Counselling Report: Analyzing Counselling Techniques for Couples

This report examines counselling interventions for a couple, Mary and Steve, facing relationship conflicts. It applies Gerard Egan's Skilled Helper model, emphasizing empathy and respect to address their issues. The report explores alternative responses, including divergent thinking and open-ended questions, to facilitate communication and perspective-taking. It highlights the importance of micro-skills like questioning and attending behavior, and recommends the use of confrontation and reflection to guide sessions. The conclusion suggests focusing on client needs and employing empathetic responses. This report provides a comprehensive analysis of counselling techniques and their application in resolving relationship disputes, offering valuable insights for future sessions and therapeutic approaches.

Running head: COUNSELLING
Counselling
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author note

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Introduction
Counselling refers to the process of guiding the clients that is carried out by trained
person that helps in resolving the personal and the psychological problems of an individual.
Counselling refers to provision of the professional assistance that helps in resolving the
psychological problems in the life of an individual (Nelson-Jones, 2015). A counsellor
provides advice to the individuals in regard to the social or the personal problems. This report
throws light on the counselling interventions that can help in resolving the crisis taking place
in the life of Mary and Steve. The report discusses about the micro-skills that are essential in
relation to counselling. The report also talks about the suggestions that can help the
counsellor in proceeding with the future sessions with that of the client.
Counselling interventions
The counselling interventions can prove to be effective that can help in resolving the
problem in the relationship of Steve and that of Mary. Mary has sought the help of the
counsellor in order to resolve the conflict taking place in her relationship with Steve. Steve
wanted to maintain high mortgage repayment on that of one age and Mary felt that Steve can
look for a part-time second job that could offer support to her when she was carrying a child.
The counsellor can make use of the Skilled Helper model of Gerard Egan that can help in
solving the dispute taking place in the life of Mary and the Steve. This approach helps in
providing the structured basis that comes to be of use for the counsellors along with the
psychotherapists. The counsellor can make use of empathy and respect that can help Mary in
understanding the predicament in her life (Van Deurzen & Adams, 2016). The client can be
encouraged to develop the skills along with the knowledge that is necessary for solving the
problems in the lives of the clients. It helps the clients in the area of development and it
proves to be useful in building a therapeutic alliance in between the counsellor and the client.

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Use of alternate responses
There are certain methods that can be employed by the counsellor that can help him in
resolving the problem in the lives of Steve and Mary. They can be made use of by the
counsellor that can help him in offering support to Mary in a batter manner that can make the
client feel free to talk about the problems that are present in her life. The alternative
responses that can be used pertains to the usage of divergent thinking that can help Mary in
perceiving the things in a new light (Tolan & Cameron, 2016). It can help her in viewing the
problem from the point of view of Steve that can help in solving the conflict in the mental
state of Mary. Mary should be encouraged to become active in relation to the initiation of the
positive behaviours that can be of help for Mary. The asking of the open-ended questions can
prove to be useful for the counsellor in discussing regarding the problem (Meekums,
Macaskie & Kapur, 2016). The counsellor can make use of the probes and the questions that
can help in moving the client towards the beneficial stage of the therapy. It can help the
parties in gaining the clarity in relation to the various issues. The counsellor can adopt the
new skills that can help them in reflecting on that of implied meaning.
Micro-skills in counselling
The using of the micro-skills by the counsellor can help him in dealing with the
problem of the client. The counsellor can make use of the micro-skill of the questioning and
the accurate responding that can help in dealing with the problem of the client in an accurate
manner. The attending behaviour can encourage the clients in talking and manifesting that
counsellor involved in the things that are being communicated to him. The counsellor can
also take recourse to effective questioning that can guide counselling conversation which can
enrich the story of the clients (Midwinter & Dickson, 2015). It can help the counsellor in
gathering more amount of information that helps in facilitating the counselling session in the

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proper direction. The questioning can help counsellor in knowing about the mindset of the
aggrieved parties that can help him in lending his hand so that he can solve the problem in the
life of the married couple. Confrontation can also be made use of by the counsellor that can
help in bringing out the priorities in the life of the married couple (Esposito, Marano & Freda,
2018). Steve and Mary can come together during the counselling session so that they can get
the opportunity to discuss how Steve and Mary would be able to support each other at the
time of having a child. It can help them in focussing on the priorities of their life that can help
in resolving the conflict in the life of the married couple. It can prove to be useful in
developing the rapport in between the client and the counsellor that can prove to be useful in
solving the problem prevailing in the life of the married couple. (Holm-Hadulla, 2018).
Conclusion and Recommendations
Counselling interventions can prove to be useful in resolving conflict that is taking
place in the life of the Steve and Mary. The counsellor can make use of the technique of
divergent thinking which can prove to be helpful for Mary in understanding the point of view
of Steve. The micro-skills can prove to be of great help for the counsellor in understanding
problem taking place in the relationship of Steve and Mary. The counsellor should manifest
the attending behaviour that can help in the area of communication with the client. There are
certain measures which can be used in the future sessions that can be of help for the
counsellor. It can be recommended that the counsellor can lay emphasis on focusing that can
help in the successful completion of the counselling session. The reflection should be made
use of by the counsellor that can help in the accurate description of the state of the client. It
can be suggested that the counsellor can make use of the empathetic responses that can help
in linking the feelings and the content.

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References
Esposito, G., Marano, D., & Freda, M. F. (2018). Supportive and interpretative interventions
in fostering mentalisation during counselling. British Journal of Guidance &
Counselling, 1-19.
Holm-Hadulla, R. M. (2018). The art of counselling and psychotherapy. Routledge.
Meekums, B., Macaskie, J., & Kapur, T. (2016). Developing skills in counselling and
psychotherapy: a scoping review of Interpersonal Process Recall and Reflecting Team
methods in initial therapist training. British Journal of Guidance &
Counselling, 44(5), 504-515.
Midwinter, R., & Dickson, J. (2015). Embedding counselling and communication skills: a
relational skills model. Routledge.
Nelson-Jones, R. (2015). Basic counselling skills: a helper's manual. Sage.
Tolan, J., & Cameron, R. (2016). Skills in person-centred counselling & psychotherapy.
Sage.
Van Deurzen, E., & Adams, M. (2016). Skills in existential counselling & psychotherapy.
Sage.