Personal Theory of Counseling
Personal Theory of Counseling
Meaghan O’Reilly
Counseling and Psychotherapy Theories
COUN-6722-35
Dr. Bob
Today, the majority of counselors and therapists operate from an integrative standpoint; that is, they are open to “various ways of integrating diverse theories and techniques” (Corey, 2009b, p. 449). In fact, a survey in Psychotherapy Networker (2007) found that over 95% of respondents proclaimed to practice an integrative approach (cited in Corey, 2009b, p. 449). Corey (2009a; 2009b) explains that no one theory is comprehensive enough to attend to all aspects of the human – thought, feeling, and behavior. Therefore, in order to work with clients on all three of these levels, which Corey (2009b) asserts is necessary for the therapy to be complete, one must use a combination of various approaches that focus on each of these facets of the human psyche (p. 11). As previously explained, Corey (2010) stresses the importance of an integrative approach. At the beginning of this course, I agreed wholeheartedly with this assertion. However, I have come to believe that the counselor’s theoretical orientation should depend less on the counselor and more on the client. It has been a prevalent theme throughout everything I have read that certain clients and certain issues respond to certain treatments and that theoretical orientation is not as important as the quality of the relationship between the counselor and client (Corey, 2009a; Corey, 2009b). I hope to develop a working knowledge of as many approaches as possible since I believe different people and issues will respond best to different approaches. In my opinion, it is not up to me to decide what is best for the client. Ideally, I will be able to select the theoretical approach from which I work with a client based on that client’s unique culture, personality, and needs. After coming to this realization, I found that I was leaning toward the practice of technical eclecticism, or, more simply, picking
Meaghan O’Reilly
Counseling and Psychotherapy Theories
COUN-6722-35
Dr. Bob
Today, the majority of counselors and therapists operate from an integrative standpoint; that is, they are open to “various ways of integrating diverse theories and techniques” (Corey, 2009b, p. 449). In fact, a survey in Psychotherapy Networker (2007) found that over 95% of respondents proclaimed to practice an integrative approach (cited in Corey, 2009b, p. 449). Corey (2009a; 2009b) explains that no one theory is comprehensive enough to attend to all aspects of the human – thought, feeling, and behavior. Therefore, in order to work with clients on all three of these levels, which Corey (2009b) asserts is necessary for the therapy to be complete, one must use a combination of various approaches that focus on each of these facets of the human psyche (p. 11). As previously explained, Corey (2010) stresses the importance of an integrative approach. At the beginning of this course, I agreed wholeheartedly with this assertion. However, I have come to believe that the counselor’s theoretical orientation should depend less on the counselor and more on the client. It has been a prevalent theme throughout everything I have read that certain clients and certain issues respond to certain treatments and that theoretical orientation is not as important as the quality of the relationship between the counselor and client (Corey, 2009a; Corey, 2009b). I hope to develop a working knowledge of as many approaches as possible since I believe different people and issues will respond best to different approaches. In my opinion, it is not up to me to decide what is best for the client. Ideally, I will be able to select the theoretical approach from which I work with a client based on that client’s unique culture, personality, and needs. After coming to this realization, I found that I was leaning toward the practice of technical eclecticism, or, more simply, picking
References: Corey, G. (2009a). Case approach to counseling and psychotherapy (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole. Corey, G. (2009b). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy (8th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole. Corey, G., & Haynes, R. (2005). Integrative counseling. Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole. Remley, T. P., Jr., & Herlihy, B. (2010). Ethical, legal, and professional issues in counseling (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Pearson Education.