-structure will raise the incongruence between the individual and the experience. This will lead to incongruence in behaviour. This simply means that some behaviour which are consistent with the self-concept will be manifested accurately with conscious awareness while some other experiences which have not been recognised or have been distorted to match the personality will not be absorbed into the self-structure. An incongruent experience with the self-structure is described as threatening. If this experience is described with conscious awareness, it would lead a person towards inconsistency and a state of anxiety will appear. However, the selfdefence process would hinder this from happening. It will try to maintain the experience perception so that it would be consistent with the self-structure and self-worth. However, this process will eventually result in inappropriate perception or lead him towards a misleading intention. Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

166 TOPIC 6 PERSON-CENTRED COUNSELLING At the point where self-incongruence and the actual experience have grown to a huge proportion, the process of self-defence will not be able to develop effectively. Thus, anxiety and conflict will arise. To restore self-congruence, several conditions of acceptance which were imposed need to be reconsidered. The counsellor should create an atmosphere of unconditional warm friendship. In order to convey this, it needs to be done emphatically. When the client perceives full acceptance, he would, by then, be less anxious. To develop such an individual, a non-threatening condition has to exist at the start of the session. Surrounded in such warmth, the counsellor will encourage the client to explore his subconsciousÊ distorted experience and guide him to escape from the experience with his conscious awareness. A therapeutic communication will encourage the client to slowly accept the threatening feelings and to assimilate it with the structure of her self-concept. The understanding and the acceptance of the threatening judgment will be a starting point to create a more flexible self-structure and a perpetual acceptance. STRATEGIES TO HELP CLIENTS For person-centred counselling, interaction is of the essence. There is no specific strategy or technique that is recommended in the person-centred approach. The main focus is the relationship and the conditions experienced by both the counsellor and the client. 6.4.1 Counselling Interaction Counselling involves interaction between one individual (counsellor) with another or more individuals (client). The interaction varies from one individual to another. A counsellor needs to submit to several principles or professional etiquette when conducting this type of counselling. Firstly, he has to show his interest in being genuine and honest to every client of his. Rogers (1959, as cited in Bieling, 2009) stated that it is crucial for a client to feel accepted by the counsellor. This interest can be expressed to the client in many ways. For example, by being punctual for meetings, being sensitive to what the client delivers through appropriate body language and facial expressions, and responding to whatever is said by the client. It is important to note that this interest must be genuine. 6.4 Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

TOPIC 6 PERSON-CENTRED COUNSELLING 167 Secondly, a client needs to place his trust in the counsellor and feel safe to be with him. In this case, confidentiality is mandatory. If the client wishes to refrain from defending himself and unleashing all his weaknesses and strengths, he has to be convinced that the disclosure of private information will not be leaked out nor will it be used against him later on. Aside from confidentiality, there must be trust and respect for the counsellorÊs credentials. The client must like him as an individual and feel positively about his knowledge and expertise. Indeed, there are no easy techniques to develop trust in the counsellor. It is an ongoing effort that grows with time and the counsellor can help precipitate this by showing his genuine interest to help the client through his actions, language and behaviour. Lastly, counselling is limited in many ways. However, the limitations are imposed for the purpose of development. For instance, the meeting is held at a certain time by appointment within a time limit. There are also limitations pertaining to the services that can be offered by the counsellor. Unlike a welfare department officer, the counsellor cannot, by any means, visit his clients at home and there is a boundary to his relationship with his client. The counsellor cannot share his personal opinions in a private conversation. Although he may meet them at social events, he must not get intimate or extend the hand of friendship to his client and must not play father, mother, lover or any significant role in the clientÊs life. These limitations serve to show that he takes his client seriously and professionally. What needs to be done must be done by the clients themselves. They must not depend on someone else to decide for them or save them from the effects of their own doings. Since the process of counselling is an interaction, we noticed that Rogers never used any specific techniques to help his clients and his clients did not go through certain stages in counselling. Nevertheless, based on the observations and analysis of the sessions conducted by him, there are several obvious techniques. Even though skills do not equate to techniques, they can be used in the process of building counselling relationship which is the major focus in the person-centred counselling. In essence, these skills were further explained by Ivey and Ivey (1998). Although not all of the skills were applied by Rogers, they can still serve as good guidelines. Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

168 TOPIC 6 PERSON-CENTRED COUNSELLING 6.4.2 Basic Counselling Skills Rogers (1951, as cited in Casemore, 2011) suggested there are eight basic counselling skills being applied throughout the counselling process. Figure 6.8: The eight basic counselling skills Figure 6.8 illustrates eight basic counselling skills and its brief explanation will be discussed as follows. (a) Questioning (Open-ended and Close-ended Questions) If open-ended questions are in use, the counsellor can expect a more elaborate response from the client. Otherwise, the client will provide shorter and succinct answers if close-ended questions are asked. Questions can either help the client to keep talking or the other way round. Relevant questions may delve into the clientÊs world and thus provide helpful information for the counsellor to better understand the clientÊs problem. These questions can also direct, develop or restrain the discussion. In general, questions may either be open-ended or close-ended and may start with what, how and why. Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

TOPIC 6 PERSON-CENTRED COUNSELLING 169 (b) Minimal Encouragement The client needs to know if he is heard and understood when he discloses his problems, views or opinions. He wants the counsellor to understand him and his world. Encouragement can be in the form of nodding, „hem...hem...‰, „go on‰, „yes...yes...,‰ „I understand‰ or other similar short expressions. All these short responses convey to the client that the counsellor is listening and is following his story and that he is there with him. It is also crucial to give proper responses according to the flow of the clientÊs story. (c) Paraphrasing Apart from following the clientÊs storyline and telling him that the counsellor understands it, another way is by paraphrasing the points that have been told by the client. When the client hears the brief paraphrasing responses by the counsellor, he may come to realise that the counsellor truly understands what he has just said. Paraphrasing also helps to ensure that the counsellor understands what the clientÊs real problem is. However, paraphrasing is not repeating the points but rather repeating the key points from the clientÊs statements using the counsellorÊs own words. (d) Summarising It is almost similar to paraphrasing but it covers much more information and demands a longer time to listen to the story before the counsellor gives his response. In summarising, some connected ideas or themes may appear. Summarising is sometimes applied at the start of the session to help the client recap the contents of the previous meeting. Also, it is used at the end of the session to offer a solution for the clientÊs story for the session. (e) Reflection of Feelings When the client relates his story, it will involve his emotions. These emotions which are embedded in the spoken words are called out for the counsellorÊs attention. By reflecting the feelings of the client, the counsellor is making a statement that he understands what his client felt or experienced. As the client starts to realise this, he will be encouraged to disclose his feelings. Those feelings which have been concealed thus far or only just mentioned on the surface will be elaborated by the client one by one. Expressing deeper feeling will help the relationship and the exploration stage to occur sooner. It should be noted that the reflection of feelings has to be done accurately or else it may reveal that the counsellor has failed to understand the clientÊs feelings. Needless to say, the counsellor has to be equipped with a collection of accurate terms to be able to describe human feelings effectively. Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

170 TOPIC 6 PERSON-CENTRED COUNSELLING (f) Confrontation Even though Rogers (1951, as cited in Casemore, 2011) did not confront his clients very often during his counselling sessions, a person-centred counsellor needs to sometimes do so in order to obtain certain information or help accelerate the clientÊs progress. The challenge should be in the form of an invitation so that the client may be able to see himself more deeply and no longer has to hide in his comfort zone. Confrontation can be done when the client-counsellor relationship has reached a higher level. If the challenge is given too early, the client would most likely feel threatened or challenged. This will result in the client being angry or hostile. If there are conflicting ideas or feelings, confrontation can be used to clarify the truth. Confrontation skills demand higher expertise. If it hits the right note, it will be able to help the counsellor explore into the clientÊs problem very quickly. But if it doesnÊt, it might interrupt the client from talking. It may also cause him to lose interest in proceeding with the counselling session. (g) Focusing The stories shared by the client need to be directed at certain situations, not by force or manipulation but rather by looking at the flow. An environmental perspective has to be embedded in the storyÊs plot. By focusing, the counsellor will not get lost in the story because he will need to closely follow the clientÊs story and respond accurately. (h) Reflection of Meaning Reflection of meaning involves the counsellorÊs ability to delve into the clientÊs world and understand what he experiences and feels. This skill needs the counsellorÊs persistence to understand the whole story and interpret the hidden messages. The reflection of meaning may not necessarily be done by the counsellor. It can also be done by the client with the counsellorÊs encouragement. Reflection of meaning will help the client find meaning for her actions and feelings. Since the interpretation of meaning develops into the subconscious world, it needs to be done carefully. Sometimes, the client may not be ready to let the counsellor interpret his meaning of life. In such cases, the counsellor has to really be careful since the client may deny the interpretation even if it is true. Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

TOPIC 6 PERSON-CENTRED COUNSELLING 171 SAMPLE OF COUNSELLING CASES Even though the verbatim quote of the following transcript may not be able to fully describe the relationship that takes place during counselling due to the absence of voice intonation, facial expressions, gestures and many other non-counselling languages, it is hoped that the example will be able to reflect the process that occurred during the person-centred counselling session. The skills applied and the dynamics that happened during the session are mentioned at the end of the counsellorÊs responses. Case 1 (Verbatim Quote) Aminah, 25-year-old Woman In this case, Aminah talks about her frustration with her boyfriend. Client : I am so mad at him. At first he promised to come and meet my family. „To get to know my parents‰, thatÊs what he said. Now, itÊs been three months and heÊs been postponing the meeting. He gave me countless reasons ă from being busy and having a lot of work to complete to being called to work outstation and many others. IÊve gotten fed up with his attitude and I feel like breaking off with him. If he doesnÊt have time for me, why should I take him seriously? Counsellor : I think you are angry because he didnÊt fulfil his promises and doesnÊt seem to be concerned about you (the emphasis is given on the word „angry‰). Client : Why shouldnÊt I be? Last Sunday we planned to go back to my hometown to meet my parents but he called on Saturday morning to inform me that he has to go outstation. I doubt it. Was that the real reason or was he just giving an excuse to avoid meeting my parents? I know he needs to go outstation since his job involves working outstation but we have promised my parents that weÊd be coming home. I even told my mom we were coming. Counsellor : It looks like not only are you angry at him but you are also disappointed that he didnÊt keep his promises (the counsellor emphasises on the reflection of feeling ă anger and disappointment). 6.5 Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

172 TOPIC 6 PERSON-CENTRED COUNSELLING Client : You bet! This is not the first time. If itÊs only me, itÊs alright. But when it involves other people, I just couldnÊt accept it. It turns out more than once that heÊs cancelled the appointment. I can actually forgive him because I know heÊs busy outstation. But my mum really looked forward to meeting him. Counsellor : Even though heÊs done this several times before, this last act of his seemed unforgivable especially when it involved your mother (emphasis is given on the previous events). Client : Certainly! My mom has been waiting and we promised her. Even if he has to travel outstation, he should have informed me earlier. His constant last minute calls have really gotten on my nerves. That day I had to apologise to my mom. She had made several preparations. Luckily sheÊs not a nagging mother. Otherwise, I couldnÊt even imagine what might have happened. What I donÊt understand is his warmth towards me. When he returns from outstation he usually buys me many presents. He also seems to be really concerned about me ă asking me out, taking care of me and showering me with his love. Whenever I remember those fond memories, I would cool down a little bit. I know he loves me but sometimes I feel that he loves his job even more. Counsellor : It seems like you have mixed feelings, love-hate feelings. Roughly it is love but sometimes anger when he breaks his promises (the counsellor tries to delve into the clientÊs mixed feelings. These conflicting feelings create a conflict that leaves the client feeling incongruent). Client : Maybe I need to understand the nature of his job. If he needs to be outstation for most of the time, I need to be more patient. Otherwise, I have to look for another boyfriend (laughing). I know two or three other guys who admire me but I simply turned them down. They smile at me a lot and some even asked me out. What if I smiled back and accepted the invitation? (smiling) Counsellor : If IÊm not mistaken you mentioned earlier that you love him but now you are saying that you want to get to know other guys (the counsellor needs to confirm this especially since her remark was followed with a smile. This needs to be explored). Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

TOPIC 6 PERSON-CENTRED COUNSELLING 173 Client : I do love him but for someone who is frequently ignored, IÊm beginning to lose my patience. My other friends are free to go out every weekend but look at me ⁄ IÊm stuck in front of the TV. I donÊt think itÊs wrong to go out with some other people every now and then. At least I can know how other people might treat me. Counsellor : So to avoid loneliness, you wished you could go out with your other friends? (the counsellor paraphrases a newly mentioned point as „loneliness‰ and he explores a new idea about the clientÊs claim about her consideration to go out with someone else). From the conversation in this session, we are drawn to several skills that are commonly emphasised by the person-centred counsellor, namely the use of reflection of feelings and paraphrasing skills. The minimal encouragement, though applied on several occasions, is hard to transcribe. Despite the brief session, we are able to look at the progress, that is, the recognition of feelings and the exploration of the clientÊs tentative plans together with the counsellor. Case 2 looks at the focus on the feelings and the alternatives which are being explored by the client. Case 2 (Excerpt from the Beginning of a Session) Raju, a Twelve-year-old Boy This case describes Raju, a Year Six student, who experiences personal stress and conflict with his peers. This client has been referred to by the class teacher. The counsellor invites Raju into her office. Counsellor : Please have a seat, Raju. Client : (Raju sits while looking out the room, his body leans feebly in his chair). Counsellor : I was requested by the class teacher to meet you. So, how can I help you? Client : (While still remaining silent, he looks out the room and lets out a sigh). Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

174 TOPIC 6 PERSON-CENTRED COUNSELLING Counsellor : Maybe you can tell me whatÊs making you sigh? Client : ThereÊs really nothing, Teacher (even though Ms. Zainab is a full-time, registered counsellor, the students still address her as „Teacher‰). Counsellor : I can feel that you have something to tell me. Let me remind you, this conversation is strictly confidential and will not be repeated except between the two of us. So, can you tell me whatÊs bothering you at the moment? Client : (He looks at the counsellor and slowly starts to tell his story). They keep picking on me, Teacher, and IÊve had enough. Sometimes I feel like slapping them. Counsellor : I understand that you are really mad at these students. If possible, can you tell me what have they done to make you this angry? Client : They called me hateful names ă fatty, fatso. I have never gotten in their way. I sat at the back of the class and did my thing. I just want them to leave me alone and I donÊt want to be their friend (crying). Counsellor : So, the students in your class always get in your way? Client : I never wanted to be their friend. I want them to leave me alone and not to mind me at all. Counsellor : From what I can see here, Raju, you do not wish to befriend anyone in the class. Does that mean you donÊt have any close friends in your classroom? Client : (Crying again) They refused to be my friends. It has been a while and IÊve never had any good friends and I never had the chance to talk to anyone. Everything that bothered me, I kept it to myself. I have no one to listen to me. Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

TOPIC 6 PERSON-CENTRED COUNSELLING 175 Counsellor : So, you are lonely with no one to talk to and share stories with. Client : Certainly, Teacher. In that class I have no friends. Not a single one. They are always pulling my leg. Whenever I try to speak, they will shout back at me, telling me to shut up. It beats me why they hate me and what is wrong with me. Even though I am a little big, IÊve got a heart too. Counsellor : What feelings would you want to share with your friends? (This session is continued by focusing on the feelings enveloping Raju and how these feelings can be shared with his friends). Case 2 shows that the client who has been referred to the counsellor can also undergo a person-centred counselling. What needs to be done by the counsellor is to accept the client and remind him about the confidentiality of their conversation. The emphasis by the counsellor in her effort to understand her clientÊs world, even though he is only a school student, is crucial. The clientÊs feelings need to be looked into and reflected to him so that he knows someone is listening and trying to understand him even though other students do not. The safe and therapeutic condition will encourage the client to share more and explore the reasons that made him unpopular among his peers and later look for suitable ways to develop a new relationship with them. CONTRIBUTIONS BY THE PERSON-CENTRED THEORY The person-centred theory has greatly contributed to the field of counselling and psychotherapy. This approach is so flexible that it can be applied to various types of counselling such as individual counselling, group counselling and family counselling. This theory can also be used in different contexts such as in education, government or private organisations, rehabilitation centres, hospitals and many others. This client-centred counselling has empowered the clients to be autonomous and to make their own decisions. The counsellor helps the clients explore, understand and guide them to unveil insights regarding their own personal life but it is the clients themselves who choose the alternatives to change after discussions with their counsellor. This indirectly gives the impression to the client that he has the right to choose his way of life. 6.6 Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

176 TOPIC 6 PERSON-CENTRED COUNSELLING Since it was first introduced in the 1950s, support for this theory remains strong until today. One significant contribution to the practitioners of counselling is the fact that counselling or psychotherapy does not belong exclusively to those who call themselves experts or professionals especially psychoanalytic therapists. Nowadays it can be seen that many members of the society are able to receive the benefits of counselling, not just those who can afford to pay a high price for this service. The person-centred counselling also emphasises on the importance of clientcounsellorÊs mutual respect as a key element in counselling. Three qualities of a counsellor, namely congruence, positive unconditional regard and empathy are a must for all approaches in counselling. Apart from the contribution towards the application of counselling and therapy, Rogers (1951, as cited in Casemore, 2011) (who fathered the theory) had also contributed to the personality psychology which is the main track to this theory. Specifically, he has contributed in terms of understanding people, emphasising about interpersonal relationship in the development of personality and the current change through counselling as well as showing openness and flexibility to scientific research. The concept of phenomenology held by Rogers (1951, as cited in Casemore, 2011) has brought three main influences in understanding personalities. What is important is the experience of the individual, not the expert details or what should have been experienced. The three main influences are: (a) Firstly, phenomenology approach has challenged the objective approach to understanding human behaviour. Objectivity refers to studying humans in terms of their behaviour, mechanically and must not interfere personally. Rogers questioned such form of objective study in therapy. He had proven that human being can be analysed phenomenally and started a new approach to study this concept scientifically. (b) Secondly, Rogers attempted to explore the self-concept. Direct observation in the process of counselling enables counsellors to study the clients in their own world, whether it is in the normal condition or in the state of confusion. (c) Thirdly, Rogers taught us to understand human being by trusting them. With acceptance and supportive environment, individuals can develop towards refinement and perfection. Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

TOPIC 6 PERSON-CENTRED COUNSELLING 177 Rogers has always been recognised as the father of modern counselling for having suggested that an incongruent individual can be given help to change with all three qualities as the backbone of the person-centred counselling. This view is able to help counsellors serve their clients who face everyday crisis in their lives. 6.6.1 Limitations of the Person-centred Theory One obvious limitation of the person-centred theory is the way it is applied, not because of its poor theory. Some counsellors have misinterpreted or misused it in practice. Many who understand the principles (or believe that they do) theoretically agree with the entire principles but have found it difficult to practice them effectively. For instance, school counsellors always assume that because of its non-imperative feature, it is difficult to apply the theory to students who are so used to being ordered or instructed by their teachers. However, this view is more applicable to teacher-cum-counsellors who love to give orders even in the practice of counselling and does not necessarily reflect the incompatibility of the theory to the clients (students). The warm counsellor-client interaction as the counsellor demonstrates unconditional acceptance of the client may raise concerns for those counsellors who cannot draw the line in the relationship. The tendency to misuse the closeness in relationship may be regarded as a disadvantage in terms of the controlling factor. Clear separating line between the expert and the client is not drawn in this theory. Even though it is not a real limitation in this theory, it can result in power abuse towards the clients. Another common criticism towards this theory is that this theory can be easily manipulated by the clients since the theory asserts that the counsellor has to accept his clients unconditionally and acknowledge the clientsÊ subjective phenomenology. If the entire process is understood correctly, the issue will never arise since the clients will eventually come to realise that manipulating counsellors who are trying their best to help them is a sheer waste of time. Another criticism of the theory is that it does not suit those who are in the state of severe psychology incongruence. It is more applicable to those experiencing daily stress and crisis. For clients who have severe mental disorders such as psychotic or excessive neurology, this theory has proven to be inefficacious. Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

178 TOPIC 6 PERSON-CENTRED COUNSELLING Since there are no specific strategies or techniques suggested by the theory, it may sometimes be troublesome to counsellors, especially those who are new, to explore their clientsÊ predicament. The use of skills such as reflecting, paraphrasing or summarising which turn out to be too mechanical may seem rather boring or uninteresting to the clients to the extent that it may affect the whole counsellingÊs progress. This criticism may be accepted if it is specific to the counselling skills but it does not prove the inadequacy of this theory in counselling. This topic comprehensively explains the person-centred counselling theory with the related key concepts being provided with justifications. The person-centred counselling approach was founded by Carl Rogers and this approach has wide acceptance in the fields of counselling and psychotherapy. The person-centred counselling is an approach to help individuals based on the philosophy that psychological growth will occur when an individual or a group of people perceived that they are treated honestly, kindly and with empathy. Placing total trust in the counsellor is the foundation of personcentred counselling. There are three concepts of knowledge, namely subjective knowledge, objective knowledge and interpersonal knowledge. 1. The person-centred counselling theory has its distinctive view about human being. Elaborate on the view. 2. State the meaning of self-concept according to Carl RogersÊ theory. 3. What are the three crucial qualities to ensure the success of a counselling session according to Carl Rogers? 4. There are quite a number of basic skills in counselling. Name four skills that you think is very important. SELF-CHECK 6.2 Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

TOPIC 6 PERSON-CENTRED COUNSELLING 179 There are two main important construct to understanding RogersÊ personality theory, namely the organism and self. The practice of counselling has to follow certain sequential stages and the behavioural changes observed are based on the order of this theory. Strategies to help clients in counselling include counselling interaction strategies and counselling skills. Person-centre theory has a number of contributions and limitations that they should be distinguished. Confrontation Congruence Empathy Focusing Interpersonal knowledge Objective knowledge Paraphrasing Personality theory Person-centred counselling approach Phenomenology Positive Unconditional Regard Psychological disorder Reflection of feelings Reflection of meaning Subception process Subjective knowledge Summarising Therapy conditions Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

180 TOPIC 6 PERSON-CENTRED COUNSELLING Bieling, P. J., McCabe, R. E., & Anthony, M. M. (2009). Cognitive-behavioural therapy in groups. New York: The Guilford Press. Casemore, R. (2011). Person-centred counselling in a nutshell (2nd ed.) London: SAGE Publication Ltd. Ivey, A. E., & Ivey, M. B. (1998). Reframing DSM-IV: Positive Strategies from Developmental Counseling and Therapy. Journal of Counseling and Development. Volume 76, Issue 3 Summer 1998 pages 334ă350. Stewart, C. (2015). Defense Mechanism is Denial, Distortion, Delusion. Psych Central. Retrieved on January 14, 2018, from https://blogs.psychcentral. com/humor/2015/11/defense-mechanism-is-denial-distortion-delusion/ Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)

INTRODUCTION In previous topics, we have discussed the counselling process on a one-to-one client-counsellor relationship. In this topic, we will focus on group counselling. Working in groups is a counselling specialty which is used to help individuals resolve personal and interpersonal problems. Group counselling is based on the premise that human beings have a natural tendency to share thoughts and feelings. Groups are valuable because they allow members to experience a sense of belonging when sharing common problems, observing behaviours and the consequences of behaviours in others. By participating in a group counselling, individuals develop social relationships and emotional bonds, and in the process become more enlightened. Topic 7 Group Counselling By the end of this topic, you should be able to: 1. Define group counselling; 2. Explain when it is appropriate to conduct group counselling and its advantages; 3. Identify the different types of group counselling; 4. Describe the four stages of group counselling; and 5. List the qualities of an effective group leader. LEARNING OUTCOMES Copyright © Open University Malaysia (OUM)