Counselling Psychology Flashcards
What are they requirements for counselling psychology?
-Developed from the British Psychology Society (BPS)
-Postgraduate with Graduate Basis for Chartered Membership (GBC)
-Register for chartership
-Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) Registered curses in the UK
-Qualification in Counselling Psychology; Doctoral Degree
-Supervision is a mandatory requirement for all Counselling Psychologists at all stages of their careers
-Counselling psychologists need to undertake their own personal therapy with a practicing counselling psychologists for a minimum of 40 hours during their training (this has cost implications)
-They will also need to see clients professionally (under supervision) for 450 clinical hours during training in order to qualify
-They place a strong emphasis on empirical research and evaluation
What is the independent route for a qualification in counselling psychology?
Duration
-3 years minimum (or part-time equivalent)
Enrolment (entry) requirements
-Graduate Membership of the society with the Graduate Basis for Chartered membership
-An approved coordinating supervisor
-Access to a suitable placement (paid or voluntary)
-Consideration of your core and secondary model training (if not previously completed and approved of in an
application for AEC)
Start date
-Flexible: you can enrol throughout the year.
What is Counselling Psychology?
a field that aims to help individuals, at any stage in life, overcome mental health challenges in order to improve the quality of living
What is counselling?
a type of therapy that involves talking with a trained professional about your concerns and issues
What do counselling psychologists do?
-Counselling psychologists deal with a wide range of mental health problems: bereavement, domestic violence, sexual abuse, traumas and relationship issues.
-Counselling psychologists are a relatively new breed of professional applied psychologists.
-Counselling Psychologists would require extra education to write prescriptions or perform any medical procedure.
What are their responsibilities?
-Assessments
-Case information
-Treatment plans
-Empowerment of clients
-Evaluations of the outcome
-Advise within multidisciplinary team
-Contribution to research
Where do counselling psychologists work?
-Counselling psychologists work in hospitals:
-Acute admissions, psychiatric intensive care
-Rehabilitation health centres
-Improving Access to Psychological Therapy Services
-Community Mental Health Teams
-Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services
-Private hospitals
-Private practice
-And many others…..
How did counselling psychology develop?
-Counselling psychology’s beginnings can be traced back to the 1970s
-However, the Professional Affairs Board of the BPS did not begin to consider the relationship between psychology and counselling until 1980
What is the formation of the section of the BPS known as counselling psychology?
-The year when the Counselling Psychology Section of the BPS was formally established was 1982. (This section is now a division reflecting its enhanced stats over the years)
-The first qualification in counselling psychology was a diploma in counselling psychology
What is regulation of counselling psychology?
-In order to maintain professional standards and to keep the public safe the professional routes of psychology are managed and regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
-In 2009 the HCPC took over the regulation of counselling psychology
-A counsellor will not give you their opinions or advice or prescribe medication. They will help you find your own solutions - whether that’s making effective changes in your life or finding ways of coping with your problems (BACP, 2022)
What are the skills counselling psychologists have?
-Skills in the use of complex methods of psychological assessment, intervention and management, including the us of theoretical models to analyse information and develop formulations upon which to base choice of treatment
-Skills in delivering psychological interventions in individual and/or group formats
-Skills in effective oral and written communication of complex and/or clinically sensitive information to a wide range of recipients, including the ability to produce letters, reports, and associated documentation appropriate to its readership, and to overcome barriers to understanding and acceptance
-Skills in providing advice and consultations to other professionals and carers
-Postgraduate level knowledge of research methodology, including research design, and complex statistical analysis: audit skills (NHS, 2022)
-Monitor limits to confidentiality in certain circumstances
How counselling psychologists regard their work?
Counselling psychologists work in a relational way. This means a two way communication process between the therapist and the client
How do they add their knowledge of new and emerging subjects?
-Counselling psychologists regard themselves as scientist-practitioners
-This means they engage in research as well as working in practise. This allows the to keep on top of current developments in research which impacts upon their practical work
Why is supervision important?
-Assuring quality standard of service
-Wellbeing and professional development
-Chartered practitioners
-1.5 hours per month
-The supervisor must ensure he or she is sufficiently experienced, competent and appropriately trained to provide supervision
What is formulation?
-A clinical formulation is the application of theory to individual circumstances to support the development of therapeutic intervention’
-‘A formulation is a mini-theory. [It] is the map that provides guidance on what direction to take’ (Carr, 1999).
-‘A framework for describing a problem, how it developed and is being maintained’ (Division of Clinical Psychology 2001: 13).
-‘Populating a theoretical model with the specific circumstances of an individual in order to understand the nature, origin and factors of their psychological difficulty and find the best ways forward in therapy’ (Dr Nicholas Sarantakis)
What do all formulations have?
-Summarise the client’s core problems and present a ‘working hypotheses about their difficulties
-Explain, based on psychological theory, why the client has developed these difficulties, at this time and in these situations
-Give rise to a plan of intervention which is based on the psychological processes and principles already identified
-Are unique, developed collaboratively with the client, and subject to revision over time
What do formulations consist of?
-Clarify hypotheses and questions
-Gain understanding and try to explain the person’s problems
-Prioritise issues and problems
-Plan treatment strategies and select specific interventions
-Predict responses to strategies and interventions and predict difficulties
-Determine criteria for successful outcome
-Think about lack of progress and troubleshooting
-Overcome bias
What are the 4 factors (presenting issues)?
1.Predisposing; factors that make the person or system vulnerable to specific events or conditions (e.g. childhood trauma)
2.Precipitating (trigger); events that are close in time to the development of a problem (e.g. parent’s divorce)
3.Perpetuating; factors involved in maintaining a problem (e.g. secondary gains resulting from the problem; attempted solutions in a family)
4.Protective; factors that contribute to resilience (e.g. sense of humour)
What are the main theoretical traditions?
-Psychodynamic
-Cognitive behavioural
-Humanistic
-Narrative
What is the psychodynamic cycle?
-conflict between conscious and unconscious
-change comes from insights
-therapist is the expert
-early childhood
What are the three parts of Freud’s topographical model of mind?
-The conscious; the level which we are fully aware of. Freud believed this was the level that makes up only a tiny sliver of who we are
-The preconscious; responsible for the automatic responses when facing a new situation. It can be easily retrieved with reasonable effort e.g. images, adult memories
-The unconscious; Our instincts, deeply held beliefs & many patterns of thought and behaviours; we are not consciously aware of it, but it makes up the vast majority of who we are, what we want, and how we behave in order to get what we want. This part of the mind can be accessed through therapeutic techniques
What is the therapeutic relationship
-Interpretation; the therapist facilitates tentatively the client towards discovering the links between his conscious & unconscious behaviours & feelings
-Boundaries; not revealing any personal information to allow for transference e.g. client sees the counsellor as their mother or father. Confidentiality: limits of confidentiality
-Neutrality; reflection. The counsellor does not seek to influence the client but helps the client to develop a deeper understanding of themselves
What is the cycle of CBT?
-Cognitive process governs emotional and behavioural responses
-Changes come through self-work, homework, challenge
-Non-expert + expert
-Here and now
What is the A-B-C model?
-Action or activating event: Something happens to you or in your environment
Belief: You develop a belief or interpretation of the event
-Consequences of the event: A combination of the event & your interpretation
What is the 5 factor model in CBT?
-thoughts
-emotions
-behaviour
-physical sensations
What is Socratic Questioning?
-Clarification: e.g. ‘so are you saying that everything feels hopeless right now?’
-De-centring: e.g. ‘so if a friend was doing what you are doing, would you think they are useless and stupid?’
-Challenging view point or perspective: e.g. ‘so you have told me you have friends. Why might they be your friend, if you really are as horrible as you think you are?’
-Analysing Implications and Consequences: e.g. ‘you believe that you are ‘fat’, how does believing that effect you?’
-Summarizing and synthesising let me make sure that I have understood. You believe that it is your job to make others happy. I am wondering how what we have worked on today fits with this belief. What do you think you will do with the realisation that you are a pleaser of others?’
What is the cycle of Humanistic approach, person centred therapy?
-phenomenological acceptance
-empowerment
-client is an expert
-here and now
What are the assumptions?
-Free will, and whilst this can be affected by external and internal influences, we are active agents, capable of determining our own behaviour/future.
-Unique beings, explore the individual, subjective experience, rather than seeking to apply general rules to everyone – Idiographic approach
-Self-actualisation is the main aim of all human beings
-Ideal self and actual self to be a close match. If this is not the case sadness, depression or anxiety can develop (incongruence)
What are the aims of this therapy?
support the client to achieve self-actualisation and become the best version of themselves
What is the cycle of therapy?
-Increased self awareness
-Increased self acceptance
-Increased self expression
-Reduced defensiveness
-Increased openness
What are the techniques?
-Person centred therapy is not technique driven
-The therapeutic relationship is seen as the agent of growth
-Counselling skills are employed to communicate the core
conditions:
Active Listening
Egan (1986) complete listening involves:
1. observing and reading the client’s non-verbal behaviour
2. listening to and understanding the client’s verbal
messages
3. listening in an integrated way to the person in the
context of both the helping process and everyday life
Reflecting feelings, paraphrasing & summarising:
-Providing a brief summary of the clients narrative to communicate understanding
-Reflecting words and feelings supports the client to feel heard
What is narrative therapy?
-Story with consideration of the viewpoint, nonverbal communication, audience, context, subjectivity of the narrator etc.
-Explicit attention to the narrative metaphor
-Words have their meaning in use within broader cultural and material context
What is social-constructivism and narrative?
-Person holds experience in the form of stories, schemas
-Stories encode memories and model the world
-Different cultures individual stories
What is the narrative approach to therapy?
-Externalising conversations- think about problem in a different way
-Re-authoring conversations- re-stories, with a different construction of self
Ex: I’d like to understand a bit more about this idea of being a selfish coward. Can you tell me something about the part that cowardice has played in your life so far?
-Re-membering conversations- reframing memories
-Public and social changes in the network as important
