Mock Therapy Assignment

My friend played the patient in this exercise while I represented the client-centered counselor. Before the session, I made it clear that it was a role-playing exercise, not a genuine therapy session, and that I would not be giving any treatment or advice. I also told her to invent an issue we would discuss in the role-playing scenario as a psychotherapy journey.The disclaimer that this was a role play and not an actual therapy session was made before the mock session began. Once everything was verified, I thanked her for popping in and asked whether she would want to commence the session. The topic she chose to talk about at this juncture was that she feels constrained in her present work position and that neither her supervisor nor her coworkers pay attention to her worries or suggestions. Using the four fundamental counseling techniques, we continued to discuss this matter for the duration of the session until I decided it was time to stop it. Therefore, using the fundamental counselling techniques are essential since they necessitate the proper flow of the mock therapy which will help better comprehend the patient’s issue.

I deliberately focused on maintaining a nondirective attitude before and during counseling because that is the cornerstone of client-centered counseling. This permitted me to concentrate on using the content knowledge that I required to utilize and prevented me from veering into a more oriented line of questioning (Weger et al., 2014). In addition, I worked on being consistent, sincere, and open with my patient and modeling unconditional positive respect (Jones et al., 2016). A fundamental principle of client-centered therapy is unconditional positive regard, which offers clients a sense of belonging and safety regardless of what they disclose to the therapist.

Empathic Statements

I concentrated much on empathic understanding because it is one of the three essential qualities of a client-centered therapist. This was the talent that was the most crucial and all-encompassing since it affected all the others (Weger et al., 2014). I could put aside my personal beliefs and innate biases to concentrate on the ideas and emotions that my patient was conveying and clarify their interpretations by using empathic understanding. I always made sure to express myself with empathy when I started talking to my patient (Kuhn et al., 2018). For instance, I tried to demonstrate that I acknowledged her interpretation and the predicament causing the feelings without introducing additional any of my personal opinions when she said that she has been feeling depressed about herself recently, particularly at work, by saying, "So it certainly does sound like your esteem has deteriorated a bit, and that you feel terrible during your time at work."

Even though I occasionally found it challenging to concentrate on the patient's feelings and ideas without adding my own, I could use this ability well. Without being allowed to ask questions or express comments openly, it was occasionally difficult for me to formulate a response that I considered sympathetic and would also assist the client in better comprehending her feelings and circumstances (Kuhn et al., 2018). Still, it was an intriguing technique to work on. Since I've been trained as a helper to utilize more interpretative techniques, employing empathetic remarks was a little odd. But by saying these, my patient could feel less alone, acquire more confidence in herself, and become more conscious of her predicament (Jones et al., 2016). When contrasted to interpretative comments used in other types of treatment, these are a few of the more crucial roles that empathetic remarks play.

Paraphrasing

During the discussion, I found it simplest to apply the technique of paraphrasing, which I used most frequently in the wake of empathetic remarks. I discovered that paraphrasing helped me validate my patient's expression and reassure her that I grasped what she was sharing. She usually responded in the eyes when I paraphrased a remark she had made, reassuring me that my interpretation of her words was accurate (Weger et al., 2014). She would clarify when I had misinterpreted, which helped me to comprehend her viewpoints more fully than I had before. It was incredibly useful at the start when she was discussing the problem at her place of employment in general terms to narrow down the parts of her remarks that were most significant to her (Jones et al., 2016). As a result, she could express more complex ideas and sentiments regarding the situation, which assisted us in identifying its underlying causes.

Reflecting

During the fake therapy session, I employed reflection almost as frequently as paraphrasing, a fundamental counseling technique. Reflecting was trickier for me than paraphrasing. It was occasionally difficult for me to control my want to express my ideas on how my patient was feeling since I wanted to be of assistance, and merely rephrasing what she had said made me feel as if I needed to do more (Jones et al., 2016). She once said, for instance, how she feels foolish when her colleagues ridicule her when she presents a suggestion at work. It was challenging for me to refrain from implying that it was her problem rather than that of her coworkers. Still, I persevered and said, "So your work colleagues responses to you giving your insights make you feel foolish," which I believed was the right thoughtful answer. This one is the only skill I came across that emphasizes my weaknesses rather than my strengths. Being someone who values compassion and wants to support others, it was challenging for me to remain neutral when my patient was expressing her feelings (Weger et al., 2014). It took some adjusting on my part to enable that to happen, even though I realize that the purpose of this competence is to let the customer arrive at the answers on their own (Jones et al., 2016). It took some time for me to become familiar with reflecting as a technique during the session, and I would need more experience to apply it effectively.

Summarizing

For the therapist and the patient to agree on what has been done and the patient's thoughts and feelings after the session, it is crucial to summarize the talk. This part of the pretend therapy session went without a hitch since we had a logical conclusion to the conversation, and it was simple to summarize what had been said (Jones et al., 2016). It was still crucial to make sure I just summarized the thoughts and feelings expressed by my client to prevent unintentionally expressing any of my own beliefs. We presented the general conclusion we had arrived at after using all the other tactics, such as empathetic statements, paraphrasing, and pondering (Weger et al., 2014). The description said, "So you believe that no one is listening to you at work, which has lowered your self-esteem. You now think that this could be because you are the only woman in your workplace, and talking to HR would help to make things better and lessen some of your uncomfortable feelings. You still worry that your colleagues won't appreciate you, but you start to feel a bit better regarding yourself. The client acknowledged that everything was true, that she concurred with my assessment, and that she would keep thinking about her alternatives and examining her feelings.

Conclusion

One of the most important lessons I'll take away from this activity is the value of empathetic comprehension in client-centered treatment. This principle underpins all therapy abilities used in this treatment and is critical in relating to one's clients. I will also emphasize the significance of unconditional positive respect. Being somebody, the patient can completely trust and who encourages them to feel secure disclosing everything they need to is a critical component of the client-therapist interaction. Overall, I will remember how different this type of treatment is from others I have tried in the past. I had never experienced anything like it before, but the client drives the conversation, and the therapist helps them explore their emotions and mental processes.

References

Jones, S. M., Bodie, G. D., & Hughes, S. D. (2016). The impact of mindfulness on empathy, active listening, and perceived provisions of emotional support. Communication Research, 46(6), 838–865. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650215626983

Kuhn, R., Bradbury, T. N., Nussbeck, F. W., & Bodenmann, G. (2018). The power of listening: Lending an ear to the partner during dyadic coping conversations. Journal of Family Psychology, 32(6), 762–772. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000421

Weger, H., Castle Bell, G., Minei, E. M., & Robinson, M. C. (2014). The relative effectiveness of active listening in initial interactions. International Journal of Listening, 28(1), 13–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/10904018.2013.813234