Research Topics: Counseling Emulation

A summary report of counseling emulation

Actually the assignment is a summary report of counseling emulation. The assignment has separated into 2 parts, 1st and 2nd parts is almost the same but the 2nd part is a bit longer and deeper in detail. For part 1, I’ll attaché the marked assignment and my supervisor’s comment for your reference. For part 2, i would like to let you know since there was a live session with my supervisor, mine is SESSION 1, her comment about me was i could handle the session smooth and good enough, actually everything was positive. Of course, when you doing the assignment (competency checklist), you can write some negative comments….Pls remember for the observer checklist, the content should almost coherent to counselor checklist. In order to let you know what is going on, i also attach the example for doing the competency checklist. For part 2, you can see I’ve almost filled in part1′s information except the part of action taken, Pls help to finish it…As part 1 already get almost 500words, so the remaining part should be around 1250words is okayed. i think the information and files provided should be clear enough to assist you to help me finish the paper, if still have any query, Pls just let me know Thx for help again! Jackie Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

A summary report of counseling emulation

Actually the assignment is a summary report of counseling emulation. The assignment has separated into 2 parts, 1st and 2nd parts is almos...

Sample Case Studies and Analysis on Intervention and aptitude tests that would help know the person’s inner abilities and motivations and evaluate how people perform or react to different situations

CASE ANALYSIS AND COUNSELING             THE CASE OF JANE                 Jane is an able-bodied teenager who needs motivation in pursuing her high school studies while keeping up with her interests.  She is a productive individual with a background of volunteer work at the seniors’ home in her town.  She finds fulfillment in this engagement since she enjoys talking to old people and making crafts.  The volunteer work is Jane’s primary avenue for pursuing her interest in working with people and doing things with them.  The seniors’ home also gives her a chance to work on her craftsmanship and creativity.  Jane is hardworking and would not mind working on weekends or long hours as long as she’s working on something she enjoys.  She is an above-average student in the areas of manual dexterity, eye-hand coordination and spatial ability as revealed by her aptitude tests results.  These mean that her greatest strengths lie on her hands and eyes.                          The teenager is losing interest in school primarily because high schools are more on academic and does not offer much on arts.  She is encountering difficulty in geometry which is a common subject in high school.  Jane’s interests run contrary to the school’s academic focus which creates the present problem.  The teenager is having difficulty passing her academic subjects and is likely to repeat tenth grade.                          Intervention in this case may start in having an intimate dialogue with the client.  The dialogue would include discussions on the client’s problems, strengths, interests and plans. The counselor can ask the client on her motivations for going to school and if graduating is important for her.  It is necessary to consider that the client was able to pass kindergarten until ninth grade so there is an innate drive to be educated and to do well.  The client must be motivated to set goals for high school without sacrificing her personal interests.  The counselor’s role is to explain to the client that she is not a bad student and should back this up by explaining her strengths and placing value on her interests especially her volunteer work.  The client should also be consulted on her plans if ever she quits school.  The counselor’s stance is to make the client realize the importance of having a diploma in finding the most rewarding job that she would dream of.                         The Career Area Interest Checklist (CAIC) would be a helpful tool in this case.  CAIC is a career guidance instrument which would help increase the student’s awareness of the types of jobs in his or her career area of interest and will let the student describe five jobs in that area, including the type of education or training needed.  The student will have to complete the checklist to discover her main area of interest in careers.  After determining which area best matches her interests, the student will review sources and materials (books, brochures, videos, Internet etc.) concerning that career area and choose five specific jobs in that area to learn about (University of North Florida 2006).  From the result of the checklist Jane can formulate her future goals and the steps she would do to achieve them.                         A need to engage the client in Self-Directed Search assessment is seen in this case.  The test would determine her personality, personal characteristics and the specific occupations applicable to her characteristics. This would help Jane choose the kinds of jobs that she thinks would make her effective without taking leadership since she doesn’t see herself as a leader material.  Or the result can help her change her self-image as a follower.                            THE CASE OF ALTHEA                           Althea‘s primary concern in asking for help with career guidance is on the specific job that would be appropriate for her and she would enjoy at the same time.   She is a smart teenager and can handle anything when she puts her mind into it.  This is a strength which would come in handy when she finally gets employed.  The first months on the job are adjustment periods.  Althea’s capability to do anything as long as her mind is into it would make her get through the adjustment period, considering that other factors which she finds stimulating like a conducive working condition, are present.  The result of the Self-Directed Search revealed that her personality is a combination of the R and A occupations.  “R” occupations include carpenter, cook, electrician, industrial arts, teacher, materials engineer, mechanical engineer, metal shop supervisor, and paramedic; while “A” occupations range from advertising executive, architect, author, English teacher, film editor, interior designer, musician, and photographer (Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc. 2001).  Althea loves writing and likes to use her writing abilities as much as she can.  She finds humor in things around her which also happens to be the usual theme in her articles.  She said that she doesn’t want to work in damp and noisy conditions and in occupations which requires physical strength like lifting heavy objects or using her hands since she is physically challenged.  She wants a comfortable working environment with just a computer for all her writing activities.  Althea also aspires for a job that would give her many challenges and diverse things to do because she gets bored easily.              The Self-Directed Search result is an immense help since some of the results coincide with the client’s personality.  The test shows that Althea is a combination of two personalities and one of those personalities actually correspond to her traits.  The “A’ personality speaks more of Althea’s fun loving nature and love for writing.  The counselor should discuss with the client the result of the test and should emphasize that though the result is a combination it would still help her determine her career path.  This would ease the worry of the client that no occupations would really match her.                         Career Area Interest Checklist can be a helpful intervention tool in this situation as well.  The checklist would give the client a chance to widen her options on the main interest points of her career.  It can also provide her a basis for comparison between the two tests.  The results can be compared in order to obtain the most precise result which would determine the most compatible job for the client.                          The whole encounter with the client is an ideal chance for the counselor to figure out the client’s skills. The client may be asked to enumerate any work experiences she’s had, whether paid or voluntary, in order for the counselor to know her other skills.  All the results from the tests and interviews with the client can be arranged, matched, compared and analyzed until a specific description of the client is derived which would be the basis for determining the best job for her.     THE CASE OF JIM                 Jim’s idea of a perfect job is in a place where he is in charge of everything; people look up to him both for advice and admiration; all his achievements are visible in the organization and in the people that he work with; and his expertise helps his colleagues in the performance of their tasks.  All these conceptualizations make Jim admire his father who is a local university professor and aspire just to be like him.  The client thinks he would enjoy the teaching function of being a professor, the imparting of knowledge to students.  However, he knows that being a professor requires research and he finds this other aspect boring.  Generally, he wants a job that challenges him to make sound decisions on his own and would not require him to tire his feet all day.                         Intervention in this case would comprise mostly of tests that would help the client know his inner abilities and motivations which would be matched with his aspirations.  An aptitude test would be a good thing to begin with.  Aptitude tests are structured systematic ways of evaluating how people perform on tasks or react to different situations. They are characterized by standardized methods of administration and scoring with the results quantified and compared with how others have done at the same tests. They are increasingly administered on a computer (University of Kent 2006).   The results are helpful to determine the characteristics of the client toward having a job and his ability to handle pressure.  Since the client views himself as a future boss, these areas need to be determined as early as now.             The Self-Directed Search might work in this case too.  This test on the other hand, would determine the type of personality of the client and specific jobs that would apply to that personality.  The result of this test can be used by the counselor to assist the client in finding a definite career path that would make him realize all his ideals of a perfect job.  The result may also prove that not all his ideas might work for him and it is the responsibility of the counselor to assist him in this realization.  The client may be able to alter some of his requirements of a perfect job and be able to come up with more realistic ones which might satisfy him more in the end.                         There is another tool that would assist Jim in his career endeavors.  A Roadmap specifies the activities that the client would undertake for a certain period of time until he reaches his dream job.  This can start at his freshman year in college until graduation or after graduation when he is to actually apply for employment.                         Jim is an ambitious teenager.  He has this drive within him to succeed and as early as now he already knows what he wants.  The counselor can build on these attributes and be there consistently until Jim fully realizes what he really wants to achieve in his life.         THE CASE OF LOGAN               Logan is a very bright and active ninth grader who loves Math and Chemistry.   He delights in the two subjects because they are reality-based, with quick results that can be proven anytime.  Despite these admirable things in him, the school’s Guidance Department thinks he is bored.  Interviews with the client revealed that he hates explaining things to other people.  Logan wants to be always right and has a flair for problem solving.  He is mechanical and loves boggling his mind with electronic gadgets.  He is also musical and plays the flute really well.  He is thinking of becoming a musician but he values money and thinks that being a musician would not pay off well.                         The client has no academic difficulties in this case.  He is doing okay in school but the Guidance Department is concerned that he is becoming bored with his everyday school routine.  The guidance department thinks that Logan can do more than what he is capable of achieving right now.                          The guidance counselor did a good start in intervening with the client’s situation.  The conversation with Logan disclosed a lot of personal information which can be used as the intervention progresses.  Since the client has no definite set of aspirations on his future career, the counselor can assist him in making plans and goals.  The client must be able to identify the things he loves to do and what he envisions himself doing in the future.  The intervention can include discovering the work history of the client.  Logan may have taken apprenticeship, summer job or part-time jobs before.  The employment history of the client would provide data on the types of tasks that the client is capable of handling.  This would give the counselor a basic idea on what the client wants and is able to do.  The result of this activity may be used with the Self-Directed Search tool.  The tool would determine the client’s personality as well as the compatible jobs that would complement the particular personality type.  Whatever Logan identified as his ideas of himself can serve as basis for the result of the self-directed search test which has a more scientific orientation.  The client can see the result and can discuss with the counselor what he thinks of it.                          It is important that the counselor considers the interests of the client, that is, music and electronic gadgets.   The apprehension of the client that being a musician would not be a good ambition because it would not bring in money should be addressed.  The counselor must emphasize that monetary fulfillment counts less than having a passion for something and excelling at it.  The client personally disclosed the two hobbies and the whole intervention should consider these two things in order to keep the interest of the client throughout the intervention process. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Sample Case Studies and Analysis on Intervention and aptitude tests that would help know the person’s inner abilities and motivations and evaluate how people perform or react to different situations

CASE ANALYSIS AND COUNSELING THE CASE OF JANE Jane is an able-bodied teenager who needs motivation i...

INDIVIDUAL COUNSELLING

Introduction Counselling is a way of helping people with different kinds of personal problems. Counsellors work with a wide range of concerns including anxiety, depression, bereavement, loneliness, self-esteem, difficulties in relationships, self-injury and eating problems. It is based on the building of trusting relationship between the counselor and their client and it can enable people to talk about their experiences and to make sense of them. Counselling can also allow people to express difficult feelings and to learn how to manage them in a helpful way. Counsellors are trained to listen thoughtfully and carefully to people’s problems without judging or criticizing them. They do not give advice but support their clients to make positive decisions for themselves. There are different levels of counselling (1993): The immediate level can be used by all teachers in their pastoral care role and will involve key aspects such as ‘active listening’. The intermediate level is concerned with the maintenance of care and concern and will involve the establishment of systems within the school. The third is the intensive level of in-depth work with a pupil and will require specialist counselling by those with relevant training. Fundamental Goals of Counselling are: To enable the child to deal with painful emotional issues, To enable the child to achieve some level of congruence with regard to thoughts, emotions and behaviours, To enable the child to feel good about themselves, To enable the child to accept their limitations and strengths and to feel OK about them, To enable the child to change behaviours that have negative consequences. What Went Well   In the case of Role Play 1, referral for late coming, the counselor had a good opportunity to develop and strengthen relationship with the child. The counselor achieved this through the following:   <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="circle"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> closed question – may be enough to open up a conversation at the beginning when client is reluctant to talk</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> using interest of client to open up – playing games until late –capitalise on the interest of client to communicate</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> sitting position is non confrontational</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Counselor did not go into the problem immediately – trying to get to know the person </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> allowed to make choice for next appointment</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Counselor is emphatising  – “You must be tired, I understand, because you have not had enough sleep” – acknowledgement of feelings</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Smooth flowing conversation – easiest stagew to get common topic</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> connecting with client – food/ interest</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> maintaining eye-contact, tone- friendly, caring and concerned</li> </ul> This gave her  an opportunity to facilitate the next two stages of goal setting and counseling intervention. It is also a good point that the counselor agreed to meet the child’s English teacher, this showed her understanding and concern to the child. Strength of this case is the option of the child to schedule her next appointment with the counselor. Finally, the goal setting the child agreed with the counselor to behave better during classes.   In role play 2, the case of the client that is often late for school and is inflicting pain on herself by cutting her wrists. In the process of relating, the good point here is, the presence of clear progression of topic through verification and clarification by paraphrasing of the child’s statements. Although, at first the child was so resistant and non-chalant, answered in one-word syllables, as the counseling progress, she was willing to talk about her problems. The strongest point in this case is, through questioning and paraphrasing the counselor was able to draw out the background information from her client. The counselor got the following concerns from the child:   <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="circle"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> parents are in an unhappy marriage</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> parents are always quarrelling</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> parents sleep in separate rooms </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> only meet parents during dinner time</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> father has stopped talking to client</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> mother is always looking angry and preoccupied with her problems</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> when young – was pampered by both parents</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> was very close to her mother until the problems began at the beginning of the year</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> did not check on the severity of the cuts on wrists</li> </ul> </ul>   When it comes to the strengths of role play 3, the case of a defiant client with accounts of aggressive behavior in primary school, the counselor is rationale, she has set goals in mind so guided conversation accordingly. During the end of the session,  the counselor wrapped up the session beautifully. She summarized the goals and tasks to be achieved before next session, fixed the next appointment and thanked the student for coming.   In the case of role play 4, the client has the following issues:   <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="circle"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Sibling rivalry – client acting out to get mother’s attention.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> behaviour serves function of getting father to be involved in parenting.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Irritate mom to get back at her because she is too controlling.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Peer influence – lack of motivation</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Client has reading difficulties?</li> </ul> The strong points in this case are the rapport that the counselor has built with the child and this is very important in counseling sessions. The counselor also did clarified the child’s expectations through paraphrasing, challenging client’s perception, suggests some alternatives to her problems, the counselor also was able to pick up positive cue from client and tried to do role play. Finally, it is good to remind the client of doing her homework before the session ended. Want Went Wrong The weakness of the first case is that, the counselor did not come up with client  to ensure his attendance to fulfill the target of three days complete attendance and pattern of good behavior in the English class. The counselor also did not identify peer support for the client in order to reinforce good behavior. While in the second place the following are the weaknesses of the counseling, because the counselor did not: -            provide an opportunity during the interview for the client to practice or rehearse the action step -            encourage the client to observe and evaluate the progress and outcome of action steps taken outside the interview -            suggest a possible sequence of strategies to be used with regards to other problems   The third case is different from the first two cases when it comes to its failures. The Counselor tended to “preach” or advise about letting mother know when she was going to be late, etc, because mum works hard for her, etc. She also did the same for the issue about respecting teachers. The counselor must be careful about going too detailed about such issues, as the students might feel irritated or as if the counselor is “nagging”. This was illustrated when Counselor spoke about it and student folded her arms and looked a little agitated There were too many issues to sum up as the session ends, none of these issues were explored and examined further. The fourth case is similar with the third case in some ways, because of the many and complicated issues of the client that were not explored and examined thoroughly by the counselor and at the same time, there were too many unfocused and unnecessary repetitions. Improving Counseling Skills   Counselling young people requires a thorough understanding of our own childhood issues and a clear view of our moral purpose. Also central to the role is a highly developed self-awareness and emotional and intellectual maturity. The continuous process of self -reflection and critical self-analysis by the counselor in training or practice is central to developing authentic and effective therapeutic relationships. This module sets out to create a working environment in which students are able to work with others to develop their self-awareness and self-knowledge. This process is facilitated through an in-depth exploration of the nature and effect of difference on self, other and relationship and the power relationships between adults and young people. Particular attention will be paid to the social and cultural components of self-concept formation and the application of advanced interpersonal skills to support the intrapersonal and interpersonal development of self and others. The relationship between self-concept and here-and-now interactions will be critically examined. The notion of personal growth and development is considered and its relationship to ‘effectiveness’ in counselling is critically examined. The Interpersonal Process Recall model of self-supervision will be introduced as a practice tool and explored in small study groups using VTR. The skills of journal and assignment writing will be explored. The dearth of research into counselling young people is acknowledged in the literature together with recognition of the importance of evaluating the process and some of the difficulties of doing so and the effectiveness of particular services.   (1993), on counselling as a therapy, comments that the scarce research available ‘continues to show that effectiveness depends on the “who” who does it more than the “what” that is done.  (1961) ingredients for good enough counsellor respectfulness, warmth, genuineness, and the ability to convey accurate empathy have yet to be disproved. The identical conclusion, that what is significant is the quality of the counselling relationship rather than the particular approach to counselling, is drawn by  (1993) and  (1998). However,  (2001) claims that cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) can have a significant effect on the self-control and classroom behaviour of pupils with low-frequency behavioural difficulties in Years 5 to 8. And  (2002) cite several studies reporting the effectiveness of solution-focused brief therapy.  (1995) comment that the lack of research on youth counselling has a damaging effect on services. Without research, they say, ‘services are inevitably destined to be inadequate and competent research will fall by the wayside’ (p 120). They identify the views of young people themselves as an area that is particularly lacking.  (1999) similarly comment on the small amount of research on young people’s perceptions and experiences of counselling, as well as on the evaluation of the provision and practice of counselling. There has been some attempt to address the lack of attention to the views and perceptions of young people themselves mentioned earlier in this section.  (1999) looked at this in terms of attitudes and beliefs that may make young people less willing to use a counselling service, though their study was not specifically about school counselling, and the young people interviewed were in their upper teens. Among their findings, the researchers reported that in groups young people tended to be more accepting of counselling as an option for people who needed help than when they were interviewed on their own. They also found, much like  (1996) on ChildLine, referred to in Context other services for young people, that many young people expected negative responses if they disclosed a problem to an adult and were concerned about confidentiality and loss of control over what would happen. There was confusion about the process of counselling and a stigma associated with receiving counselling. The young people they spoke to want a service to be in a discrete location, accessible, flexible and informal, to see the same counsellor on different occasions and preferably someone they already knew in another context. One of the authors’ recommendations is that publicity about counselling should take into account that for most young people the choice of whether to seek counselling is neither a straightforward nor an easy decision. Another study (2003b), referred to elsewhere in this review, collected the views of 1569 secondary age pupils, in seven schools with counselling services provided by the NSPCC in Northern Ireland. Pupils responded to written questionnaires. The report includes a discussion of the pitfalls of collecting views in this way, but the survey did have the advantage of relatively wide coverage in terms of numbers of young people and schools. The results showed a high level of knowledge about the service but a substantial minority (13 per cent) did not know about it, and many more of these were boys. This is a recurring theme, with further references at the end of this section. The significance of publicizing the service effectively was highlighted by a wide variation between schools (3.7 per cent to 16.8 per cent in the mainstream schools) of pupils who did not know about the service. The responses also illustrated that pupils themselves are potentially a valuable resource. Many commented on the importance of publicity, not least in relation to access. They also made practical suggestions about how to raise awareness. In relation to valuing the service, 88 per cent of the pupils thought that a school counselling service was at least useful. However, like the young people in Le Surf’s study, a substantial number (13 per cent) clearly thought it was useful for others rather than themselves. Nevertheless, this did mean that just over 75 per cent of the respondents indicated that seeing a counsellor was a possibility for them if they had a problem. Children’s and teens’ acting out or withdrawn behavior is often a reflection of stress felt by the entire family. When a child needs help, it is frequently more productive to involve the entire family in dealing with the problem. ‘s background in both education and counselling uniquely qualify her to help you and your family clarify needs, improve communication, and move to a happier and healthier level Cross-cultural skills in counselling will help the students get familiarized with theories, counselling techniques, skill development and a wide range of issues regarding ethical and effective counselling in a world of cultural differences. Emphasis is placed on expanding cultural awareness, knowledge and skill building in order to facilitate an appreciation of cultural, racial, ethnic, age, gender and sexual preference issues. Students will be able to assess the specific needs of culturally different clients, develop communication strategies and select appropriate counselling applications for persons of different cultural backgrounds. Activities may include student case presentation of a client from a different culture. Students will be required to have liability insurance One’s identity is a reflection of one’s culture in its very largest sense: gender; nationality; ethnicity; geographical location (rural or urban); religion and major belief system; age and generational experiences; sexual orientation and relationship status; class; health/illness or disability, and one’s educational experiences. Many people when thinking of meeting with a counselor to discuss their personal concerns would like to speak with someone whose own background and values approximate those of their own. For instance, an international student from China might like to meet with a person who speaks Mandarin, who has lived or visited China, and understands the values of their community. An older person who has lived through a period of tumult in their own society may wish to meet with someone who is around the same age and who has knowledge of societal events at a particular time. A gay or lesbian student may wish to meet with a counselor who is very conversant and comfortable with her/his own sexual experiences and preferences. At the Counselling Service, staff members come from a wide range of backgrounds. If you have any particular preferences please tell the receptionist when you are making an appointment. We will endeavor to place you with someone of your choice. For students who are making the transition from another country to study temporarily or to settle permanently in Australia, there is an International Counselor, , who is very familiar with issues of cultural adaptation. At times, it will not be possible to arrange an appointment between yourself and a counselor whose background reflects your preferred cultural, religious or identity group. If this is the case it will be important for you to approach the meeting with trust in the counselor’s training and level of skill in cross cultural counselling. All counselors are selected into their training programs on the basis of their capacity to empathize and to show respect for individual and group differences. They are experienced with a wide range of people and work to put people at ease so that trust and confidence in the counselling process can be built. Staff members also endeavor to become more familiar with the cultural mores and experiences of particular cultural and identity groups through specific professional development activities. In addition your counselor will ask you questions about your own interpretations of your cultural background and general life experiences as they affect your understanding of your concerns. The four clients in the four cases are four different persons that has different problems and issues. Studies cannot address whether individuals differ systematically in their use of emotion regulation strategies, whether the use of one strategy is correlated with the use of another strategy, and whether there are gender or ethnic differences in strategy use. In terms of gender differences, Western norms suggest that men use suppression to a greater degree than women. Although norms differ somewhat across specific emotions, expressing emotions is generally viewed as unmanly ( 2000, p. 26), parents report teaching sons greater emotional control than daughters, and boys report that they are expected to inhibit their emotional expressions to a greater extent than girls ( 1992). In terms of ethnic differences, in the United States, European Americans still tend to have more power and social status than ethnic minorities. When interacting with higher status (majority) individuals, lower status (minority) individuals should carefully monitor and control the expression of their emotions to reduce the risk of upsetting powerful other who control valuable resources (, 2003).       References Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

INDIVIDUAL COUNSELLING

Introduction Counselling is a way of helping people with different kinds of personal problems. Counsellors work with a wide range of con...

Collating of Information

_________________________________________________               Source:               Statistically there appears to be a growing demand for bereavement counseling, and officially admittedly very poor training in it. Mourning, grieving, bereavement.. the loss of someone dear so painful, that it has found its way to lay dream interpretations as symbolizing predicted sorrow. (1987) Death’s pain has always moved the specialist alike literarily as well as academically and  professionally.  There is varying from culture to culture, traditions and theories places are named after the dead and investigations carried into of out of body experiences whether death is considered sad or joyous, physical or spiritual, grows whether the bond is broken with the dead or not those left behind are affected by a need to adjust to the changes caused. There agrees that when a human life comes to an end before the child’s eyes as the question of the meaning and worth of life never becomes impossible to happen (1987).                     Considerations for Counseling with Children   Bereavement, the experience of the loss the vacuum felt and necessity for struggle to re-organize personally and socially chores and bills, cultural expectations and friends avoiding not to upset, when one realizes uncontrollable behavior, be it identifiable such as moodiness or as ‘something wrong’ (1987 ) affecting adversely personally and/or sociably, one may need counseling help and in cases requiring medical attention, learning changes the structure of the cells within the nervous system within the brain cell learning and biological processes are joined; biology influences behavior, but behavior affects biology (1985). A client seeking counseling can be helped not only if he is defensively seeking to reject his grief and to attribute his problem to something else, but even if he is seeking to displace his grief onto other persons sometimes, including the counselor because having sought help he is ready to be helped. Most human emotional behavior consists of intentional behavior in the restricted voluntary sense.  It is behavior prompted by outcome expectations and to a large extent, by conscious anticipation of those outcomes  and that emotional action tendencies is states of readiness to achieve or maintain a given kind of relationship with the environment. (1985)         The client having exercised that will, “the will therein lieth, which dieth not – who knoweth the mysteries of the will, with its vigor?”.. (1985 ) if the  counselor applies her skills to his learning and development to those bereaved children. Thus, not all affected by grief seek specifically grief counseling that sometimes no emotion of fear is conscious of as having to do with grief: they may lead to tears and to despair, but in between, life is filled with other things; actions to feel the emptiness or seek contact with the lost person by arranging flowers before her portrait or dusting his clothes in the closet.  (1985) Evidently the absence is continually present and reacted to; there is no continues grief, but in some other sense an action-readiness change and only the counselor’s skills can discover grief as the underlying cause of the problem as the bereavement counseling approaches differs as it is now person-centered and it is about loving”: a ‘companion’ -congruent, non-judgmental, empathic..’loving’… (1985)               There consider the optimum in relation to the creation of the core-conditions of congruence, positive-regard and empathy and say that the client must be the primary reference-point and it is very much advocated and most popularly, in the person-centered approach, that the counselor must grow herself to be able to deal with her own feelings first, so that she can better understand the feelings and emotions of her client it is generally recognized that “the anguish of another touches, on the whole personality of the individual called upon to help,” (1998) and the counselor’s training does not seek to make her inhuman and incapable of feeling and emotion she knows, at first consciously and later habitually, also to protect herself from harmful or self-injurious non-discrimination between sympathy and empathy, in seeking to understand bereaved children. A child needs to be understood and he does in problem-solving way to be helped to understand himself. Feelings that the counselor works with, must be those of the bereaved client himself and he is capable being taught to express his own feelings.  (1998)                 The bereaved children’s perceptions have much to do with his feelings, and, while there are generally recognized stages to the process of mourning, even on the basis of gender men and women grieve differently and special attention may require a client whose pain is coupled with stigma or shame to do with crime or an unsociable disease, or whose pregnancy is coupled with miscarriage or still-birth with no memories to cherish or when the client is children with no adult perception of death; or when the client is terminally ill and has it’s onset long before actual death. (1998 ) Moreover, this often shows itself in peculiar changes of personality which may precede death by quite a long time. The person-centered approach, in its interpretation that “the self-concept is unalterable” (1980 ).  but that attitudes or behavior can be modified or transformed, in its task “to create new conditions of relationship where the ‘growth-process’ can be encouraged and the stunting or warping can be remedied”, demands most the consideration that “everyone experiences grief in his own way”  (1980).                 The bereaved child “needs to be understood in the darkest corners of his experience” as he needs to talk and grieve and he must be made to feel safe, he must be empowered to do so, encouraged to perform or complete what Worden calls ‘the tasks of mourning’ – accepting the reality of the loss, experiencing the pain of grief, adjusting to the new environment, looking ahead and investing in the future. (  February 2004) When someone is bereaved, they usually experience an intense feeling of sorrow which includes grief. Children grieve in order to accept a deep loss and carry on with their life and that experts believe that if they do not grieve at the time of death, or shortly after, the grief may stay bottled up inside the child and will cause emotional problems or physical illness later on and it is often necessary to ensure the child’s future emotional and physical well-being. ( February 2004)             There is no single way to grieve as the children are aware when a loved one dies and they feel that loss in much the same way as adults do. Children go through similar stages of grief, although they may progress through them more quickly. Understandably, some people try to protect children from the death and grieving process. (1993 ) and that, it is better to be honest with children about grief, and encourage them to talk about feelings of pain and distress in their turn. The grieving process can take time and should not be hurried although, it takes years to recover from a major bereavement. Sometimes, the bereaving counseling process is difficult and some people may find it impossible to acknowledge its relevance, which can mean that their feelings are not worked through properly as others may be unable to move on from their grief, making it impossible to rebuild their lives. (1993) Certain factors can make a difficult bereavement more likely: (1993) Ø  being male Ø  several previous bereavements Ø  a history of mental illness Ø  a dependent relationship with the person who has died Ø  low self-esteem Ø  a lack of support from family and friends   Thus, inappropriate bereavement counseling with children can cause particular problems for the bereaved in certain circumstances around the death. (1993) These can include: Ø  a sudden or unexpected death Ø  the death of a parent Ø  a death involving murder, legal proceedings or media coverage Ø  deaths where the bereaved may be responsible Ø  situations where a post mortem or an inquest is required Ø  more than one death at once In response to the process, there are useful bereavement counseling and psychotherapy for children as well as support groups where children can meet with other people who have been bereaved. (1985)               Helping family or friends If somebody in the family or a friend has been bereaved, the best thing a child can do is spend time with them and listen to them work through their grief. Offer practical help, such as cooking dinner or shopping for food – when a person is grieving, it is usually hard to focus on everyday tasks. Finally, if the child is reacting in extreme ways for a prolonged period, encourage him or her to seek professional help. (1985 ) Although everyone’s personal reaction to a bereavement is different, most children experience some of the following emotional responses when someone close to them dies: (1985) Ø  Disbelief Ø  Shock Ø  Anger Ø  Sadness Ø  Relief Ø  Guilt Ø  Depression Ø  Anxiety Ø  Longing   These emotions normally occur and some of these responses may be experienced for differing lengths of time, depending on the individual. The main initial responses to a death even one that has long been expected are disbelief, shock and anger. (1985) These may lessen in time and can be followed by a sense of guilt, depression anxiety and despair. Children may also feel an acute sense of longing for the dead person, hopelessness at the thought of their absence, loneliness and sadness at their loss or even a sense of relief that they are gone. (1985) Some physical symptoms experienced after bereavement can be quite acute and distressing. It is important to realise that these are normal parts of the grieving process and will pass in time. Physical reactions may include: (1978) Ø  loss of energy and interest in life Ø  an inability to sleep or constant tiredness Ø  poor concentration and forgetfulness Ø  loss of appetite or compulsive comfort eating Ø  inability to cry or a tendency to continuously burst into tears Ø  nausea   Ø  headaches and unexplained body pains       In addition, toddlers and young children, react to death very differently. It can be very important to tell children about a death in a way that they can handle at that particular age. (1978 ) There are many bereavement services and support groups throughout the country, both public and private, professional and voluntary, religious and secular. If you are religious, there may be pastoral care available through your local priest, order, minister, rabbi or congregation. You should make contact through the relevant place of worship. (1978)  Children do not come into the world as empty slates but bring with them complex behavioral systems. One system that hasbeen well studied protects the child from danger during the longperiod of extra-uterine immaturity. It involves the developmentof mutual attachment behavior which ensures that the childdoes not stray far from guardians. These children are active partnersin the development of this behavior, using instinctive behaviorsto engage bereavement counselors in protecting them includes smiling, vocalizing, crying and returning frequently to the securebase of the adult after exploratory forays. (1986 ) Child attachmentis at its height at about three years of age and then becomes increasingly diffused by the development of other relationships, but it remains important throughout life, with relationships echoing the earlier ones. For optimal emotional, social and psychosexual development to occur, children need warm, secure, affectionate, individualized and continuous experience of care from guardians who interactwith them in a sensitive way and who can live in harmony witheach other. (1986)     Children who are bereaved may be vulnerable to psychiatric disorder later in life, forewarning can help children to prepare for bereavement and they usually benefit from viewing a dead parent and attending funerals and other rituals and family support meetings can reduce morbidity after bereavement. Thus, infants and toddlers react to separation from an attachment figure by protesting vigorously. (1985) If their cries are not successfulin restoring the adult, protest eventually gives way to despairand if they are not restored to their attachment figure,pathological states of detachment and indifference may ensue. They probably have little concept of death and the disappearanceof a parent, whatever the cause, will evoke similar reactions. (1982) Moreover, a parent away for a few hours and one absent for longer bothevoke the same separation anxiety in infants and toddlers olderthan a few months. (1985)  Even very young children can mournfor a lost parent, although the form of their grief differs fromthat of adults and older children their reactions tendto be bodily ones such as feeding difficulties, bedwetting, constipation,and sleeping difficulties. (1985)             Children from five to eleven years are likely to understand the physical changes that death brings and are helped by seeingthese changes for themselves. They should be told what to expect,and they should be allowed to view the body if they wish. Exceptionsmay arise if the body is severely mutilated or if the child or parents have a strong aversion to the idea of viewing. In suchcases additional support may be needed, (1982) because of their need for parenting, children who lose one parent often become anxious about the survival of the other, and they may protect that parent from knowing of their distress and the difficulty of sustainingmood states in childhood, may lead the parent or teacher to believethe child has recovered from bereavement. (1982) Children who lose their mother suffer a reduction in the quantity as well as quality of care, and this may account for thefinding of differential effect according to the sex of the deceasedparent. (1982)               Helping and counseling bereaved children Children are rarely prepared for the death of a parent or a sibling, and yet we know from studies of bereaved adults thatmourning is aided by a foreknowledge of the imminence and inevitabilityof death. Children who are forewarned have lower levels of anxiety than those who are not, even within the same family. When death occurs, young children in particular may need the concrete experience of seeing the parent after death. Bereavedadults find it particularly difficult to help a child in thisway, and the general practitioner could offer to accompany thechild. Similarly, children benefit from attending the funeralbut need some protection from the raw expressed grief that maybe shown at that time. Attending in the company of someone lessaffected by the death than the immediate relatives is desirable.This could be the child’s teacher or someone from the family practicewith whom he is familiar. The monitoring and help with practical matters – applying for a home help, mobilizing family support, ensuring adequate income, needs to be accompanied by specific bereavement counselingfor both the child and the surviving parent. (1982)       A controlled trialof family therapy with children bereaved of a parent showed thatthe post bereavement morbidity of 40 percent at one year could be reducedto 20 percent by six sessions of family meetings which focused on promotingshared mourning within the family and encouraging communication about the dead parent. Preventive counseling is properlythe responsibility of the primary care team, utilizing the resourcesof bereavement counseling services as necessary. Henceforth, the bereavement counselors needs to be aware of the small number of children who may need more specialized help in recoveringfrom depressive or other symptoms that may be associated withbereavement. These will include children who may have beeninstrumental in causing death, those who have gone through sudden and particularly traumatic bereavements, children who have suffered more than one bereavement, adolescentswho express suicidal ideas, and children who do not respond tothe initial preventive interventions. School behavior, interest in school, peer involvement, peer enjoymentand self-esteem were similar for bereaved and normal children. (1986 ) Bereavedchildren functioned significantly better than depressed inpatients. As agroup, the bereaved children from stable families did not experience significant, acute psychosocial dysfunction. The recentlybereaved children endorsed depressive symptoms. Thirty-seven percentof them met the DSM-III-R criteria for a major depressive episode. The depressed children had more depressive symptoms on average thanthe bereaved children. (1986 )   Thus, a considerable number of the bereaved children developed theclinical symptoms of a major depressive episode immediately after the deathof a parent. The relation of these symptoms to the subsequent course ofgrief and to major depressive disorder remains unknown and should bestudied further. In a desire not to intrude and also a protection for themselves, relatives and friends may think it is best to say nothing and sidestep the issue. Many bereaved people are ignored by others and quickly learn that to hide their feelings is more acceptance in society and generally people then feel more comfortable with them. However, it is by acknowledging the loss and finding ways of accepting the reality that helps the bereaved to express their painful feelings and allows them to grieve for the person who has died.  In older children, a bereavement can cause a regression to a younger, more dependent stage in their development. Emotions may be suppressed, resulting in a display of apparent indifference or lack of feelings. In a search for love and affection, they may develop premature new sexual relationships. Some young people start truanting, turn to petty delinquency or begin shop-lifting as a general protest against the upheaval in their family life.         This is more likely in adolescents who have lost their mother, particularly girls. Others become silent, withdrawn and self critical. Many young children will grieve privately and shed their tears in the solitude of their own rooms, maintaining a brave face in society. In an attempt to numb the pain, some youngsters develop self destructive behaviour such as excessive drinking or drug taking. (1986 ) Reaction to the fear of death may cause some young people to take unnecessary chances with their lives. By confronting death they try to overcome their fears and demonstrate their control over their own mortality. Some young people will assume the role of a parent, taking on heavy responsibilities causing them to mature rapidly and denying themselves the opportunity or permission to grieve. Others will take this experience in their stride. It is not uncommon for many of us to experience feelings of inadequacy in the face of someone’s grief. (1996) The sense of not knowing what to say or do, the fear of saying or doing the ‘wrong’ thing, and the underlying knowledge that this is something we simply can’t ‘make better’ often leads people to avoid bereaved friends and relatives.           This serves to increase their isolation. Most families express the feeling that it helps when people acknowledge the significance of their loss, whatever that might be. Practical support can also be invaluable to families – the friend or neighbour who cooks a meal or takes a basket of clothes to iron is often greatly appreciated. It is important, in supporting bereaved families that we take our lead from them, and do not assume that we know best what will help them. People’s needs are very different. It may be tempting to think it helpful to clear out a nursery, for example, after a baby has died, but it is crucial that this kind of decision is made by the parents when they feel ready. It may well be that this is the right decision for them, but it needs to be their decision those who have been bereaved have been robbed of so much – it is vital that in our helpfulness we do not inadvertently rob them of even more. (1986) Children are more likely to act out their distress then speak about it, often because they don’t have the vocabulary to explain how they feel. So a person can expect children to be more irritable or aggressive. People can help by encouraging them talk about how they feel and giving them the language to describe their feelings.           Drawing and painting are therapeutic activities in themselves but they can also help children describe how their feeling. If the person who has died has taken their own life it can feel impossible to know how to explain this to children as it can help to break the process down into five stages, which may happen in the space of minutes, hours, days, weeks, months or even years, depending on when questions are asked or the likelihood of the child finding out by other means. (1986 ) These stages are: Ø  Explaining that the person has died Ø  Giving simple details about how they died Ø  Saying that the person chose to take their own life Ø  Providing a more detailed description of how the person died Ø  Exploring possible reasons why the person chose to kill themselves             General management and advice to patient (1991) Ø  If attending a parent with a terminal illness, consider with the family when and what to tell the child and who should do it Ø  Explain directly to the child what is happening or has happened to their parent or other family member and answer questions they may have Ø  Anticipate that young children may have distorted or immature thinking Ø  Ascertain child’s worries about the health of the remaining parent and any siblings and reassure Ø  Encourage participation in the funeral, as appropriate Ø  Encourage the family to talk about the dead person, share their sorrow together and remember good times. They should help children keep mementos of the dead person Ø  Discourage families from giving explanations to the child that are developmentally inappropriate. If a religious explanation is desired, it is better to say ‘Mummy’s soul having gone to be with God in heaven Ø  Advise the family to maintain child’s normal routines as far as possible Ø  Reassure the family that most bereaved children recover from the loss with good support; children are resilient Ø  Ensure that the child’s school is aware of their bereavement and is supportive     Ø  Anticipate anniversary reactions – the first Christmas, birthday and anniversary of the death. Monitor the child’s progress for the next year Ø  Bereavement support or counseling for child and family should be considered in each case as a preventive intervention Ø  Some charities run groups and/or camps for bereaved children Ø  If the bereavement was a violent, traumatic one, watch for post-traumatic stress symptoms and arrange appropriate referral if these persist Furthermore, there needs to have an effective bereavement counseling program designed for bereaved children in helping them cope and accept the reality of life bringing them hope that life is beautiful despite shadows of sadness. The program may develop an intensive child bereavement program and prepare them for the loss of loved ones, thus building resilience in order to train volunteers in child care and counseling and assist identified families to retrieve their family histories.  The aim was to help children and their families create memory boxes to keep alive memories of the family, thus facilitating the bereavement process. (2002)         Overall, the study has revealed findings that are promising for child bereavement counseling. Children participated in the counseling program expressed appreciation about understanding their family tree and culture.  Dealing with the stigma, shame, guilt and fear is difficult and produces anger in children and assisted with easing resentment toward deceased parents. The bereavement counseling program with children adheres in persuading families to participate in the study involved tedious discussions with the extended family as there are process of putting together the memory box can be very emotional for family members and volunteers – it is imperative that program coordinators should gain confidence and trust of the families involved as well as the broader community. (2002 ) Children often feel responsible for a person’s death, feeling guilty and afraid that their bad behavior caused the loss. Reassure them that nothing they ever said, or did or thought, could have resulted in someone dying. Children often find it difficult to remember what the person looked like. Show them that this is normal and give them a photograph to treasure. Having a Memory Box with items that belonged to their loved one, or remind them of that person or their pet can be a great source of comfort. Once the loss of a loved one has been experienced, children begin to fear that other close people might die and are afraid of what might happen to them if they do. If you suspect this is happening, make a list of all the people who love the child and will care for him/her so that s/he feels safe and secure. (2002 )   Bereavement counseling can provide an opportunity for the child to express their grief without feeling that they are burdening their family at what may be a distressing time for all. Counseling for children see if they offer a counseling service or can advise you of services available in your area. In addition to using a range of tried and tested counseling techniques, we have also designed and created a large number of therapeutic tools which use successfully in work with children. Face to face counseling for children and young people and behavior therapy is available in providing a relaxed, safe environment where children can spend time with a professional who is experienced in listening to and talking with children of all ages. (1996) Often it is easier for a child to discuss problems with someone outside their family who is not involved in the issues they are wrestling with. Of course, this is no reflection on the love and care given to them at home. Receiving support at an early stage can prevent a smaller problem turning into a major one. The ability to counsel people who have been bereaved or have suffered a devastating loss is of importance to all those in the helping professions, calling upon a whole array of skills and knowledge. Providing a practical, accessible guide to the area of counseling, this volume takes readers step-by-step through the counseling skills they need to work with their clients in a way which sensitively facilitates the process of grief, initiates healing and promotes a sense of growth. (2000)   Carefully chosen examples illustrate each step along the way, while specific attention is paid throughout the book to ethics and to the possible and realistic need for referral. Providing a firm theoretical base, the authors discuss the concepts and categories of attachment, loss and grief. Grief can influence behavior such as disturbed sleep, crying, changes in appetite and withdrawing from society and can change after bereavement. (1996) Children also experience grief, and you need to listen to their thoughts and feelings. If you do not tell them what has happened, they may become confused and anxious. (1996) Talking to them in words they will understand is important. Sometimes children may need professional help. (2000) Lastly, getting support from friends and family, and talking about your loss, can be very beneficial. This can be difficult and at times painful, but it is important to talk about the person you have lost and share memories of them with other people close to you. Family members and friends may also be grieving and finding it difficult to help. (1996) Sometimes, talking to someone unrelated and removed from the situation can be helpful. This may be face to face, over the phone or by e-mail. It may also help to talk to someone who has shared a similar experience. (1996)       Therefore, bereavement counseling with children is an opportunity to talk in confidence to someone experienced in listening to people in distress. It focuses on the emotional crisis and the life changes that you may be experiencing. The counseling team and our trained staff provide a listening and support service for as long as you need it. Please phone our helpline to find out more about our free counseling service. (2000)                     ________________________               Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

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