Counseling Activity Analysis - Client Expectations and Goals

This assignment delves into various aspects of counseling, starting with methods for analyzing client information, including self-assessment forms, data analysis, and consulting with health professionals. It differentiates between open and closed questions and explores five key communication techniques: active listening, body language consideration, reframing, paraphrasing, and attending skills. The assignment then outlines the structure of counseling sessions, including early, main body, and later stages, along with the importance of clarifying client expectations and addressing potential anxieties. It covers the ethical considerations, including beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, justice, and fidelity, and provides guidance on recognizing and responding to client distress. Furthermore, the assignment addresses cultural and social contexts in counseling, the use of SMART goals, and the importance of privacy, duty of care, and ethical guidelines. The solution provides a comprehensive overview of counseling principles and practices.

Running Head: Counseling
Counseling

Counseling
Activity 1 (A) Three method by which client information can be analyzed
a) By examining the forms that are based on self-assessment: The information the client
mention in the self-assessment form so the details can be easily available in effective
manner. It gives information about the well-being of the person and also it contains the
information about the anxiety and depression.
b) Analyzing data: The data should be analyzed in effective manner. The data should
contain the details of the overall health. It will give main focus on the clients’ condition
that will give a brief detail about the client.
c) By consulting with health professionals: It is essential to check the details of the clients
so that proper information can be obtained in effective manner and also the reports will
give proper information of the client conditions (Vieten, Scammell, Pilato, Ammondson,
Pargament and Lukoff, 2013).
Activity 1 (B) Difference between open and closed questions
Open questions are the questions than consist the answers that are more than yes or no. It inspires
the person to speak. Let’s consider the example “How does that make you feel?”
Whereas
Closed questions are the questions that are answered with a single word like yes or no or with a
short phrase. It helps to find the information to inform the client about their position. For
example: “Is that a common experience?” (Friborg and Rosenvinge, 2013).
Activity 1 (C) Five communication techniques are
a) Active listening: In this technique the listeners carefully listen to what the clients says
and also clarify the important information. This will help to know the requirements of the
clients faster and with accuracy.
b) Taking into consideration the body language: In counseling it is important to take into
consideration body language for enhancing the communication. Body language includes
the use of eye contact, relax and keep the things natural and also to maintain an open
posture.

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c) Reframing: It is concerned with involving the client to find out the topic of discussion in
a different way and also by which the client can be feel differently.
d) Paraphrasing: It is a situation in which the client has a chance to clarify the things and try
to correct the things that are wrong. It helps the clients to solve their problems in
effective manner.
e) Attending skills: It helps to provide the full attention and focus on the client. The
problems are listened in effective manner. It will also sometimes creates a problem that
customer will think that they are given more attention (Berger, 2015).
Activity 1 (D)
a.) The early counseling session should be dedicated to
1) By considering and understanding the concerns of the clients
2) To explain the aims of the counseling process
3) The common themes should be clarified and discussed that arises
B.) The main body counseling consist of
1) To explore the particular themes in more detailed way.
2) To gain a knowledge about the issues of the clients and their inter relativeness.
3) To explore the relationship that is concerned with counseling so that the understanding and
trust can be maintained.
C.) Later counseling session consist of
1) Assist the clients to have a look in the new insights in their day to day life.
2) To explore the frameworks that enhances the understanding that consists of experiences
from the process of counseling.
3) Give focus on the positive changes in the behavior and thoughts that gives focus on the
counseling (Tao, Owen, Pace and Imel, 2015).
Activity 2 (A) Five ways are:

Counseling
1) Detailed reasons should be there that why an individual seek counseling :
Many a times the counseling helps the clients to know the reason that why the counseling
is an important part and why it is necessary for the clients. The counseling is taken by the
person who faces issues like drug and alcohol and also family related problems.
2) Allow the clients to ask the questions: At the time of counseling the clients should be
allowed to ask questions so that everything will be cleared in effective manner. By asking
questions it will be helpful for the counselor to provide effective suggestions so that it
can be easy to explain.
3) To clarify that what counseling is not: It is very essential to give brief description that
what counseling is not because many people have misguided thoughts by that the goals
cannot be achieved in effective manner (Thompson, 2015).
4) Emphasizing the need of commitment: The sessions should be taken into consideration
on regular basis otherwise it will not give effective results. The need of the commitment
should be explained to the client in effective manner so that it can be implemented in
easy way on the day to day operation.
5) Setting a location: The sessions are conducted on phone or face to face but the place
should be quiet without any interruption. The sessions are not conducted in bars canteens
or at any other place (Miller and Hen, 2015).
Activity 2 (B)
a.) It is essential to clarify the expectations of the clients because many people have the
misguided view about counseling and by this the results cannot be achieved in effective
manner. It is essential to explain in detail that counseling is not about providing advices
to the clients nor it is a friendly discussion. It is important that client should take into
consideration a proper understanding of high expectations and also the disappointments
that takes places sometimes. The clients should be given permission to ask question so
that the things can be clarified in effective manner.
b.) The client should be given permission to ask more and more questions. So that it can be
easy to clarify the problem in effective manner and if the expectation level of the client
are unrealistic then the explanation should be given that why they are unrealistic and also
the emphasis should be not given on those expectations (Guerriero and Allen, 2014).

Counseling
Activity 2 (C)
Five anxieties a client should have about the counseling process
1) Lack of support from others: There are many cases when the friends and family of the
client fail to support them. They may not help the client and use the words like shrink and
quack that will enhance the disappointment level.
2) Problems that recognize the symptoms: There are many people who have low mental
health literacy so it is difficult to understand that what mental illness is and do not take
into consideration the symptom that arises. If they will not analyze that there is a problem
which is prevailing then it can be difficult to give help in effective manner (Tolan and
Cameron, 2016).
3) Preference for self-reliance: There are many people who take lot of pride to complete the
things on their own but the problem arises when the same people begin to suffer
problems that are related with mental health. They believe that to seek help is the sign of
weakness and struggle to find a way.
4) Issues related with trust and confidentiality: To take help the client’s needs personal
information to reveal everything. It makes them down and uncomfortable mainly when
they have a trust issues.
5) Hopelessness: It is the main situation in which the clients have a counseling process and
the situation is considered as hopeless. The assumption is made and also considered that
nothing will help (Calhoon and Tye, 2015).
Activity 2 (D)
Acknowledge and respect the concern of the clients
All through the counseling procedure, you should recognize, acknowledge and
regard the seriousness of your customer's worries. You ought to never judge, fault or put down
their considerations, sentiments, words and activities, as doing as such will definitely debilitate
the customer's trust in you and make them far less likely to impart their experience to you later
on. In many situations the clients will distress the information to you and how to take corrective
steps can break your relationship. Never react with shock as this can create a feeling of illness in

Counseling
the client. The interaction with the client should be made on a human level. By treating the client
with care it will encourage them to fell like a normal person (McCarthy, 2014).
Activity 2 (E)
Limits of a counseling relationship will be based on following principles
1) Beneficence: The counselor must take the responsibility to improve the welfare of the
clients through counseling sessions.
2) Non- Maleficence: This principle is based on doing no harm. The counselor should avoid
the situations with the clients that cause conflict.
3) Autonomy: It is the ethical responsibility of the counselor to encourage the clients to
think and make the decisions independently.
4) Justice: The counselor should always give equal service to all the clients by ignoring the
age, gender, race and religion.
5) Fidelity: The counselor should always be faithful for its clients and accept the
commitment to bring change in the client’s progress (Brownell, 2015).
Activity 2 (F)
1.) Five indicators are
a) Ignorance from friends and relatives
b) Suicide attempt
c) Neglecting responsibility
d) Neglecting yourself
e) Drug abuse
2.) The client should refer to
a) The police
b) Local doctors
c) Emergency services
d) Suicide telephone services

Counseling
e) Emergency accommodation
Activities 3 (A) You need to take into consideration or adapt
a) Your tone
b) The types and number of questions
c) Which theme should be given emphasis
d) The number of times you interrupt
(B) Clients personal identity
a) Cultural context: For every counseling session it is important that the culture and factor
should be considered (Wells, 2013).
b) Social context: The steps should be taken that helps to know the social barriers that
stopped the client from attending the sessions.
c) Not to impose the values on others: It is important to impose the values and beliefs on the
people whom you work as this can cause conflict. The clients should have their own values
and beliefs and they should only decide that how to take into consideration with the work and
life concern.
d) To maintain political, religious and spiritual beliefs to you: Do not elaborate any political,
religious and spiritual beliefs at the workplace. This can easily create conflict between the
clients. It can also de motivate the clients to attend the sessions in future (Berven and
Bezyak, 2015).
Activity 3 (B)
SMART stands for
a) Specific: That the priority of the clients should be considered as specific. The specific
goals are easy to focus.
b) Measurable: Goals that are taken into consideration should be easy to measure.
c) Achievable: The goals that are related with the clients should be achievable.

Counseling
d) Realistic: Goals and priorities should be in the line of reality. It should be in real form
and should not be imaginative.
e) Time frame: The goals that are taken into consideration should be easy to attain or can be
attained within the set time (Nelson-Jones, 2013).
Activity 3 (C)
Seven concepts related with the care provision are
a) Privacy: When the contract is signed to give client a proper care then there is a clause that
will outline the privacy and confidentiality. With the negotiation the agreement can be
changed with the client. If the client safety is at risk then the agreement is considered as
void (Moss, Gibson and Dollarhide, 2014).
b) Duty of care: The corrective actions should be taken into consideration for the safety of
the client.
c) Mandatory reporting: It is the responsibility of the counselor to find out the signs that are
posed by a client.
d) Contract requirements: when the counseling service is signed by a client then they agree
to pay and attend a set of sessions. The contract consists of cancellation charges and
complaint procedures.
e) Discrimination: The counselor should provide equal services to its clients by taking into
consideration their age, gender and the culture (Pope and Vasquez, 2016).
f) Work health and safety: When the clients attend the first session it is important to explain
them about the risk that can arise at the place which include emergency exists and many
other hygiene procedures.
g) Ethical consideration: The legal and ethical guidelines that are set by the organization
should be taken into consideration. Like to avoid the personal relationship with the client
as this will give negative impact on the working pattern (McLeod, 2013).

Counseling
Main Activity
1. A.) The information of the client should be taken into consideration. Like the background
and the issue on which the counseling is based should be conducted in effective manner.
So that it can be easy to approach and clarify the problem of the client. The information
of the client can be analyzed prior to the counseling sessions in many ways. The first
things that should be taken into consideration are the name, age and occupation of the
client so that in the first session the client can feel comfortable and happy. There are
many which should be considered like examining self-assessment forms, analyzing the
data in which the specific sets of data should be considered which is related with the
complete health of the clients. By doing so it will give more idea about the all round
condition of the client. Consulting with health professionals, it is very essential to know
about the medical history of the client. Proper consultation should be taken and also the
special needs should be identified in proper manner. So that precautionary steps can be
taken in implementing and planning the stages.
B.) In the first session the information can be gathered by asking the client about the
concern and discussing it to clarify the common theme that arises. Like if conducting
educational counseling the concern of the client should be taken into consideration which
is related with the education. Then the aim will be defined of the counseling process and
then the common theme is discussed and clarified (fall, Holden and Marquis, 2017).
C.) The communication process that should be selected active listening. In which the
client information should be properly listened in effective manner. Like in educational
counseling it is important to know and listen about the query that the client possess so
that it can be clarified easily.
D.) The structured approach should be considered like early counseling session should be
taken into consideration like there should be proper understanding of the concern that
client possess and then define the aim of the process. Discussion on the common theme
will take place and then the counseling relationship is developed (Capuzzi and Gross,
2014).

Counseling
2. A.) Counseling is all about giving advice to the clients and counseling is of many types
like education counseling, marriage counseling and many others. The counseling is something
by which client feel satisfied to gain knowledge about the particular topic.
B.) The expectations of the client can be resolved by taking into consideration the concern
and the problem that should be solved in effective manner. Also by gathering additional
information the expectations of the client can easily be resolved. It is very essential to clarify the
client’s expectations of the counseling services as there are many people with a different
mindset.
It is essential to explain that counseling is not about providing advices it is friendly discussion.
Only counseling cannot solve the problem of the client and it is not for everyone. It is very
important that the client clearly understands that the expectations should not be high as it can
lead to disappointment. Give the client to ask the questions to clarify each and everything in
effective manner (Pearce, 2014
C.) The anxiety of the client is analyzed by asking the questions so as the chance can be
given to clarify the problems that the client possesses. The client may have anxieties like lack of
support from others or negative past experiences. There are many types of anxiety that the client
may have at the time of counseling process. Like stigma in which there is stigma of a culture to
health problems which surrounds them by counseling and therapy. The client can face many
problems or may be not be comfortable with the thoughts and there can be social fear of seeking
help for their satisfaction. . There are many other reasons like:
Another is lack of support from others, in which there is no support from friends and family and
also there is no help or support from anywhere. The words like shrink and quack are used so that
the client can internalize these words.
Next is a problem recognizing symptoms in which the problems are analyzed in effective manner
and it is seen that many people have low mental literacy and they don’t understand about the
mental illness. If they don’t understand that they are facing problem then it is difficult to give
help. There are many other reasons like:

Counseling
Preference for self-reliance: There are many people who take lot of pride to complete the things
on their own but the problem arises when the same people begin to suffer problems that are
related with mental health. They believe that to seek help is the sign of weakness and struggle to
find a way.
Issues related with trust and confidentiality: To take help the client’s needs personal information
to reveal everything. It makes them down and uncomfortable mainly when they have a trust
issues.
Hopelessness: It is the main situation in which the clients have a counseling process and the
situation is considered as hopeless. The assumption is made and also considered that nothing will
help
D.) By listening actively the problem of the client the respect can be given to the client concern.
You ought to never judge, fault or put down their considerations, sentiments, words and
activities, as doing as such will definitely debilitate the customer's trust in you and make them far
less likely to impart their experience to you later on. In many situations the clients will distress
the information to you and how to take corrective steps can break your relationship. Never react
with shock as this can create a feeling of illness in the client. The interaction with the client
should be made on a human level.
E.) Client expectations can be clarified by taken into consideration the principles like autonomy,
justice, Beneficence and fidelity.
In beneficence the counselor accepts the responsibility for enhancing the welfare of the client
with the help of counseling sessions.
Next is Justice in which the counselor provides an equal services to all the clients by considering
the age, gender, culture and religion (McMain, Boritz and Leybman, 2015).
F.) The indicators of the serious issue include neglecting yourself, talking about suicide,
withdrawal from friends and family, changes in the physical appearance, Drinking or abuse or
also change in the behavior.

Counseling
3. A.)
It is our responsibility to create a good relationship with the clients and adapt things according to
the need of the individual. By taking into consideration the need of the individual it is necessary
to adapt the individual need. It consists of the tone, the number and type of the questions and on
which theme the focus should be given. Also the cultural, social context should be considered for
exploring the approaches for the relationship (Lee, 2014).
B.) It is the best way to give priorities that are for counseling with the client. The collaboration
with the client should be made closely and the wants, opinions and anxieties should be
considered in the plan. SMART is a popular technique that is used for setting the goals and
priorities in effective manner. The SMART stands for specific which means that the priorities
should be specific in nature. Measurable which means the goals should be easy to measure.
Achievable refers to goals that should be achievable. Realistic this means that the goals and
priorities should be in line with reality. Time frame in which the goals and priorities should be
attainable on which the client agrees (Roberts, Fenton and Barnard, 2015).
C.) It is very essential to document an agreement with the client that covers the priorities and
should develop the counseling plan. The organizational policy should consist the legal and
ethical policies. There are many concepts that are related with the care provision that include
privacy, duty of care, discrimination, work health and safety and ethical considerations. If the
legal and ethical guidelines are taken into consideration then will help to prevent the
complications in detailed way. The privacy and confidentiality policy is when the counselor
signs the contract to give clients proper care. There is a clause in the contract which gives outline
of the privacy and disclosure. The contract can be changed and reviewed by making negotiation.
If the safety of the client is at risk then the safety can be considered as void. Next is duty of care
in which corrective steps are taken by considering the clients and yourself who may get affected
by the contract. Another one is Contract requirement in which the client sign up to the
counseling service and it is the common practice for them to sign the contract and to focus on the
no of sessions. Next is discrimination in which the counselor tries to give equal and fair services
to all the clients that give concern to the age, race, culture and disability. Next is work health and
safety in which at the time of first session the time should be taken to explain about the
emergency procedures that are there in the place and which consist of emergency exists. The