Intermediate Counselling Skills: Egan's Helper Model Report

This report delves into the application of Egan's Skilled Helper Model in intermediate counselling skills. It provides a comprehensive analysis of the helper-client relationship, emphasizing the significance of trust, empathy, and active listening. The report outlines the three stages of the model, including exploring the client's situation, developing alternative perspectives, and assisting the client in taking action. It also highlights the importance of authenticity, compassion, and non-verbal communication in building a strong therapeutic alliance. The report further explores the Johari Window as a tool for self-awareness and discusses how to handle challenging behaviours and mixed signals within the counselling process. Additionally, the report considers ethical considerations, the role of body language, and real-life applications of the skills acquired in the first two stages. The report concludes by summarizing the strengths and weaknesses of Egan's model and its impact on the counselling process. This report, contributed by a student, is available on Desklib, a platform that provides AI-based study tools for students.

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Intermediate Counselling Skills
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The helper model devised by Egan is the topic of illustration and appraisal in this
work. The model deals with triple queries that has been disclosed in the sequence of stages
that include the goings on, the alternative and the way the individual can accomplish an
objective (Egan 2013).
The mutual relationship between the helper and the helped is based on mutual trust
and belief and this often decide the function of the helper, which happens when the helper is
able to analyze the emotions of the helper that invoke compassion and responsibility towards
the client. Both of them, particularly, the helper should be a sincere listener along with having
the quality to understand the verbal and non verbal communications of each other and
reciprocate according to it (Nelson-Jones, 2015). While discussing the skilled helper model of
Gerard Egan, focus should be put to find out the expertise and abilities of the helper (Egan,
2013) and the role of a helper is of utmost significance in the onset and middle stages of the
life cycle, however, the pivotal conditions of the first stage, as described by Carl Roger
includes approval, authenticity and compassion (Rogers, 1967). In this regard authenticity
demands intense listening which is capable of invoking real interest that would automatically
show through eye contact and various body languages. Good and spontaneous
communication is the ultimate result that brings out the innate nature of the counsellor and
the degree of care they can invest in the particular relationship. A relationship based on
mutual trust and empathy is very significant to ascertain that understanding exists by dint of
tentative openers that mark the fact that both the helper and the helped nurture similar
feelings.
Further advancement to the second stage attempts to illustrate a deeper understanding
about the condition of the client where the assistant or helper establishes an altered point of
view while handling the events (Resource Pack, 2016). In the second stage, the pattern of
empathy targets to bring to surface the deeply buried emotions of the client by dint of

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profound understanding and far reaching emotions allowing the helper to recognise the
particular themes and patterns of behaviour. It is primarily significant to relate the various
scattered thoughts and feelings in a link and associate them ( Resource Pack, 2016), where
the main difficulty is to differentiate the deep seated advanced feelings concealed within the
heart. Counselling skills can offer great benefit when the client reveals abnormal or irrelevant
body language or the body language is not in association with the verbal conversation. The
next instance is the time when different frames of reference might be used to address the
dissimilar points of view of the client who shifts the blame on someone else (Wosket, 2008).
But in this regard the client might alienate with the counsellor as to the client the other
opinions might not seem valuable. The feeling of closeness may be built through frank and
candid communication (Stewart and Sutton, 2017) which fosters a close knit relationship
between the client and the counsellor by dint of face to face encounter yet the primary
problem in this issue is that the client might keep some secrets from the helper. Self
revelation is absolutely helpful if that propels the client to remain focussed and invokes self
understanding along with application of Johari Window as a tool to initiate self awareness. It
contains tetra arenas which are familiar to self, unfamiliar to self, known to others and
unknown to others (Luft and Ingham, 1961). While implementing the counselling skills, an
encounter is necessary between the mixed signals or the emotions existing within the
thoughts of the client that too should be tried when an advanced rapport has already been
established.
The third stage offers the evidence of the helper propelling the client to act while in
the last two stages, the client was only driven to deal with troubles, ascertain goals and
instigate imagination to provoke creative thinking abilities. To summarise entirely, it may be
concluded that the third stage model formulated by Egan is a combination of both strength
and weaknesses. The model undoubtedly drives a decent counselling session but in order to

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achieve that care should be taken to ascertain that the level of comfortability between the
client and the helper is up to the mark which would help the client to be frank and perform
open conversation without keeping things and consequently, this would obliterate the chances
of weaknesses. The first stage skills illustrate the pivotal components that a helper should
possess by maintaining a healthy and friendly rapport with the client. Additionally, the
second stage skills assist while trying to gain enhanced understanding about the emotions and
views of the client. Challenging behaviours instigate the client to think, rethink and overthink
which ultimately hasten the change. One of the significant mode to analyze the relationship
between a client and the helper is to resort to the life cycle which actually reveals the steady
advancement of the relationship that can be scanned distinctly in three stages namely the
onset, midway and the final stage. Here the first stage is the beginning, the second stage is the
middle and the final stage is the third stage. the entire life cycle begins with introduction with
the client and gradually getting involved smoothly to achieve the triple objectives that is to
accept them initially with an unbiased mind and unalloyed honesty and doing this with a
compassionate heart. Then in the middle stage the relationship is further enhanced by
building a good rapport with each other which eases the air with the client who then feels
comfortable to open up before the helper. The third or final stage is the time when the helper
invokes the client to take action and handle troubles. The third stage does not have an end
date stoned priorly because the client decides if the necessity of a helper still exists or it is
over and sooner the client feels confident that he/she may continue without the helper, this
stage comes to the end.
The relationship may be disturbed by certain factors in its formative period and the
most important of it is lack of intense listening which may tremendously affect the rapport
building process because as soon as the client gets a clue that his/her words go unheeded, the

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opening up process would be dangerously hindered. Conversely, supportive listening
incorporates faith within the client who feels important and understood which initiates the
feeling of being accepted in a positive way and feels assured that there will be no
judgemental attitude (Nelson-Jones 2015). The helper should always place the clients on
priority position and ensure them that they are the key persons of the sessions held and
definitely the entire session would orbit around them and they may react at their free will
(BACP, 2013). Body language has a major role to play in this regard and the helper should be
aware that the client picks up cue from the body language of the helper. Hence, facial
expressions, mode of eye contact and various other bodily gestures can make or break a
rapport building session. For example, leaning forward towards a client maintain a modest
distance while listening enhances the client’s interest in opening up as it shows that the helper
is listening with attention. Alternatively, gestures like keeping the hands crossed before the
chest reveals defensive attitude and this may initiate a feeling of distance within the client
and soon the latter would start feeling uncomfortable and refuse to speak up. Judgemental
comments should be avoided to the highest priority because none in this universe prefers to
be judged by others and if the client gets the slightest of clue of being judged, the client may
abandon the helper and may feel reluctant to meet again. The client who is already struggling
with own troubles would not feel willing to meet someone who would make himself feel
guilty and hence may prefer to avoid the helper (Henkelman and Paulson, 2006).
The skills acquired in the first two stages may be implemented in the real life settings
like career and the aspiration to become a competent clinical psychologist would be further
enhanced by practising the first and the second stage. the stage one would train the
psychologist to initiate relationship building with a client while being honest and empathetic
yet keeping a strict vigil on every bit of behaviour of the client. The second stage would teach
the psychologist to further life skills that would make him proficient in drawing out the deep

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hidden secrets within the client’s heart to cure his trouble and help the client improve.
Nevertheless, the mixed signal patients are objects of real challenge but that too can be
handled by putting himself in the shoes of the client and gradually build rapport allowing him
the legitimate space yet initiate closeness to identify problem to actually resolve it. But the
helper should behave absolutely professionally with the client in all the three stages as there
may be times that the patient’s words or behaviour may overwhelm the helper and wrong
emotions may originate and again trying to be empathetic may even take on the nerves of the
helper. The helper must be emotionally buffered in order to avoid such unwanted situations
before starting with the help session using Egan’s helper model.

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References
Bacp. (2013). Ethical Framework for Good Practice in Counselling & Psychotherapy.
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Faculty of Health and Life Sciences. 2016. Module Resource Pack. Coventry University,
Coventry.
Henkelman, J. and Paulson, B. (2006). The client as expert: Researching hindering
experiences in counselling. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, [online] 19(2),
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Nelson-Jones, R. (2015). Basic counselling skills: A Helper's Manual. 4th ed. London:
SAGE, pp.4-40.
Rogers, C. (1967). The Interpersonal Relationship: The Core of Guidance. Harvard
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Stewart, W. and Sutton, J. (2017). Learning to counsel, 4th Edition: How to develop the
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Wosket, V. (2008). Egan's skilled helper model: Developments and Implications in
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