Developing a Therapeutic Counseling Relationship Essay -- Counseling

Introduction Understanding the counseling session from the client’s perspective is a very important aspect in the development of a therapeutic relationship. A clinician must be an excellent listener, while being to pay attention to the client’s body language, affect and tone. The dynamics in the counseling session that is beneficial to the client include the recognition of the pain that the client is feeling. The detrimental part of this includes a misunderstanding of the real issues, a lack of consideration of the cultural aspects of the client, and a lack of clinical experience or listening skills. In this presentation, we will discuss the positive and negative aspects of the counseling session from the client’s perspective which includes the client’s attitudes, feelings, and emotions of the counseling session. We will next examine the propensity of the client to reveal or not reveal information to the counselor, and how transference, and counter-transference can h ave an effect on the counselor-client relationship. Positive Aspects For clients who express their experiences for the first time in counseling, it can be a powerful force to help them heal. It is important for the counselor to pay close attention to the person’s body language, affect and tone. The counselor must consider the possible scenarios that may occur in the first session. Cultural aspects of the client must be considered. From the client’s perspective, the first session is an important session, even if the first session is mostly an information gathering session. The client may have experiences much trauma in their life, never being able to trust a person with their closest feelings. This is why it is very important to establish rapport and trust in... ...confidential information is shared without their permission, this situation can be detrimental to the client. The client may stop treatment or be passive-aggressive towards the therapist by being late of cancelling appointments with the clinician. References State University (2011). Retrieved from Lecture Notes Online Web site: http://angel04.gcu.edu/section/default.asp?id=551591 Sherwood, T. (2001, September). Client experience in psychotherapy: What heals and what harms? Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology, 1(2), 1-16. Retrieved August 27, 2009, from http://www.ipjp.org/index.php?option=com_jdownloads&Itemid=25&task=view. download&cid=111 Transference and Countertransference, (2011). Kathi’s Mental Health Review. Retrieved May 7, 2011 from http://www.toddlertime.com/mh/terms/countertransference-transference-3.htm#Countertransference