Relationship Building in Counseling Process
RELATIONSHIP BUILDING IN COUNSELING PROCESS
“Relationship” is a term that has been used in many different situations. It could imply the ties between two people in love, the bond between family members or close friends or colleagues or even the bond between a person and his or her pet. In conselling, relationship takes on a more specific meaning. The counsellor establishes rapport with the client based on trust, respect and mutual prupose. When there is good rapport, a positive psychological climate is created and vice-versa. The likelihood of desirable outcomes is greater when the psychological climate is positive. Mutual purpose means both the counsellor and client have common goals leading to what has been described as a theurapetic alliance. Carl Rogers (1957) was among the earliest to emphasise the importance of building a relationship between the counsellor and the client. He identified three important conditions for the establishment of an effective counselor-client relationship: Empathy, Genuineness and Unconditional Caring.
a) EMPATHY
According to Rogers (1989), empathy “means that the therapist senses accurately the feelings and personal meanings that the client is experiencing and communicates this acceptant understanding to the client” (p. 136). Counsellors help clients make and implement important decisions in life. Most decision making involves an emotional dimension. The person who understands his or her inner realm consisting of memories, hopes, fears and dreams, will have a better insight of who he or she is which hopefully will lead to better decisions. This inner realm is often called the person's "inscape". Empathy is intimate participation in the inscape of another.
Some Skills for Relationship
Building for the Counsellor * Introduce yourself * Invite client to sit down * Ensure client is comfortable * Address the client by name * Invite social conversation to reduce anxiety * Watch for nonverbal behaviour
“Relationship” is a term that has been used in many different situations. It could imply the ties between two people in love, the bond between family members or close friends or colleagues or even the bond between a person and his or her pet. In conselling, relationship takes on a more specific meaning. The counsellor establishes rapport with the client based on trust, respect and mutual prupose. When there is good rapport, a positive psychological climate is created and vice-versa. The likelihood of desirable outcomes is greater when the psychological climate is positive. Mutual purpose means both the counsellor and client have common goals leading to what has been described as a theurapetic alliance. Carl Rogers (1957) was among the earliest to emphasise the importance of building a relationship between the counsellor and the client. He identified three important conditions for the establishment of an effective counselor-client relationship: Empathy, Genuineness and Unconditional Caring.
a) EMPATHY
According to Rogers (1989), empathy “means that the therapist senses accurately the feelings and personal meanings that the client is experiencing and communicates this acceptant understanding to the client” (p. 136). Counsellors help clients make and implement important decisions in life. Most decision making involves an emotional dimension. The person who understands his or her inner realm consisting of memories, hopes, fears and dreams, will have a better insight of who he or she is which hopefully will lead to better decisions. This inner realm is often called the person's "inscape". Empathy is intimate participation in the inscape of another.
Some Skills for Relationship
Building for the Counsellor * Introduce yourself * Invite client to sit down * Ensure client is comfortable * Address the client by name * Invite social conversation to reduce anxiety * Watch for nonverbal behaviour