Month: July 2021

Counselling professional assistance in coping with personal problems, including emotional, behavioural, vocational, marital, educational, rehabilitation, and life-stage (e.g., retirement) problems. The counsellor makes use of techniques of active listening, guidance, advice, discussion, clarification, and the administration of tests. During the counselling process, the counsellor and client engage in an interpersonal process as they attempt to define, address, and resolve specific problems of the client on a one-to-one basis. Counselling is a form of confidential helping which seeks to elicit each client’s innate internal resources, coping abilities and strengths. Counsellors may help clients with specific problems in the present, but they may also support clients with long-term problems stemming from the past too. Counselling takes place both in individual and group settings, One of the factors that make it special is the quality of helper listening, which involves attending to what the client means to say, as well as what he or she is actually saying.  Confidentiality is another important component of the counsellor– client relationship that sets it apart from several other helping activities. Another important aspect of counselling is the concept of client empowerment. In simple terms, this indicates a confidence in the innate potential for self-determination which clients are believed to have. This capacity for self-determination may not always be apparent to the client, and certainly in times of stress or emotional upheaval it may become blocked or temporarily obscured. Counselling can help by enabling clients to look more closely at their experiences and to clarify them. When this is achieved, ways of addressing difficulties can be devised by clients themselves, and strategies for change can be implemented. The non-judgmental and empathic presence of a trained helper facilitates the processes just described, and the fact that counsellors do not expect any reciprocal help from clients (the kind of help friends might expect from each other, for example) means that clients feel valued and respected in a way they may not have experienced before. Nor do counsellors impose conditions or expectations on the clients they help, and even when goals and objectives are an integral part of the counselling contract, these are freely negotiated between client and counsellor.

As they grow and develop, all children encounter situations where they feel worried, nervous and sometimes even scared. Some behaviours are not helpful to humans such as aggression and impulsive behaviours. However aggressive and impulsive behaviour are often used by children in response to stress.

Coping skills are what we think and what we do to help us get through difficult situations. A child begins to learn and use different coping skills from the time they are born. Through Coping skills training, one can build on the skills they are already using, as well as assist them to learn new ones.

It includes interventions aimed at increasing an individual’s ability to manage a variety of often uncomfortable or anxiety-provoking situations, ranging from relatively normal or situational problems (e.g., test taking, divorce) to diagnosed disorders (e.g., phobias). It also explores on how to help the child manage strong emotions, promote helpful thinking and assist them to break down tasks into smaller, manageable chunks.

The types of skills taught are tailored to the individuals as well as the situation and can involve increasing cognitive, behavioural, and affective proficiencies.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a form of psychotherapy that focuses on promoting psychological flexibility and helping individuals live meaningful lives. ACT is based on the premise that psychological suffering arises from the struggle to control or avoid unpleasant thoughts, emotions, and experiences. Instead of attempting to eliminate or suppress these negative experiences, ACT encourages individuals to accept them as normal and inevitable parts of human existence.

The primary goal is to develop psychological flexibility, which involves being fully present in the present moment, open to experiences, and committed to taking action in alignment with personal values. ACT aims to enhance individuals’ psychological well-being by fostering acceptance, mindfulness, and values-driven action. It has been successfully applied to various mental health conditions, including anxiety disorders, depression, substance abuse, chronic pain, and interpersonal difficulties.

ACT employs various therapeutic techniques and exercises to help individuals develop psychological flexibility and apply these principles in their daily lives. These techniques may include mindfulness meditation, experiential exercises, metaphors, values-based goal setting, and behaviour change strategies.

Objectives:

Acceptance
Cognitive Defusion
Being Present
Self-as-Context
Values Clarification
Committed Action

Social skills represent a set of competencies that

(1) facilitate initiating and maintaining positive social relationships,

(2) contribute to peer acceptance and friendship development,

(3) result in satisfactory school adjustment, and

(4) allow individuals to cope with and adapt to the demands of the

social environment. Deficits in social skills play a significant role in the development and maintenance of many emotional and behavioural disorders of childhood and adolescence. Social skills training is a form of behaviour therapy used by therapists to help persons who have difficulties relating to other people. The major goal of social skills training is teaching children and young adults about the verbal as well as nonverbal behaviours involved in social interactions to improve the person’s ability to perceive and act on social cues.  Therapists begin by breaking down complex social behaviours into smaller portions.  A common focus is the improvement of communication skills. The skills might be divided further into such subjects as beginning, holding, and ending conversations, or expressing feelings in appropriate ways. Social skills training is considered a widely accepted component of multi-method approaches to the treatment of many emotional, behavioural and developmental disorders.