Psychology: The Importance Of Empathic Listening

Even the name of this approach creates a difference between approaches of the past; in the past the people who came to therapy were called patients, but in this approach they are known as clients. This idea created an idea of equal partnership within the therapeutic relationship, rather than an expert treating a patient. Within this approach, it is the job of the client to improve his or her own life, not the job of the therapist. The therapist is there more as a guide to finding one’s true self, rather than the person in the session who is to give all of the answers away. Because of this unique relationship in each situation, there is a lack of techniques to use within the therapeutic session. The relationship itself is the variable in the process, not what the therapist says or

Person centred counselling According to McLeod (2003) states that “the emphasis is on the client as an expert and the counsellor as a source of reflection and encouragement and this is captured in the designation of the approach as a ‘non-directive’ form of counselling.” Empathy, congruence (genuineness) and acceptance (unconditional positive regard) are known as the three ‘core conditions’. These core conditions are essential for effective counselling. According to Gillon (2007) “from a therapists’ point of view, an empathic attitude is a desire to understand a client’s perceptual world as if it was his or her own”. Meaning that the Therapist must listen and follow what the client is trying to communicate to them and that the therapist tries

Therapists must access their own internal process such as their feelings, attitudes and moods. Therapists’, who are not receptive to the awareness of their flow of thoughts and feelings, will not be able to help clients be aware of theirs (Kahn, 1997, p. 40). Though congruence does not mean that therapists have to share personal issues with clients, a therapist must not conceal their inner process from the client, and not be defensive but transparent (Kahn, 1997, p. 41). By being open sometimes a therapist learns more not only about their client but about themselves

Listening is an active process which involves being both physically and psychologically present (McLeod, 2007), as with Egan (2010) who directs a counsellor to listen not just to verbal experiences and words but to their feelings and non-verbal messages. An example I used with listening to non-verbal messages was when client laughed a few times when talking about his working condition which was a tense laugh and clearly not funny. I shared my observation with client effectively with this behaviour and helped client explore why such as describe what I observed

Within this paper I am going to explore and discuss what a worldview is and the dissimilar purposes it roles in counselling. Then I will explore how my worldview interacts with the solution focused therapy (SFT) approach, and in additional I will also look into the historical development of solution focused therapy and the possible place it have in my worldview today

Underlying assumptions: empathy is a powerful tool that humans have and can be effective in client progress

Karl Menninger a Psychiatrist once wrote that listening may be more important than talking (Bethel, 2012). Listening has been deemed important in all kinds of relationships from preserving the dignity of the elderly to the satisfaction in couples and marriages (Bethel, 2012). Good listening skills benefit communication. Whereas, poor listening skills impede communication. The textbook discusses several types of listeners. The first is the faker, the faker only pretends to be listening. The best way to discover if you are dealing with one of these types is to randomly quiz them on the things that you have communicated to them. Next, is the dependent listener, this type of listener only listens to please the speaker. The textbook states that they are so worried about what the speaker thinks about them that they are unable to listen with understanding (Bethel, 2012). The learner has a major problem with the next type, the interrupter. The interrupter never lets the other person in the conversation finish what they are trying to say. They always interrupt with either their opinion on the matter or they make the conversation relate to their feelings (Bethel, 2012). Some things to remember when practicing good listening skills, are no one can listen when two people are talking, and a good listener listens to understand and not to respond. Working on communication skills can help form effective

Whether or not one could truly understand the inner world of another has been discussed for centuries and was spoken of by such philosophers as Plato and Aristotle (Gompertz, 1960). However, Carl Rogers (1957) is given credit for bringing this concept to life in the twentieth century. With respect to the counseling relationship, understanding through empathy is seen as a skill that can build rapport, elicit information, and help the client feel accepted (Egan, 2010; Neukrug&Schwitzer, 2006). Because empathy is seen as an important personal attribute as well as a critical skill to

Additionally, as a counselor, it is important to be genuine with whatever feedbacks one presents to the patient and what one believes regarding the situation of the client. Mrs. Perez believes the more authentic and genuine he is with her patients, the more help he will be able to offer the clients. As a counselor, it is important to have a fine and professional interaction with one 's client but boundaries must be maintained. Through this, a counselor is able to demonstrate their focus on helping the patients by showing the client that they understand their problems. It also through such engagements that counselor is able to use the non-judgmental attention that does not require words for illustration in helping the patient. Lastly, being a

The key to establishing a trusting relationship is the integration, usage, and mastery of therapeutic communication skills (Belcher & Jones, 2009).Due to the high importance of effective communication in mental health nursing, it is essential in therapeutic interventions. (Peplau, 1952) states that effective interpersonal skills are central to a mental health nurse’s ability to form a sound therapeutic alliance and to the role of mental health nurses. Excellent interpersonal aptitudes are what every mental health nurse needs to communicate effectively with clients. Active listening is more than just hearing what the client has to say, nurse must be actively engaging with the client, physically, emotionally and mentally. Effective listening is therefore a cognitive, behavioural and an affective process (Arnold and Underman Boggs,

Human beings are unique. Therefore, client-counsellor relationship is unique for each person. To ensure effectiveness of counselling,

The counselling process for the Xtina approach uses the Carkhuff’s model of counselling which was presented by Fuster (2005).

Over the past one and half month, the class of PDE 502 (Counselling and Career Education) has taught me some major lessons for life in dealing with the clients in response to their emotional needs. The role of a counsellor is not unlike that of a friend where by it is nurtured by being in each other’s company, talking over everyday issues and sharing feelings. However, what sets a counsellor apart is their experience and the ability to apply counselling theories and techniques to assist people in gaining awareness, insight and explore ways of solving their own issues.

In counselling, the client and the counsellor both work together in order to help the client. When entering into a counselling relationship, it is vital that the counsellor opens him or herself into an empathic experience, of the hopes, fears and doubts of the client. The counsellor also brings to the service, an empathic, non judgemental understanding and a professional approach to the service. The counselor has an ethical responsibility to strive to reduce any harm caused to a client through a empathic