Personal Position Paper
Personal Position Paper
The job of a qualified counsellor is one that is based on tailoring an approach that is suited to the client’s individual needs while taking into consideration their personality. A counsellor is in a position whereby their personal characteristics, values and beliefs may either promote or prevent the development of the counselling process. My personal belief system in regard to the development of a productive counselling process agrees with the Humanistic Psychologist Carl Rogers (1902-1987) who placed a very strong emphasis on the need for a counsellor to think of their clients as people rather than impersonal entities (Geldard & Geldard, 2009b). In this paper I will discuss my personal belief system in regard to the importance of congruency, empathy, and unconditional positive regard, which were put forward by Carl Rogers as the three necessary and sufficient qualities of the counselling relationship for effective outcomes (Geldard & Geldard, 2009a).
In my daily life I am constantly making judgements which are based on my personal values and the ways in which I believe people should behave in given situations. As a prospective counsellor these personal characteristics, values and beliefs I hold will have an effect on the counselling process directly and indirectly and this effect will manifest the counselling process either consciously or unconsciously. In order for my clients to feel comfortable in the counselling relationship it will be essential that I act natural and do not promote myself as being in a position of power in comparison to the client. If my client’s intuition tells them that they are being judged and examined they are likely to back away. As a prospective counsellor I can prevent this from happening by allowing my clients to see me as the person I am and not as just a trained counsellor devoid of feelings. This will ease my client’s curiosity about my life outside of the client-counsellor relationship and
The job of a qualified counsellor is one that is based on tailoring an approach that is suited to the client’s individual needs while taking into consideration their personality. A counsellor is in a position whereby their personal characteristics, values and beliefs may either promote or prevent the development of the counselling process. My personal belief system in regard to the development of a productive counselling process agrees with the Humanistic Psychologist Carl Rogers (1902-1987) who placed a very strong emphasis on the need for a counsellor to think of their clients as people rather than impersonal entities (Geldard & Geldard, 2009b). In this paper I will discuss my personal belief system in regard to the importance of congruency, empathy, and unconditional positive regard, which were put forward by Carl Rogers as the three necessary and sufficient qualities of the counselling relationship for effective outcomes (Geldard & Geldard, 2009a).
In my daily life I am constantly making judgements which are based on my personal values and the ways in which I believe people should behave in given situations. As a prospective counsellor these personal characteristics, values and beliefs I hold will have an effect on the counselling process directly and indirectly and this effect will manifest the counselling process either consciously or unconsciously. In order for my clients to feel comfortable in the counselling relationship it will be essential that I act natural and do not promote myself as being in a position of power in comparison to the client. If my client’s intuition tells them that they are being judged and examined they are likely to back away. As a prospective counsellor I can prevent this from happening by allowing my clients to see me as the person I am and not as just a trained counsellor devoid of feelings. This will ease my client’s curiosity about my life outside of the client-counsellor relationship and
References: Geldard, D., & Geldard, K. (2009a). What Is Counselling? In Geldard, D., & Geldard, K. Basic Personal Counselling: A training manual for counsellors (6th ed., p.3-11). Sydney, Australia: Prentice Hall. Geldard, D., & Geldard, K. (2009b). The counselling Relationship in Geldard, D., & Geldard, K. Basic Personal Counselling: A training manual for counsellors (6TH ed., p.12-20). Sydney, Australia: prentice Hall. Ivey, A.E., Ivey, M.B., & Zalaquett, C.P. (2007). Intentional Interviewing & Counselling. (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning. Rogers, C.R. (1975). Empathic: An unappreciated Way of Being. The counselling Psychologist, 5, 2-10.