Personal Viewpoint of Helping

Many theories exist for helping clients with problems from everyday stress to psychosis. Therapists must choose which methods and techniques will be the most effective in treating a growing population of clients. I believe a combination of person-centered, cognitive-behavioral, and reality therapy can be very effective in treating the myriad of problems therapists today face daily. While therapists must keep in mind aspects of all forms of therapy, focusing their practice on two or three set methods can allow the therapist to hone their techniques and keep their practice simple. Person-centered therapy focuses positive attention on the client and highlights their strengths, cognitive therapy helps clients change the way they perceive situations to more positive and realistic thoughts, and reality therapy helps the client take responsibility for their actions and outcome of their life. Combining these therapies is somewhat like combining the experience of many of psychology's greatest contributors, and that will obviously yield better results. Therapists can choose the techniques they wish to pull from each theory based on the client's specific situation. Good initial assessment data can help the therapist decide which techniques will be the most effective.

The demand for therapy has risen astronomically in the past century, and along with it has come an increase in the study of psychology and development of theories for counseling. Counseling is now being offered for all aspects of life, even our pets can go to the therapist! Therapists face situations of varying severity and complexity daily, and should therefore, prepare themselves adequately by being well educated and trained in a variety of therapy methods. No "one size fits all" exists in human nature, so to be able to help the increasingly diverse population, therapists spend years studying and perfecting their personal viewpoints on helping. I personally favor person-centered, cognitive-behavioral, and reality therapy to handle the variety of problems today's therapists see. I believe that the therapist should be active and hands-on in their clients' therapy. Creating a good rapport with the client will allow the client to see that the therapist is truly concerned and working towards a positive outcome. Just because the therapist does not agree with the clients' views or opinions does not mean that the therapist is unable to work with the client, it just means that the therapist and client will have to put in extra effort to make the relationship positive. The increasing number of clients also presents a problem related to time management, and therapists are looking for fast, effective ways to treat their client's underlying issues. The above mentioned types of therapy have been shown to be effective quickly, and their results are usually long-term (Parrott III, 2003).

Even with a set model that has worked effectively for a long time, the experienced therapist knows that staying well-versed in all types of therapy is important, as dealing with a small child or mentally challenged client may require the use of different methods. For example, the positive and negative reinforcement techniques used in behavior therapy could be the most effective when dealing with a mentally challenged client who peels the skin from around their fingernails, while using the self-exploration and reflection of person-centered therapy or the logical reasoning of cognitive therapy would probably not provide much help.

Helping a client is not so much showing the client what their problems are as showing the client ways to fix their problems. Many therapeutic techniques are available to today's therapist, somewhat like an arsenal of ways to help. These techniques are usually grouped by the counseling theory they relate to, such as reinforcement linked to behavior therapy and disputing linked to cognitive therapy. Choosing the correct techniques to use with each client can only be done after a thorough assessment of the client's situation and needs has been done. Therapists should review the therapeutic techniques available to them through all the theories and then pick those that they feel will be the most effective. I tend to favor the more positive and goal-oriented techniques that come from the more recently developed counseling theories. The techniques identified with person-centered, cognitive-behavioral, and reality therapies provide a broad base for establishing a therapeutic working relationship. I believe allowing the client to participate in their own therapy is important, so interventions related to these therapies, such as developing a goal plan with the client, role modeling, imagery, action homework, and logical reasoning, all involve the client and make them take responsibility for their own success. Therapists need to establish a trusting and active relationship with the client and be a role model for good behavior. After making good assessments of the client's problems and needs, the therapist needs to develop a treatment plan with the client's approval and make concrete, short-term goals that lead up to a final, larger objective. Letting the client participate through the stages of therapy show positive regard and will encourage the client to progress. This also helps in forcing the client to take personal responsibility for their outcome. The therapist should be there as a guide only, directing the client to success. The therapist's own behavior should also reflect good mental health. Clients will feel more positively about therapy if the therapist has a positive attitude. Even though the client helping themselves is a good thing, the therapist should not become too detached from the client's progress. The client needs direction and assistance when working on interventions, and the therapist should be available at all times. The therapist should also maintain a sense of unconditional positive regard and acceptance at all times, even when they are unhappy with the progress being made. If adequate progress is not being made, then the interventions the therapist is using should be re-evaluated and changed to better fit the needs of the client. This is why staying up-to-date with all the techniques available is essential.

My personal model of helping is also, coincidentally, quite culturally sensitive. Just by applying the techniques of person-centered therapy many of the problems with multicultural therapy can be avoided. The main problem with working with someone of a different culture is that little understanding exists between the therapist and client about the client's culture or how it differs from the therapist's. The therapist can alleviate even more stress related to culture by simply taking the time to study or review the client's cultural differences and letting the client know that this has been done. Awareness of cultural differences will make the client more comfortable and establish trust in the relationship. The therapist may also allow the client time to express their feelings about their culture and stress they have related to it. The mental health population is growing, and along with that the number of different cultures being treated is increasing as well. Extensive research has been done into the differences between cultures and cultural sensitivity, so the presence of multiple cultural backgrounds in therapy is not only beneficial to us as a society, it keeps things interesting!

Using a combination of therapy techniques from various theories is the most effective way to deal with the quickly growing mental health population. Various cultures, languages, genders, religions, and ethnicities make up this population, which has grown by over 80 million people in the last three decades (Parrott III, 2003). I favor the techniques that focus on a more positive, goal-oriented approach, such as those in person-centered, cognitive-behavioral, and reality therapy. I find these three therapies to be a good, broad-based foundation on which to treat the myriad of problems presented to the therapist each day. The well-rounded therapist still stays informed about all therapeutic techniques and theories, even the ones they do not use, because each client is different and a different approach to care may be required several times per day. Therapists who stay educated and allow clients to participate in their care enjoy the rewards of positive outcomes, and using a base in person-centered, cognitive-behavioral, and reality therapy can help them achieve this.

References

Parrott III, L. (2003). Counseling and psychotherapy (2nd ed.). Available from the University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.