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The consultant, like other professionals, has ethical responsibilities and obligations. First of all, he is responsible to the client. However, the client and the consultant are not in a vacuum, but in a system of various relationships, so the consultant is responsible to the client's family members, to the organization in which he works, to the public in general, and, finally, to his profession. This responsibility determines the special importance of ethical principles in psychological counseling and psychotherapy. That is why codes of professional ethics are being created in all countries to regulate professional activity psychotherapist and consultant psychologist.
However, it is not so easy for a consultant to unconditionally follow the rules of ethics for fairly objective reasons. The main ones were pointed out by George and Cristiani (1990):
1. It is difficult to maintain standards of established behavior in a wide variety of counseling situations, because each counseling contact is unique.
2. Most consultants practice in certain institutions (clinics, centers, schools, private services, etc.). The value orientation of these organizations may not fully coincide with the ethical requirements for a consultant. In such cases, the consultant faces a difficult choice.
3. A consultant often finds himself in ethically contradictory situations when, adhering to the requirements of one norm, he violates another. Thus, in case of any choice, the code of ethics is not respected.
In general, ethical dilemmas, to a much greater extent than direct violations of the code of ethics, help to understand the limitations of ethical codes in solving problems that arise in counseling. Take, for example, the preamble to the newest code of ethics (1990) from the American Psychological Association:
"Psychologists respect and value the dignity of the individual and strive to ensure and protect basic human rights. They are required to accumulate knowledge of human behavior, people's understanding of each other, self-understanding and apply this knowledge to ensure the welfare of society."
However, in working with, for example, clients who have suicidal intentions, it is difficult to fully adhere to these principles. If you try to ensure the safety of the client, it is difficult not to violate his autonomy, the right to free self-determination, and therefore not encroach on his personal dignity and values. On the other hand, if nothing is done and the autonomy of the client is protected, there will be a threat to his well-being and even life. In this example, the principle of beneficence is given precedence over the principle of individual autonomy (Beauchamp and Childress, 1983).
The inconsistency of ethical problems makes it necessary to periodically change ethical codes. The American Psychological Association, which has perhaps the most structured approach to ethical issues, has revised its code of professional ethics three times over the past thirty years. Amendments naturally reflect changes in society, but still, as a rule, are due to the difficulty of complying with ethical standards (more on this when analyzing the privacy issue). The first requirement for a consultant is made already at the beginning of the consultation process. The client's decision to enter into a "consulting contract" should be quite conscious, therefore the consultant is obliged during the first meeting to provide the client with as much information as possible about the consultation process:
about the main goals of counseling;
About your qualifications
about payment for consultation;
about the approximate duration of the consultation:
about the advisability of counseling;
about the risk of temporary deterioration of the condition in the process of counseling;
about the boundaries of confidentiality.
The consultant is obliged to correctly assess the level and limits of his professional competence. He should not instill in the client hope for help that he is unable to provide. In counseling, the use of insufficiently mastered diagnostic and therapeutic procedures is unacceptable. Consultative meetings with clients should never be used to test any counseling methods or techniques. If the consultant feels in some cases that he is not competent enough, he is obliged to consult with more experienced colleagues and improve under their guidance.
The consultant is obliged to provide, as already mentioned, comprehensive information about the conditions of consultation. It is very important to coordinate with the client in advance the possibility of audio and video recording of counseling conversations and observation by a third party through a one-way vision mirror. It is unacceptable to use such procedures without the consent of the client. These procedures can be important to the counselor for pedagogical and research purposes, and also useful to the client in assessing the dynamics of his problems and the effectiveness of counseling. Sometimes the authority that controls the qualifications of a consultant requires detailed information about a specific case. The resistance of some insecure counselors to procedures for observing or recording conversations, ostensibly to maintain confidentiality and protect the client, actually expresses their own anxiety and discomfort. A major source of ethical dilemmas in counseling is the issue of confidentiality. It is a litmus test of the consultant's responsibility to the client. Counseling is not possible if the client does not trust the consultant. The issue of confidentiality should be discussed during the first meeting with the client.
George and Cristiani (1990) distinguish two levels of privacy. The first level refers to the limit of professional use of customer information. It is the responsibility of each consultant to use client information for professional purposes only. The consultant is not entitled to disseminate information about the client with other intentions. This also applies to the fact that someone is undergoing a course of psycho-correction. Information about clients (consultant's records, individual client cards) should be stored in places inaccessible to outsiders.
The consultant, while ensuring secrecy, must acquaint the client with the circumstances in which professional secrecy is not respected. Confidentiality, as will be discussed below, cannot be elevated to an absolute principle. Most often we have to talk about its boundaries. Schneider (1963; cited in George and Cristiani, 1990) formulated seven basic rules for setting such boundaries:
1. The obligation to maintain confidentiality is not absolute, but relative, since there are certain conditions that can change such an obligation.
2. Confidentiality depends on the nature of the information provided by the client, however, the confidentiality of the client binds the consultant incomparably more strictly than the "secrecy" of the events reported by the client.
3. Materials of consultation meetings that cannot harm the interests of the client are not subject to confidentiality rules.
4. Materials of consultation meetings necessary for the effective work of the consultant are also not subject to confidentiality rules (for example, it is possible to provide an expert with consultation materials by agreement with the client).
5. Confidentiality is always based on the client's right to good name and keeping secrets. The consultant is obliged to respect the rights of clients and, in certain cases, even to act illegally (for example, not to provide information about the client to law enforcement agencies, if this does not violate the rights of third parties).
6. Confidentiality is limited to the consultant's right to preserve his own dignity and the safety of his person.
7. Confidentiality is limited by the rights of third parties and the public.
Among the most frequently cited circumstances under which the confidentiality rules in counseling may be limited, the following deserve mention:
1. Increased risk to the life of the client or other people.
2. Criminal actions(violence, corruption, incest, etc.) committed against minors.
3. The need for hospitalization of the client.
4. Participation of the client and other persons in the distribution of drugs and other criminal activities.
Having found out during the consultation that the client poses a serious threat to someone, the consultant is obliged to take measures to protect the potential victim (or victims) and inform her (them), parents, relatives, law enforcement agencies about the danger. The consultant must also inform the client of his intentions.
What to give preference to in a dilemma: to maintain confidentiality, according to the code of ethics, or to follow legal regulations? After the case with Tarasoff, sensational in the USA, which considerably influenced the definition of confidentiality limits, preference is given to the latter option.
In August 1969, a client at the Poddar Mental Health Center told his counseling psychologist that he was going to kill his girlfriend Tatiana Tarasoff. The psychologist reported this to the police by telephone and further described the circumstances of the case in an official letter to the chief of police. He pointed out the need to establish surveillance for the client and hospitalize him as a socially dangerous person. The police detained Poddar for questioning but soon released him due to insufficient evidence. Some time later, the expert supervising the qualifications of the mentioned psychologist expressed dissatisfaction and demanded that the letter sent to the police be returned to him. The letter was destroyed. The senior colleague demanded that the counseling psychologist take no further action with this client. The parents of the potential victim were not made aware of the impending threat. Two months later, Poddar killed the girl. Her parents filed a criminal case against the employees of the university for not having warned them of a possible misfortune. Although the lower court dismissed the lawsuit, the California Supreme Court in 1976 convicted the staff of the Center for irresponsibility.
As Beauchamp and Childress (1983) argue, the priority of privacy ends where someone is in danger.
Another important ethical principle that is discussed as often as confidentiality is the prohibition against dual relationships. It is inappropriate to consult relatives, friends, employees studying with a student consultant; sexual contact with clients is not allowed. Such a prohibition is quite understandable, since counseling gives the specialist an advantageous position and there is a danger that in personal relationships this advantage can be used for the purpose of exploitation.
The problem of sexual relations of consultants and psychotherapists with clients is very important and often hushed up. Holroyd and Brodsky in 1977 surveyed 1,000 American practitioners of psychological counseling and psychotherapy with doctoral degrees. Half of them were men and the other half were women. The researchers got the following results:
· erotic contacts and sexual relations are more frequent between male consultants and female clients (5.5%) than between female consultants and male clients (0.6%);
· consultants who once crossed the line of what is permitted tend to re-establish sexual relationships with clients (80% of cases);
· 70% of male consultants and 80% of female consultants categorically deny the permissibility of sexual relations with clients; 4% of respondents consider sexual relationships with clients to be therapeutically valuable.
Sexual relations between counselors and clients are neither ethically nor professionally acceptable because they represent a direct abuse of the counselor's role. The client is much more vulnerable than the consultant, because in the specific atmosphere of counseling he "uncovers" himself - reveals his feelings, fantasies, secrets, desires, including those of a sexual nature. Sometimes the client strongly idealizes the consultant, he wants a close relationship with such an ideal person who deeply understands him. However, when the counseling contact turns into a sexual relationship, clients develop extreme dependence and the counselor loses objectivity. This is where all professional counseling and psychotherapy ends.
LITERATURE
1. American Psychological Association. Ethical principles of Psychologists // American Psychologist, 1990. Vol. 45. P. 390-395.
2. Beauchamp T. L., Childress J. S. Principles of Biomedical Ethics. 3rd Ed. N.Y.: Oxford University Press, 1983.
3. George R. L., Cristiani T. S. Counseling: Theory and Practice, 3rd Ed. Englewood Cliffs. N. J.: Prentice Hall, 1990.
4. Holroyd J. C., Brodsky A. Psychologists" attitudes and practices regarding erotic and non-erotic physical contact with patients // American Psychologist, 1977. Vol. 32. P. 845-849.
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Library of the Foundation for the Promotion of the Development of Mental Culture (Kyiv)
Principles of psychological counseling.
To ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of psychological counseling, the following principles must be observed:
- The principle of a benevolent and non-judgmental attitude towards the client, which provides for the expression of emotional warmth and respect, the ability to accept the client as he is, without judging or condemning his norms and values, lifestyle and behavior;
- Ensuring the confidentiality of the meeting. This principle means that the psychologist keeps secret everything that concerns the client, his personal problems and life circumstances (except as provided by law, about which the client is warned by the psychologist);
- The principle of voluntariness means that the client himself turns to a psychologist, since he subjectively experiences difficulties in life and is motivated to accept psychological help;
- The principle of the consultant's professional motivation means that he protects the interests of the client, and not other persons or organizations, does not take the side of any of the participants in the conflict, avoids prejudice;
- The principle of the psychologist's refusal of advice or prescriptions. The task is to strengthen the client's responsibility for what happens to him, to encourage him to be active in the analysis of problems, in search of a way out of the crisis;
- Separation of personal and professional relationships. The psychologist cannot enter into any personal relationship with the client. The psychologist cannot determine friendly relations with the client, as well as to provide assistance to friends or relatives.
The implementation of the principles of psychological counseling is possible under such conditions (according to R.S. Nemov):
- A client who turns to a psychologist must have a real problem psychological nature and a conscious desire to solve it as soon as possible.
- The counselor-psychologist, who was asked for help, should have experience in psychological counseling and appropriate professional psychological training.
- The time spent on counseling should be sufficient to understand and find the best solution to the problem that worries the client, as well as to successfully overcome it together with the client.
- The client must strictly follow the recommendations provided by the psychologist-consultant.
- Creation of a favorable and appropriate climate for psychological counseling.
The problem of distinguishing between personal and professional relationships.
It is known that professional relationships can be strongly influenced by personal relationships, in particular, the personal needs and desires of a psychologist affect both the process of psychological assistance and the client himself, and therefore may hinder the effective implementation of psychological assistance. There are various studies of these influences.
This principle includes two aspects: firstly, it is not recommended to provide professional psychological assistance to relatives, friends and relatives, and secondly, one should not enter into friendly or sexual relations with clients.
It is enough for a consultant to understand that the preservation of his authority for the client is largely due to the fact that the latter knows little about him as a person, he has no reason to both admire the psychologist and condemn him as a person. The establishment of a close personal relationship between the consultant and the client leads to the fact that they, like close people, begin to satisfy certain needs and desires of each other, and the consultant can no longer maintain an objective and detached position, necessary for the effective resolution of the client's problems.
Friendly and non-judgmental attitude towards the client and ways to achieve it.
Goodwill is realized with an attentive and sensitive attitude towards the client. It is opposed both to the excessive noble and active (sometimes imposed) activity of the consultant, and to the primitive, but generous sympathy, empathy. Integrity is one of the most difficult principles to implement. Non-judgment does not mean indifference, it implies "attentive" neutrality and a calm attitude to the reported facts.
Personality traits inherent in an effective psychologist-consultant.
- showing a deep interest in people and patience in dealing with them.
- sensitivity to the attitudes and behavior of other people;
- emotional stability and objectivity;
- the ability to inspire confidence in other people;
- respect for the rights of others.
- trust in people;
- respect for the values of the other person;
- insight;
- lack of prejudice;
- self-understanding;
- consciousness of professional duty.
1. Personal maturity of the consultant. It is assumed that the consultant successfully solves his life problems, frank, tolerant and sincere towards oneself.
2. The Social Maturity of the Consultant. It is assumed that the consultant is able to help other people effectively solve their problems, frank, tolerant and sincere towards clients.
3. Consultant maturity is a process, not a state. The implication is that it is impossible to be mature always and everywhere.
Typical mistakes of a psychologist-consultant and work with them.
Super customer care. The client is compared with a patient who needs some kind of pills - the words of a consultant, his attention, or with a drowning man who needs a life buoy, then with a helpless kitten. The consultant is identified with the adviser, rescuer, guide. Complete distrust of the client's resources is expressed, he is perceived as incapable of taking care of himself.
The overvaluation of the consultant. It manifests itself in the desire to realize oneself in counseling, while ignoring the needs and rights of the client. For example, a client is compared to a skating rink, which is nice to slide on if you have good skates and you know how to skate well. The consultant is compared, for example, with a steelmaker who directs fiery, molten iron in the right (to whom?) channel. Or with a jeweler, a janitor who wants to put things in order in the client's soul.
Overcoming these two tendencies O.R. Bondarenko connects with the development of newcomers' confidence in the "situation of ignorance", which occurs every time they meet with an individual way of experiencing the world. Then the consultant will be open to the perception of any forms of experiences, attitudes, features of the perceptual sphere of the client. The consultant must learn to feel comfortable in a situation of uncertainty, not trying to know exactly what is happening with the client, trusting the natural course of relationships.
Ethical aspects of psychological counseling.
Ethical aspects of psychological counseling. (according to Kociunas)
1. The consultant is responsible in his work:
in front of your client
to members of the client's family;
to the organization in which he works;
to the public (in general);
before your profession.
2. The client must make a conscious decision about his entry into the process of psychological counseling, therefore, before the start of the counseling process, the consultant is obliged during the first meeting to provide the client with maximum information about the counseling process:
about the main objectives of counseling;
about your qualifications;
about the approximate duration of the consultation;
on the appropriateness of counseling in this situation;
about the risk of temporary deterioration of the client's condition in the process of counseling;
about the limits of confidentiality.
Confidentiality:
Client information may only be used for professional purposes, and only for the benefit of the client.
The materials of consultative meetings in a form in which they cannot harm the interests of the client, the consultant can use in his professional research and teaching activities. They are not subject to confidentiality requirements.
Focusing on the right of the client, his good name and secrecy, the consultant in certain cases may not provide information about the client to law enforcement agencies, if this does not violate the rights of third parties.
Confidentiality is limited to the consultant's right to preserve his own dignity and the security of his person.
Confidentiality is limited by the rights of third parties and the public. Circumstances in which confidentiality requirements may be violated:
- criminal acts (violence, corruption, incest, etc.) committed against minors,
- the need for hospitalization of the client,
- participation of the client and other persons in the distribution of drugs and other criminal activities,
- increased risk to the life of the client or other people
Psychological counseling
Introduction. 3
1. The essence of psychological counseling. five
2. Principles of psychological counseling. nine
3. Stages of psychological counseling. 13
Conclusion. 17
List of used literature.. 19
Introduction
The relevance of the chosen topic of work is determined by the fact that psychological counseling, as a professional activity, appeared relatively recently and is still at the stage of development. However, the degree of its influence on people and society is rapidly increasing. The number of people seeking help from a counseling psychologist is increasing. The issues that people deal with are extremely diverse. These are problems of relationships, partnerships. These are difficulties in interaction with the world, people. These are difficulties with oneself. As well as work problems.
Thus, the demand and potential of a consultant today cover all spheres of human life and become almost inexhaustible.
Psychological counseling includes many different areas of work with people in which professional psychologists participate or psychological knowledge is used. Thus, the first component of this type of professional activity is the theory and practice of psychological counseling. The second component includes knowledge of the specifics of professional activity, which has a huge impact on both human psychology and the conditions in which counseling is carried out. Psychological consultants have to work in the mode of individual and mass (collective) counseling of subjects and objects of activity. Each of them requires special knowledge and skills from the psychologist, especially knowledge of the stages and principles of the implementation of psychological counseling.
The purpose of the work is to study the stages and principles of the implementation of psychological counseling.
To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve the following tasks:
1. Consider the concept, goals and objectives of psychological counseling.
2. Describe the principles of psychological counseling.
3. Determine the stages of psychological counseling.
The theoretical basis of the work was textbooks on psychodiagnostics and management psychology.
1. The essence of psychological counseling
Psychological counseling is a type of short-term psychological assistance (from one to ten meetings), focused on resolving a specific problem and restoring emotional balance. The joint work of the psychologist and the client at the level of the subconscious sphere, along with the restoration of the "mental immune system", restores immunity and improves well-being.
In combination with bioenergy therapy, psychological counseling is widely used in the treatment of diseases such as depression, neurosis, chronic fatigue syndrome, as well as psychosomatic diseases.
Consultation with a psychologist can be useful for all adults who feel:
anxiety, str
ahi or impotence;
· irritability;
bad mood, apathy;
insomnia
suicidal thoughts
gaming and other addictions
feeling of dissatisfaction with life, work, marital status, oneself.
Psychological counseling is often necessary for adolescents:
who feel misunderstood in their environment and family;
suffer from a lack of self-confidence;
Have difficulty communicating with peers
Doubt their abilities
fear of the future, worries about their appearance and sexual relations.
experience a lack of love.
suffer from various kinds of fears, study poorly, often get sick.
Psychological counseling can help families and couples:
who experience difficulties and conflicts in relationships with each other, with children, with parents;
as well as those who decided to leave and rebuild their personal lives.
For several meetings with a psychologist, joint efforts, you can more clearly formulate the problem, look at it from different angles and clearly define the boundaries of its influence on life.
Often, after the first psychological consultation, the client understands the reasons for what is happening and clear ways out of crisis situation, a person begins to better navigate what is happening, and in the future, he himself successfully overcomes difficulties.
In our "progressive" age, when, along with technological progress, various addictions, fears, competition flourish, which leads to stress and various psychosomatic diseases, the need for qualified psychological assistance is great. But, despite the fact that in the West a psychologist or psychoanalyst is almost a family doctor, in Russia, psychological counseling is poorly developed.
Firstly, many people think that they can cope with their problems and difficulties on their own, but, having reached the point of a chronic illness or neurosis, they get the result of an untimely visit to a doctor.
Secondly, once faced with the so-called "psychoanalysts", "psychologists" or "healers" they know how difficult it is to find a good specialist. In this area, as in no other, the formal professional regalia of a psychologist are not able to ensure success. Soul healing is not a purely technical problem. Psychological help is a joint mental work that requires time and desire to become healthy and happy.
Thirdly, some people think that counseling is a simple, non-committal and non-leading conversation, like conversations with friends and colleagues. This is a common misconception, as conversation is one of the ways or methods of finding the causes of a disease or problem. Already during the conversation, an experienced psychologist begins treatment, in particular at the level of work with the subconscious sphere.
A real, effectively practicing psychologist always feels a sincere desire to help a patient who very often turns out to be not as sick as he thinks or not sick at all.
A person who turns to a psychologist for psychological help formulates his question, which reflects his main problem and wishes related to what he would like to achieve in the course of work. The form and content of the request are varied.
But the demands addressed to the psychologist, containing wishes to change someone or something in the external situation of the client, or assuming that a specialist will do everything for the client, or that the client will be recommended something very quick and effective, will not justify his hopes. Phrases like: "My husband left me: you can return him!"; "Strange thoughts haunt me: make sure they don't exist"; "Hypnotize me, I want to wake up as a different person" is not the way of a professional psychologist. A client who yearns for an all-powerful healer is likely to be disappointed in a counseling psychologist. Not "at the address" are also requests that imply a purely pharmacological solution: "I have insomnia, please prescribe me medication", as well as requests that, due to their complexity, must be accompanied by a specialized medical care(psychiatric treatment, etc.). The request for virtual contact with a psychologist also looks inadequate: "Do effective work with me via the Internet or by phone"! It's like going to the dentist or gynecologist virtually. Many do not understand that a psychologist is also a doctor who treats, first of all, the human soul, and the body automatically comes into a state of vigor and health if peace of mind and harmony is achieved.
A psychologist cannot be "hired" in the same way as, for example, a tutor or a personal driver is hired, by defining duties for him or setting a "task" and eliminating personal participation. Psychological work is precisely the work where the client and the psychologist jointly seek solutions, this is a common cause that requires cooperation. The presence of the client is necessary, he must be personally involved in the process and ready for the fact that the work associated with research and self-change is not easy. Professionalism will be required from the psychologist, and a certain activity from the client: interested participation in what is happening and readiness to be included in the developing healing process.
The result speaks about the activity of any person! Healthy, happy and smiling faces of people who have achieved results in self-knowledge and self-improvement speak about the activities of a doctor, psychologist and bioenergy therapist.
About "magical" transformations, about healing the soul and body, about changes in personal life and business, about finding your "half" and harmonizing relations with the outside world, about resolving your problems and finding a way out of a crisis situation, you can only talk about when there is a joint activity of an interested client and the professionalism of a counseling psychologist.
2. Principles of psychological counseling
The basic principles of psychological counseling are the conditions without which psychological counseling cannot take place. The three essential components of psychological counseling are the counselor, the person, and the therapeutic relationship between them. Each of these three components is subject to special conditions, without which its participation in the process of psychological counseling will be ineffective.
The first condition for effective counseling is the personality of the consultant. Since the personality of the consultant is his tool of labor, its completeness and integrity become important for the effectiveness of counseling.
The consultant must have the following personality traits: - showing a deep interest in people and patience in dealing with them; - sensitivity to the attitudes and behavior of other people; - emotional stability and objectivity; - the ability to inspire confidence in other people; - respect for the rights of others; - insight; - lack of prejudice; - self-understanding; - consciousness of professional duty.
Summarizing these requirements for the personality of a consultant, it can be argued that an effective consultant is, first of all, a mature person. The more diverse a consultant's style of personal and professional life, the more effective his activity will be. Sometimes in counseling you need to be directive and structured, and sometimes you can afford to get carried away by a conversation without a certain structure. In counseling, as in life, one should be guided not by formulas, but by one's intuition and the needs of the situation. This is one of the most important attitudes of a mature consultant.
The next important quality of a consultant's personality is self-understanding. It is very important for the consultant in the process of psychotherapy to be accountable for their own emotions and experiences. It is very important to be realistic about yourself, to have adequate self-esteem and an adequate attitude towards life in general. Not being able to listen to what is going on within us increases our exposure to stress and limits our effectiveness, and it also increases the likelihood of falling prey to satisfaction in the process of counseling our unconscious needs. The consultant must know who he is, who he can become, what he wants from life, what is essentially important to him. He approaches life with questions, answers the questions life has posed to him, and continually tests his values.
In psychological counseling, there is a special term that denotes an important quality of a good consultant - authenticity (Greek Authentikys - authentic).
Doubts about the sincerity and honesty of a consultant can cause a person to distrust him and feel unreliable. If a consultant does not have an internal readiness to solve a person's problem, it is better for him to reschedule the meeting or refuse to work at all. An authentic consultant allows himself not to know all the answers to life's questions, if he really does not know them. He does not behave like a man in love, if in this moment feels hostility. A person must trust the consultant personally and as a professional.
Empathy is a sine qua non of counseling. The word comes from the Greek "pathos" (strong and deep feeling close to suffering) with the prefix "em" - meaning inward direction. Empathy is a feeling that conveys such a spiritual unity of personalities, when one person is so imbued with the feelings of another that he temporarily identifies himself with the interlocutor, as if dissolving in him. The main feature of empathy is the real emotional presence of the consultant. Moreover, there is a process of fusion in which both the consultant and the person change. Thus, empathy means that the counselor responds sensitively and accurately to the person's experiences as if they were his own. It implies the ability to "get used" to the subjective world of a person and understand the meaning of various events in this world.
Such an "entry" should be non-judgmental, not dividing the content of the other world into right and wrong, good and bad parts. The counselor's nonjudgmental attitude allows people to accept themselves more. When a counselor accurately and diligently identifies a variety of feelings - anger, fear, hostility, anxiety, joy - a person is able to hear and understand himself better. Empathic understanding can be shown to a person by the most different ways- silence, reflection of feelings, successful and timely interpretation, telling a story, etc.
It can be assumed that the next basic principle of psychological counseling is psychological contact. Confidential contact between a consultant and a person, based on unconditional respect, empathy, warmth and sincerity of a consultant in relation to a person, is an integral, and, according to many professionals, an essential component of psychological counseling. There are also the terms "working alliance", "working union", "working relations". A working alliance represents those aspects of the relationship between a consultant and a person that are fixed in a consultative contract: this means an agreement to work in a certain mode in order to rid the person of his psychological problems. A working alliance prevails when the person speaks frankly about his thoughts and feelings and analyzes them together with the therapist. The specifics of a consultative contact varies from one person to another. The nature of the consultative contact depends on the theoretical orientation of the consultant. Despite such a variety of approaches to the essence of consultative contact, most experts are unanimous in their opinion about its importance in the process of counseling.
There are some other important principles of psychological counseling that are relevant to the personality of a person. These are the principles that indicate the limits of the effectiveness of psychotherapy. These conditions relate to the characteristics of a person and his objective ability to accept help from a consultant.
1. The tension caused by the conflict must be more painful for the individual than the stress of trying to resolve this conflict. Most often, people seek advice at critical, turning points in their lives, when the existing adaptation mechanisms do not work, and the established worldview collapses under the blows of fate.
2. The circumstances with which the individual has to face are not so unfavorable and unchanging that he cannot control or change them if he wishes.
3. The individual has the opportunity to express their conflicting emotions during scheduled conversations with the counselor.
4. He is able to express these tensions and conflicts verbally or otherwise. A perceived need for help is preferred, but not necessary.
5. He is sufficiently independent emotionally as well as physically from direct family control.
6. It does not suffer from excessive instability, especially of organic origin.
7. He has enough intelligence - medium or high - to cope with his life situation.
8. Suitable for age - old enough to act independently and young enough to retain some flexibility in adapting.
Thus, the principles of psychological counseling should be considered through a number of conditions for the three components of psychological counseling: a consultant, a person and a consultative contact, the observance of which allows psychological counseling to be carried out as efficiently as possible.
3. Stages of psychological counseling
The whole process of psychological counseling from beginning to end can be represented as a sequence of main stages of counseling, each of which is necessary in its own way during counseling, solves a particular problem and has its own specific features. The word "Stage" denotes a separate moment, a stage in the development of something. In the views of various authors about the stages of psychological counseling, there is much in common, however, there are some differences, mainly related to the detail and consistency, completeness of presentation. It should be noted that in real psychological counseling it is rarely possible to fully and consistently fulfill the requirements of any one model. But it is necessary to focus on some model of the sequence of steps, as this increases the degree of reflexivity of the consultant's attitude to the consultative process.
It is important to note that each stage of psychological counseling is characterized by certain procedures of psychological counseling. Under the procedures of psychological counseling are understood groups of methods of conducting psychological counseling, combined for their intended purpose, with the help of which one of the particular tasks of psychological counseling is solved. The effectiveness of psychological counseling directly depends on the thoughtfulness of the procedures of psychological counseling.
The main stages of psychological counseling are as follows:
1. Preparatory stage. At this stage, the psychologist-consultant gets to know the person according to the preliminary record available about him in the registration log, as well as according to the information about the person that can be obtained from third parties, for example, from the person of enterprises, the head of the organization, work colleagues. At this stage of work, the psychologist-consultant, in addition, prepares himself for the consultation. At the first stage of psychological counseling, as a rule, no special procedures are distinguished and applied.
2. Adjustment stage. At this stage, the psychologist-consultant personally meets the person, gets to know him and tunes in to work with the person. The man does the same for his part. A person must make a decision about his entry into the counseling process quite consciously, therefore, before the start of the counseling process, the counseling psychologist is obliged to provide the person with maximum information about the counseling process, namely: about the main goals of counseling, about his qualifications, about the approximate duration of counseling, about the advisability of counseling in this situation, about the boundaries of confidentiality. You should not instill in a person hope for help that a psychologist is unable to provide. The result of this part of the conversation should be a conscious decision of the person to enter the counseling process. This is usually clearly visible both on the verbal and non-verbal levels. At the second stage, procedures for meeting with a person, a general, emotionally positive attitude of a person for a consultation, and removing psychological barriers to communication between a psychologist-consultant and a person are applied. This procedure includes other specific techniques and actions, with the help of which the psychologist-consultant from the very beginning of the consultation tries to make the most favorable impression on the person and create in him the mood that ensures the success of the consultation.
3. Diagnostic stage. At this stage, the counseling psychologist listens to the person's confession and, on the basis of its analysis, clarifies and clarifies the person's problem. The main content of this stage is a person’s story about himself and his problem (confession), as well as a person’s psychodiagnostics, if it becomes necessary to clarify the person’s problem and find its optimal solution. It is not possible to accurately determine the time required for this stage of psychological counseling, since much of its definition depends on the specifics of a person’s problem and his individual characteristics. In practice, this time is at least one hour, excluding the time required for psychological testing. Sometimes this stage of psychological counseling can take from 4 to 6-8 hours. At the third stage of psychological counseling, the so-called empathic listening procedure is actively working, as well as procedures for activating a person’s thinking and memory, reinforcement procedures, clarifying a person’s thoughts and psychodiagnostic procedures.
4. Recommendation stage. Psychologist-consultant, having collected at the previous stages necessary information about a person and his problem, at this stage, together with a person, he develops practical recommendations for solving his problem. Here, these recommendations are refined, clarified, concretized in all essential details. At this stage, a counseling psychologist should help a person formulate possible alternatives to habitual behavior, and then, carefully analyzing and critically evaluating them, choose the option that is most suitable for a person. At the fourth stage of psychological counseling, the following procedures can be used: persuasion, clarification, search for a mutually acceptable solution, clarification of details, concretization. All these procedures are connected with bringing to the consciousness of a person those tips and practical recommendations that a psychologist-consultant develops together with him. The purpose of the relevant procedures is to achieve the most complete and deep understanding by the person of the conclusions and decisions that the counseling psychologist comes to, as well as to motivate the person to implement these decisions.
5. Control stage. At this stage, the counseling psychologist and the person agree with each other on how the practical implementation of the results obtained by the person will be monitored and evaluated. practical advice and recommendations. The final stage of psychological counseling includes the following points: summing up the results of the consultation and parting with the person. Summing up, in turn, contains a brief repetition of the results of the consultation, the essence of the problem, its interpretation and recommendations for solving the problem. At the request of a person, these recommendations can be offered to him not only orally, but also in writing. It is also important, summing up the results of the psychological consultation, together with the person, to outline a well-thought-out program for the implementation of the developed recommendations, noting the following in it: what, how, by what specific date, and in what form should be done by the person. It is desirable that from time to time a person informs a counseling psychologist about how things are going and how his problem is being solved. Here the question of how, where and when the psychologist-consultant and the person will be able to discuss additional issues that may arise in the process of implementing the recommendations developed is also resolved. At the end of this stage, if the need arises, the counseling psychologist and the person can agree with each other on where and when they will meet next.
At the fifth and final stage of psychological counseling, the same procedures are applied that were used at the fourth stage. However, this time they mainly concern estimates of the expected effectiveness of a person's practical implementation of the advice that he received from a consultant. Here, a special procedure is to strengthen the person's confidence that his problem will definitely be solved, as well as the readiness immediately after the completion of the consultation to begin a practical solution to his problem. At this stage, methods of persuasion, suggestion, emotionally positive stimulation, and a number of others can also be used.
Thus, the stages and the procedures accompanying them are aimed at achieving the goals that confront psychological counseling.
Conclusion
At the end of the work, we will summarize.
Psychological counseling is the practical provision of effective psychological assistance with advice and recommendations to people in need of this assistance, from professionally trained specialists, psychologists-consultants.
Psychological counseling is a process of professional interaction between a psychologist-consultant and a person - a working person (leader, team member, team) in order to effectively carry out adequate and efficient work.
The purpose of psychological counseling is to help people understand and clarify their own views of their living space and teach them to achieve their own, self-determined goals through making conscious choices and solving problems of an emotional and interpersonal nature. The goals of psychological counseling are: - facilitating behavior change; - improving a person's ability to establish and maintain relationships; - increasing the productivity of a person and his ability to overcome difficulties; - assistance in the decision-making process; - contributing to the disclosure and development of human potential
Psychological counseling in the process of its development goes through a number of successive stages, which are characterized by their tasks, goals and procedures of psychological counseling.
Stages of psychological counseling - successive steps in the conduct of psychological counseling, designed to achieve the private goals of counseling, which are pursued in its process. The stages of psychological counseling include, in particular, setting a person for confession, listening to a person's confession by a counseling psychologist, clarifying the essence of a person's problem, searching for and formulating recommendations for its practical solution.
Psychological counseling helps a person to choose and act at his own discretion, to learn new behavior. contributes to the development of personality. In counseling, the responsibility of a person is emphasized, i.e. it is recognized that an independent, responsible individual is capable, in appropriate circumstances, of taking independent solutions, and the consultant creates conditions that encourage volitional behavior of a person. The core of the psychological is the "consultative interaction" between the person and the consultant, based on the principles of humanistic philosophy.
List of used literature
1. Aleshina Yu.E. Specifics of psychological counseling//Bulletin of psychosocial and correctional and rehabilitation work. 1994. - No. 1.2. Veresov N.N. Psychology of management, textbook. - M., 2001.3. Elizarov A.N. Introduction to psychological counseling. - M., 2001.4. Kociunas R. Fundamentals of psychological counseling. - M., 1999.5. Kubra M. Management consulting. - M., 1992.6. Nemov R.S. Fundamentals of psychological counseling. - M., 1999.7. Revenko N.V. Psychology of management. - St. Petersburg, 2001.8. Cherednichenko IP, Telnykh NV Psychology of management. - Rostov-on-Don: Phoenix, 2004.Kociunas R. Fundamentals of psychological counseling. - M., 1999. - S. 37.
Cherednichenko IP, Telnykh NV Psychology of management. - Rostov-on-Don: Phoenix, 2004. - S. 126.
May R. The Art of Psychological Counseling. M., 1994. - S. 58.
May R. Decree. op. S. 61.
Aleshina Yu. E. Specifics of psychological counseling // Bulletin of psychosocial and correctional and rehabilitation work. 1994. - No. 1. - S.22-33.
1. The obligation to maintain confidentiality is not absolute, but relative, since there are certain conditions that can change such an obligation.
2. Confidentiality depends on the nature of the information provided by the client, however, the confidentiality of the client binds the consultant incomparably more strictly than the "secrecy" of the events reported by the client.
3 Materials of consultation meetings that cannot harm the interests of the client are not subject to confidentiality rules
4 Materials of consultation meetings necessary for the effective work of the consultant are also not subject to confidentiality rules (for example, it is possible to provide an expert with consultation materials by agreement with the client)
5. Confidentiality is always based on the client's right to good name and secrecy. The consultant is obliged to respect the rights of clients and, in certain cases, even to act illegally (for example, not to provide information about the client to law enforcement agencies, if this does not violate the rights of third parties).
6. Confidentiality is limited to the consultant's right to preserve his own dignity and the safety of his person.
7. Confidentiality is limited by the rights of third parties and the public.
Source: R. Kociunas. Fundamentals of psychological counseling
Other related news:
Many professions have their own principles and requirements, the implementation of which is mandatory for specialists. Non-compliance with professional principles and requirements in some countries (for example, in the USA) can lead to the fact that a specialist loses his diploma, the right to practice and offer his professional services, etc.
It should be remembered that there are certain principles of behavior of a consultant and that following them not only ensures the ethics of professional activity, but is also the key to the success of psychological influence. However, there are not always unambiguous and simple answers to the ethical and moral problems that arise in the practice of psychological counseling.
The following principles of psychological counseling can be distinguished:
1. Friendly and non-judgmental attitude towards the client.
Behind this wording lies a whole range of professional behavior aimed at making the client feel calm and comfortable during the appointment. A benevolent attitude implies not only following the generally accepted norms of behavior, but also the ability to listen carefully, provide the necessary psychological support, not condemn, but try to understand and help everyone who seeks help.
2. Orientation to the norms and values of the client.
This principle implies that the consultant during his work should be guided not by socially accepted norms and rules, but by those life principles and ideals that the client is the bearer of. Effective influence is possible only when relying on the value system of the client himself, while the critical attitude of the consultant can lead to the fact that the person who comes to the appointment closes up, cannot be sincere and open, and, consequently, the possibilities of consultative influence will turn out to be practically unrealizable. By accepting the client's values, respecting them and giving them their due, the consultant will be able to influence them if they are an obstacle to the normal functioning of a person.
Clients are not allowed to give advice. The reasons for this are quite broad and varied. First of all, whatever the life and professional experience of a consultant, it is impossible to give guaranteed advice to another: everyone's life is unique and unpredictable. In addition, when advising, the consultant takes full responsibility for what is happening, which does not contribute to the development of the personality of the person being consulted and his adequate attitude to reality. In such a situation, the consultant puts himself in the position of a “guru”, which really harms counseling, leads to the fact that the client, instead of actively striving to understand his life and change it, develops a passive and superficial attitude to what is happening. At the same time, any failures in the implementation of the advice are usually attributed to the consultant as the authority that gave the advice, which, naturally, prevents the client from understanding his role in the events taking place with him.
4. Anonymity.
The most important condition for psychological counseling is its anonymity. This means that any information communicated by the client to the consultant cannot be transferred without his consent to any public or government organizations, private individuals, including relatives or friends. There are exceptions to this rule (of which the client is always warned in advance), specially stipulated by law. Such an exception would be a situation where the consultant finds out during the appointment about something that is a serious threat to someone's life.
5. Separation of personal and professional relationships.
There are many very experienced and professional consultants who have fallen into the trap of becoming friends with clients or trying to provide professional help to their friends and immediate family. This path is fraught with many dangers, and not only because, as you know, there is no prophet in your own country and any recommendations and revelations with loved ones are easily depreciated, but also for many other reasons; some of them will be discussed below.
In psychotherapy, there are two most important concepts that are of great importance for working with patients: a) “transference”, that is, the client’s tendency to transfer and project onto the psychotherapist and his relationship with him his relationship with important people, major problems and conflicts; b) "countertransference", that is, the therapist's tendency to project his relationships with significant people and major internal problems and conflicts onto the relationship with the patient. These concepts, introduced into psychoanalysis by Z. Freud, are widely used today in various areas of psychotherapy (Freud 3., 1989). They mean that any human relationship and even such “special” relationships that develop within the framework of psychotherapy are influenced by the inner personal needs and desires of a person, which he most often does not realize. Moreover, even professional psychotherapists are often "disarmed" by countertransference. It is precisely in order to understand, manage and be able to use one’s countertransference for the purposes of analysis, as well as a number of other personal and interpersonal phenomena, for a novice psychotherapist, there is an obligatory requirement to undergo his own analysis and work with a supervisor for a long time.
To one degree or another, these phenomena operate in the process of counseling. In many respects, the preservation of the consultant's authority for the client is due to the fact that the latter knows little about him as a person, he has no reason to both admire the consultant and condemn him as a person. The establishment of a close personal relationship between the consultant and the client leads to the fact that they, like close people, begin to satisfy certain needs and desires of each other, and the consultant can no longer maintain an objective and detached position, necessary for the effective resolution of the client's problems.
6. Involvement of the client in the counseling process
In order for the counseling process to be effective, the client during the appointment should feel as much as possible included in the conversation, vividly and emotionally experience everything that is discussed with the consultant. In order to ensure such inclusion, the consultant must ensure that the development of the conversation looks logical and understandable to the client, and also that the person not only “listens” to the specialist, but is really interested in him. After all, only if everything that is being discussed is clear and interesting, you can actively look for ways to resolve your situation, experience and analyze it.
It happens that during the reception the client suddenly loses interest in the topic under discussion, gets tired, internally disagrees, but does not want to talk about it. In this situation, you should not “force the atmosphere”, insist, try to find out everything “to the end”. It is better if the psychologist changes the subject, jokes and thus defuses the situation, thereby maintaining the client's involvement and interest in the counseling process and ensuring the productivity of the psychological impact.
Ethical aspects of psychological counseling.
The consultant, like other professionals, has ethical responsibilities and obligations. First of all, he is responsible to the client. However, the client and the consultant are not in a vacuum, but in a system of various relationships, so the consultant is responsible to the client's family members, to the organization in which he works, to the public in general, and, finally, to his profession. This responsibility determines the special importance of ethical principles in psychological counseling and psychotherapy. That is why in all countries codes of professional ethics are being created that regulate the professional activities of a psychotherapist and a consultant - a psychologist.
However, in working with, for example, clients who have suicidal intentions, it is difficult to fully adhere to these principles. If you try to ensure the safety of the client, it is difficult not to violate his autonomy, the right to free self-determination, and therefore not encroach on his personal dignity and values. On the other hand, if nothing is done and the autonomy of the client is protected, there will be a threat to his well-being and even life.
The first requirement for a consultant is made already at the beginning of the consultation process. The client's decision to enter into a "consulting contract" should be quite conscious, therefore the consultant is obliged during the first meeting to provide the client with as much information as possible about the consultation process:
About the main goals of counseling;
About your qualifications;
About payment for consultation;
About the approximate duration of the consultation;
About the advisability of counseling;
About the risk of temporary deterioration of the condition in the process of counseling;
On the boundaries of confidentiality.
The consultant is obliged to correctly assess the level and limits of his professional competence. He should not instill in the client hope for help that he is unable to provide. In counseling, the use of insufficiently mastered diagnostic and therapeutic procedures is unacceptable. Consultative meetings with clients should never be used to test any counseling methods or techniques. If the consultant feels in some cases that he is not competent enough, he is obliged to consult with more experienced colleagues and improve under their guidance.
The consultant is obliged to provide, as already mentioned, comprehensive information about the conditions of consultation. It is very important to coordinate with the client in advance the possibility of audio and video recording of consultative conversations and observation by a third party through a one-way vision mirror. It is unacceptable to use such procedures without the consent of the client. These procedures can be important to the counselor for pedagogical and research purposes, and also useful to the client in assessing the dynamics of his problems and the effectiveness of counseling.
A major source of ethical dilemmas in counseling is the issue of confidentiality. It is a litmus test of the consultant's responsibility to the client. Counseling is not possible if the client does not trust the consultant. The issue of confidentiality should be discussed during the first meeting with the client. There are two levels of privacy.
The first level refers to the limit of professional use of customer information. It is the responsibility of each consultant to use client information for professional purposes only. The consultant is not entitled to disseminate information about the client with other intentions. This also applies to the fact that someone is undergoing a course of psycho-correction. Information about clients (consultant's records, individual client cards) should be stored in places inaccessible to outsiders.
The consultant, while ensuring secrecy, must acquaint the client with the circumstances in which professional secrecy is not respected. Among the most frequently cited circumstances under which the confidentiality rules in counseling may be limited, the following deserve mention:
1. Increased risk to the life of the client or other people.
2. Criminal acts (violence, corruption, incest, etc.) committed against minors.
3. The need for hospitalization of the client.
4. Participation of the client and other persons in the distribution of drugs and other criminal activities.
Having found out during counseling that the client poses a serious threat to someone, the counselor is obliged to take measures to protect the potential victim.
Another important ethical principle is the prohibition against double relationships. It is inappropriate to consult relatives, friends, employees studying with a student consultant, sexual contacts with clients are unacceptable. Such a prohibition is quite understandable, since counseling gives the specialist an advantageous position and there is a danger that in personal relationships this advantage can be used for the purpose of exploitation.
The problem of sexual relations of consultants and psychotherapists with clients is very important. Sexual relationships between counselors and clients are neither ethically nor professionally acceptable because they represent a direct abuse of the counselor's role. The client is much more vulnerable than the consultant, because in the specific atmosphere of counseling he "uncovers" himself - reveals his feelings, fantasies, secrets, desires, including those of a sexual nature. Sometimes the client strongly idealizes the consultant, he wants a close relationship with such an ideal person who deeply understands him. However, when the counseling contact turns into a sexual relationship, clients develop extreme addiction and the counselor loses objectivity. This is where any professional counseling and psychotherapy ends.
