Counseling Psychology Homework: Therapeutic Relationship Analysis

This homework assignment from a Masters in Counseling Psychology course analyzes a counseling session, focusing on the helper's techniques to make the client feel comfortable, the development of rapport, and the characteristics of a therapeutic relationship. The assignment addresses specific questions about the helper's actions, mirroring behavior, the presence of mutual liking and respect, and the maintenance of focus on the client's issues. The student's responses demonstrate an understanding of key concepts in clinical psychology, such as active listening, body language, and the importance of a supportive and non-judgmental environment. The assignment also references relevant literature to support the analysis. The student highlights the importance of the helper's role in creating a safe space for the client to share her experiences and feelings.

Running head: MASTERS IN COUNSELLING PSYCHOLOGY
Masters in Counseling psychology
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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Q1. Aside from thehelper’s words, what is she doing to make the client feelcomfortable?
The helper is trying to act as a patient listener and also make sure that she is able to make the
client feel really comfortable. This is because the client needs someone to talk to and the helper
is trying to listen to whatever he client is narrating to her. It is also seen that the helper is not
giving any advice. She is trying to make sure that she is not giving any advices to the learner but
is just trying to appear in a very calm, quite and organized mood. The helper is acting as a friend
of the client and is also helping her to recollect all the incidents of her life.
Q2. Sometimes helpers mirror theclient’s behavior to develop rapport. In thisvideo, the
client smiles and laughsoccasionally, especially early on. Can you find a point where the
helper smiles andlaughs?
This video shows that the helper is trying her level best to make sure that he can connect with
the client in some or the other way. This is because she is not scolding the client in any way.
Throughout the entire session in the video it has been seen that the helper is trying to develop a
strong connection with the client and also trying to now the different point of time when the
client has suffered through stress. It is noticed that when the client tells about the issues, the
helper is never crossing the decisions rather she is always trying to support the helper and also
supporting her constantly in all the decisions that she has taken in her life. She is also expressing
it through her body language as she is seen laughing along with the clients.

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Q3. One of the characteristics of a therapeutic relationship mentioned in the text is mutual
liking and respect. These are difficult qualities to identify because they are a kind of
chemistry. Would you say that liking is starting todevelop?
The quality of mutual liking and respect is visible in this vide throughout. Neither the helper nor
the client loses their calm for even once. The helper is trying her level best to support the helper
at every instance. The helpers say that she is trying to balance her work and education as she
wants to support her mother financially. This decision was greatly appreciated by the helper.
This shows that the helper is actually showing her respect towards the decision taken by the
client to help her mother. Liking is starting todevelop because both of them are seen becoming
free with one another and the helper does not suffer from any hesitations.
Q4. Another characteristic of the therapeutic relationship is keeping the focus on the
resolution of theclient’s issues and not on other people or on the helper. Does the helper in
this session keep the focus on theclient?
The helper is constantly focusing on all the issues that the client is sharing. The helper is
concentrating on all details being shared by the client rather than getting deflected on any other

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issues. This shows that the client is good at relationship building and she is also trying to make
sure that the client does not feel confused or frightened.

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References
Beevers, C. G., Pearson, R., Hoffman, J. S., Foulser, A. A., Shumake, J., & Meyer, B. (2017).
Effectiveness of an internet intervention (Deprexis) for depression in a United States adult
sample: A parallel-group pragmatic randomized controlled trial. Journal of consulting and
clinical psychology, 85(4), 367.
Kramer, G.P., Bernstein, D.A. and Phares, V., 2019. Introduction to clinical psychology.
Cambridge University Press.

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Appendix

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