My partner and I had a sit down this week as well. The meeting centered on revisiting the week nine video. We used our performance to identify our strengths and weaknesses and to evaluate our performance. We understood the significance of constructive criticism and tried to be as honest with each other as possible. She notified me of the specific areas I needed to improve on and, those that I excelled in such as communication skills. Using the Basic Counselling Skills Rubric, it was crystal clear that my partner showed significant improvement in her ability to compose herself, and deliver on her mandate. She continues to be keen on putting her gathered knowledge and experience as a therapist and translates them both into success during the sessions.

Counseling relationship: This week, the primary objective was to help a client overcome her depression by finding better ways to cop and, to change her thinking. It was imperative that the therapist first creates a healthy relationship with the client, one characterized by empathy and trust. Interpersonal understanding coupled with the precepts of cognitive therapy would be crucial in helping the client figure out better methods to help her cope and, to introduce excitement and the desire to seek enjoyment once again. Interpersonal empathy enables the therapist to swim deeper and explore the thoughts, fantasies, and feelings of the client and, to hold discourse about them without letting the therapist’s biasness get in the way (Egan & Reese, 2019, p. 133). This combination of social and cognitive empathy is a recipe for desirable therapeutic outcomes (Corey, 2017, p. 27). In the quest to strengthen the connection and sustain it, my partner related to the client’s life struggles and the pressures from work and the entire society. She relied on her communication skills to ensure that there was trust and that the client could depend upon her truthfulness and confidentiality.

Comprehensive Use of Skill: In the course of the session, my partner employed strong communications and therapeutic skills in the quest to face the underlying issues influencing the client’s present attitude. This stage was crucial in determining her triggers and what hurt her emotionally, physically and mentally. She also introduced the examples of such facilitators especially in social environments in which the client found challenging to fit. It was imperative that the therapist not concentrate on the diseases, but instead focus primarily on what to do to improve the situation. My partner demonstrated her prowess in communication skills by taking on a journey of qualitative questions in the quest to understand the clients. The questions she asked involved how much sleep she was getting and if she was having trouble eating. The therapist demonstrated her empathy by imagining how she would cope in such situations and realized that eating and sleeping are some of the most aspects commonly shared by troubled minds. She advised her always to ensure not to miss any meals as this would be counterproductive to her overall recovery.

The client also confided in her that she lost her purpose to live and sometimes she feels a sense of despair. My partner was able to calm her down and appreciated her for being truthful about it. She advised her not to disregard her feelings and always to take account of her feelings. As a professional therapist should do, my colleague shared her understanding, shedding light on the ambiguities and ensuring that the client can step out of her comfort zone and challenge herself (Egan and Reese, 2019, p. 130). She was able to capitalize more on the healthy relationship between them to understand more about her client through questions and gentle commands blended into a captivating conversation.

Structure and Direction of the interview: My partner’s aim was to discover the main factors contributing to the client’s depression. She purposed to employ the cognitive theory coupled up with the use of empathy to establish a high level of trust with the client creating room for the best possible results. She used this communication skill to have long conversations with her that were able to inform her reasoning. In this manner, she became aware of the better methods her client would find it appropriate to be able to cope with stress from her social life and other catalysts that cause her mental breakdowns. With the use of problem management tools, my partner and the client were able to sit down together and map suitable solutions to some of the existing problems and set goals that will aid her in achieving them(Egan & Reese, 2019).

Accurate Attention to Affect, Content, and Meaning: My partner reacted appropriately to the moods, thoughts, and feelings evoked during the sessions. She was attentive and always felt the emotions of the client. She was able to learn a few factors the significantly triggered negative responses and put the client on a path of positively changing her mindset.

The established relationship the two were able to establish served as a critical foundation in the quest to achieve the most desired therapeutic outcome. It was incredibly supportive that the therapist employed empathy as communication skill and, used appropriative therapy models to improve the client’s condition.

References:

Corey, G. (2016). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage. ISBN: 9781305263727

Egan, G. & Reese, R. J. (2019). The skilled helper: A problem management and opportunity development approach to helping (11th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage. ISBN: 9781305865716