Counselling Theory | Report

Running head: COUNSELLING THEORY
Counselling Theory
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Introduction
Counselling covers range of the talking therapies which are carried out by trained
practitioners so that it brings about the effective changes in the behaviours of an individual. It
helps in enhancing the well-being of an individual that helps him in leading a fulfilling life.
Bio-psycho-social theory had been conceptualised in the year 1977 by George Engel and it
states that the medical condition of an individual exists on account of the assimilation of
biological, psychological and the social factors. This model is made use of in the case of
chronic pain and it helps in addressing the various causes of pain in the life of an individual.
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is indicative of talking therapy which can help an
individual in managing the problems in life by changing the pattern of his thinking and
behaviour (Sperry & Sperry, 2012). This essay discusses about the similarity and the
differences lying in the philosophical underpinnings of the bio-psycho-social and the
cognitive behavioural therapy. This essay elaborates on the counselling skills and
interventions that are made use of in the event of the bio-psycho-social and the cognitive
behavioural therapy.
Philosophical Underpinnings
Similarity of Bio-psycho-social and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
The Bio-psycho-social along with the Cognitive Behavioural Therapy lays stress on
the application of operant conditioning principles of Skinner that can help in the alleviation of
the human problems. The theories talk about the fact that the chronic pain can be dealt with in
the right manner in the event of undertaking a treatment approach which is on the basis of the
behavioural principles. The cognitive factors play a crucial role in the experiencing of the
pain and reinforcing environmental consequences adds to the misery in the life of an
individual. The theories try to draw the attention and the thoughts of an individual away from

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the pain that can provide the necessary relief to an individual (Logren, Ruusuvuori &
Laitinen, 2017). They talk about the fact that the people who are in the surrounding
environment of the patient in the event of attending to the behaviours can reinforce that pain
which is being felt by an individual. The theories talk about the fact that there exists a
reciprocal relationship in between behaviour of a person who is suffering from the chronic
pain and behaviour of the other people around him which are instrumental in shaping each
other (Garde, Manning & Lubman, 2017). It talks about the analysis of the pain behaviour
patterns and the reinforcement principles which can decrease the maladaptive behaviour of an
individual. The response of the partner to the pain behaviour of an individual is related to rate
of the pain behaviour of an individual which is exhibited by patient. The incorporation of the
family members of the patient in the process of the treatment can reduce the pain that is being
felt by an individual. It talks about the inclusion of the social support system into the aspect
of the behavioural skills training that can help in enhancing the efficacy of the treatment of an
individual. It talks about the applying of fear-avoidance model of the understanding of the
pain behaviour by taking recourse to exposure techniques. The theories think that the fear
results owing to conditioned response to the pain and it creates the way for the behaviour
avoidance of an individual. It talks about the aspect of the environmental enforcement that
can make an individual in bringing about the changes in the thought patterns and the
behaviour. The emotions and the behaviour of a person are greatly determined by the
cognitive perceptions that are present in the world. It is on the basis of rationale that cognitive
belief structures and the process intervenes during the process of treatment of the client
(Shakespeare, Watson & Alghaib, 2017). It helps in the positive reappraisal of the situations
that can aid in controlling the negative reactions of an individual. The theories talk about the
significance of source of the stress that can help the client in coping with the stressors. It can
help the client in managing the stress response that can help in relieving the pain and the

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stress that is being felt by an individual. They lay stress on the fact that the maladaptive
beliefs arise from drastic changes in the life of an individual that takes place on account of
chronic pain that is felt by an individual (Siguaw, Sheng & Simpson, 2017). The counselling
theories prove to be useful in addressing negative quality of the catastrophic conditions that
can help an individual in being realistic in life.
Differences between Bio-psycho-social and Cognitive Behavioural theory
The bio-psycho-social theory talks about the interconnection which exists in between
environmental factors, biology and the psychology. This model examines these aspects that
have an influence on the aspect of the human development. It is indicative of a holistic
approach that recognizes the feelings and the history of an individual. This model can be
made use of for curing the illness along with the psychological problems that exist in the life
of an individual. This model lays stress on the genetic factors that can have a great influence
on the condition of an individual. It talks about the profound influence of the genetic
predisposition that can chart the course of life of an individual (Yeager, Lee & Jamieson,
2016). It talks about the fact that an individual can have the genetic predisposition for the
disease however the social factors are responsible for triggering illness of an individual. The
bio-psychosocial approach talks about reduction of mind-body split which have been found to
be prominent within the framework of Western medicine. This theory have changed the
manner of conceptualization of illness and it acts as an integrative approach in relation to the
illness. It have helped in fostering opportunities for the mental health services that have
helped them in integrating in primary care sector. It can be stated to be a humanistic approach
that helps in looking at all the aspects that can cure the condition of an individual. It talks
about the potential biochemical marker in relation to a disorder that can have a great
influence on the mental state of an individual (Blackman, 2016). It have brought in the
additional factor of the genetics that can prove to be crucial in treating the mental health of an

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individual. It explores the conditions relating to the biological state of an individual that can
help in explaining the present predicament of an individual. It can be stated to be a cross-
disciplinary avenue in relation to the mental research that can help in understanding the form
of distress of an individual. It can help in researching the mental health difficulties in the
proper manner that can be instrumental in providing nuanced understanding in relation to the
mental health determinants. It can help in researching forms of the distress like the
psychosomatic conditions that can determine the mental health of an individual. It helps in
the assessment of the problems in a broad manner and it brings out that the human problems
are not limited to one domain of the human experience. It can help the people in
understanding the interaction taking place in between the brains and the bodies of an
individual that has influence on the current state of an individual. The bio-psycho-social
theory provides the complete approach that can help the clients in solving the problems and
the predicaments that are taking place in the lives of the clients. It can help in understanding
the present situation of the client on the basis of which the proper treatment have to be meted
out to the client. It can help in understanding the underlying cause of the anxiety along with
the eating disorders that can have a great influence on the life of an individual.
The cognitive behavioural theory on the other hand is indicative of psycho-social
intervention that can improve the mental health of an individual. It can change the cognitive
distortions that are present in the life of an individual that can improve the aspect of the
emotional regulation of an individual. It is on the basis of the principles of the cognitive and
the behaviour psychology that can offer help in treating the depression of an individual. The
cognitive behavioural theory does not consider the influence of the biology on the condition
of an individual. It overlooks the genetic aspects that can determine the mental condition of
an individual. It talks about the developing of the coping strategies that can solve the current
problems that exists in the life of an individual (Thompson et al., 2017). The cognitive

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behavioural therapy refers to the “action-oriented” therapy that treats the specific problems
which are related to the diagnosed mental disorder of the client. It helps the client in finding
the effective strategies that can address symptoms of the disorder in the right manner. It can
help in addressing identified goals that can rejuvenate the present condition of the client. It
states that the distress of an individual can be reduced with the help of information-
processing skills that can help an individual in the area of coping with the problems in their
life (Garcia et al., 2019).
Use of interventions and skills
Skills in Bio-psycho-social and Cognitive Behavioural theory
There are different skills that are required in relation to the bio-psycho-social and the
cognitive behavioural therapy. The growing technologies can help in understanding the pain
experience which is being undergone by the clients. The non-invasive technologies are made
use of in the event of the bio-psycho-social theory which can provide knowledge about
anatomy of a person that can provide the extensive help in the area of pain management of an
individual (Bolton & Gillett, 2019). The skills related to various kinds of the disciplines like
the genetics, molecular biology and electrophysiology can help in understanding the cause of
the pain that can provide the relief to an individual. It can be useful in providing a
comprehensive view of the nervous system of a person that can help the counsellor in
perceiving the problem of the client in the right manner. The humanistic values have been
found to be crucial in bio-psycho-social theory that can help him in understanding the point
of view of the client. The biomedical approach takes recourse to reductionist view and it
holds that the phenomena can be understood at lowest level of the natural system (Lehman,
David & Gruber, 2017). The counsellor have to face various kinds of clinical scenarios and
he should devote the complete attention on the client so that he can understand the needs of

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the client. The therapist should use the self-awareness as the diagnostic tool that can enable
him in understanding the problem in the lives of the client. The multidimensional treatment
should be provided to patient that can improve mental condition of patient (Brondolo, Blair &
Kaur, 2018).
The therapist in the event of the cognitive-behavioural therapy should be imbibed
with a certain set of the skills that can help him in understanding the predicament in the life
of the client. He should be able to have the emotional depth that can help him in
understanding the problems in the life of another person. He should have the empathy that
can enable him in understanding the experience from the point of view of another individual.
He should be able to build the rapport that can facilitate the feelings of the trust in between
patient and the therapist. He should have the “multicultural empathy” that can help him in
understanding the background of another light (Lee et al., 2018). He should express the
emotional understanding that can help him in understanding the unique life background of the
patients. The counsellor need not have the knowledge about non-invasive technologies which
is required in the event of bio-psycho-social theory. It is on account of the fact that anatomy
of an individual is not under scrutiny in the case of cognitive behavioural therapy (Nabi &
Prestin, 2017). The counselling skill that is crucial to cognitive behavioural theory is
genuineness that can help him in building therapeutic relationship with the client. It can help
him in building rapport and it allows patient in viewing therapist as the human being. The
counsellor should support non-verbal behaviour and give the full attention to patient that can
strengthen the bond in between client and counsellor. CBT therapists can encourage clients so
that they are active which can empower them. The therapist should view the client in the
positive regard which can show to patients that they deserve respect. It can make the patient
feel that his feelings have been acknowledged that can make him feel connected to
therapeutic process. The therapist should be dedicated to patient that can aid them in working

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together on the issues that are being faced by client. He should be imbibed with the skill of
active listening which acts as foundation of therapeutic approaches in counselling. The
therapist should remain open to all kinds of the messages from the patients.
Interventions
The interventions that are made use of in the bio-psycho-social theory are the
psychological theories which can help in exploring mental-physical relation that can help in
understanding state of the client. The principles of the clinical psychology are employed in
bio-psycho-social model that aids in diagnosis of mental diseases of the client. The clinical
psychological procedures are employed by the therapist that helps in understanding problems
in lives of client. The functional magnetic resonance imaging along with the positron
emission tomography can be made use of that can understand displacement of blood flow
within the specific areas of the brain which is having an effect on the client (Tremblay, Vitaro
& Côté, 2018). The patient centred approach is undertaken in the event of bio-psycho-social
model that helps in interpretation of illness and brings about the recovery of health condition
of client. The interpretation of the illness is done from inter-subjective perspective that can
provide the patient with space for articulation of concerns (Gilbert, 2019). These kind of the
approaches are adopted in bio-psycho-social model which helps in the formation of
egalitarian relationship where clinician is aware of his use of power. It takes recourse to
“dialogic” model and reality of an individual is not interpreted by physician but it is recreated
with the help of dialogue. The individual identities of the patients are maintained with the
help of social interaction. The physician have to arrive at a shared understanding regarding
patient narrative that can provide the better outcome for the patient. The data is of crucial
importance in the event of the bio-psycho-social model and it helps in understanding the
current plight of the client. The clinician should have the ability of handling strong emotions
that can aid in the recovery of the patient. The proactive clinical style should be adopted by

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counsellor that can aid clinician in accepting expressions of patients in the right direction
(Grassi et al., 2019). The clinician should transcend tendency of labelling patient that can
help in building the solidarity with the patient. It can create the way for understanding that
can create the deep trust in between the counsellor and the client. The physician should
undergo the self-audit that can help him in understanding his performance in light of the
current situation. The constant vigilance is a requirement for the physicians that can help him
in tackling the difficult situations with patients.
There are various kinds of interventions that are made use of in cognitive behavioural
theory that can improve the condition of the client. Traumatic Incident Reduction refers to the
method which can reduce the stress of the patients who have gone through the emotional or
physical painful incident in past times. The counsellor have to review the thoughts along with
emotions of client that can help in eliminating the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in
the clients. It can help patient in facing painful incident which can provide him with relief
from any kind of negative thoughts (Curwen, Palmer & Ruddell, 2018). It can help him in
moving in the forward direction and it can be helpful in improving his quality of life. It
differs from the interventions of bio-psycho-social model as the understanding of the physical
condition is of great importance in treating clients in relation to bio-psycho-social model. It
does not need magnetic resonance imaging that can understand the pattern of blood flow in
the brain of client and how it is influencing his precarious mental condition. Life Stress
Reduction techniques can also be employed by counsellor which can enable the client in
making organized exploration of mental environment. It can help him in facing the problem
in his life which can help him in gaining relief from the painful problems in his life. It can
help the counsellor in resolving emotionally charged scenes which is causing him distress
that can improve the mental state of client. Motivational Interviewing (MI) is indicative of
the counselling style that brings about the behaviour change in clients and it helps clients in

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resolving ambivalence present in his life. It can act as a focussed approach that can influence
clients in the positive manner (Joyce & Sills, 2018). It can help him in resolving insecurities
that are present in his life that can enable him in finding internal motivation that can make
him change his behaviour. The therapist evokes the conversation regarding change that can
provide the motivation to the individual of changing his behaviour.
Conclusion
Bio-psycho-social and Cognitive Behavioural theory lays emphasis on principles of
operant conditioning which can alleviate problems of clients. Cognitive factors plays an
integral role in experiencing pain and the reinforcing of environmental consequences adds to
plight of client. Bio-psycho-social theory talks about deep interconnection that exists between
the biological and psychological factors. Psycho-social interventions are used in the event of
cognitive behavioural theory which helps in improving mental condition of an individual.
Clinical psychological procedures are taken recourse to by counsellor in bio-psycho-social
model that can understand problems of clients in true light. The counselling style of the
motivational interviewing is used in cognitive behavioural theory which changes behaviours
of clients and helps them in leading a productive life.

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