Parents can play the key role in initiating and generating behaviour change in their children. Parents have the potential to inspire their children directly (by applying reinforcers and other behaviour modification strategies) and indirectly (by providing a safe, supportive and encouraging environment). As counsellors, working with parents can enhance our potential to promote successful outcomes f... »
Behavioural therapists have identified two primary goals of group therapy. These are process goals and outcome goals. Process goals refer to goals that are related to the group process. For example, process goals can be to help members improve their comfort level in the group, to increase openness in the group, and to learn to confront members in a more productive manner (Jacobs, Masson & Harv... »
A critical incident, as opposed to a crisis, may be described as any event that causes normally stable and healthy people to experience strong emotional or psychological distress. It is an event which may be regarded as being outside the normal range of experience and has the potential to interfere with the individual’s ability to cope during the incident or in their ability to cope at a later tim... »
Losing someone you love can be like losing one half of yourself. The pain and emptiness felt during the grieving process can go on for months or years, however no two people will ever respond to the same situation in the same way. Working through grief is a day by day, week by week process. You may have bad days when you think you will never recover from this loss. You may also think that you ... »
Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is a cognitive behavioural therapy developed as a treatment for self harming, particularly in borderline personality disorder (Low et al., 2001). Underpinning ideas of DBT suggest that invalidating environments that may have occurred during upbringing can inhibit the effective development of coping methods to deal with sudden intense surges of emotion (Linehan, ... »
Chantelle is 14 and in foster care. Chantelle was removed from her parents’ care at the age of seven and has since had several foster placements. Her last care arrangement ended, one month ago, when her foster family relocated interstate. Child protection workers have found a new foster placement for Chantelle and you have been asked to counsel Chantelle through the transition into her new c... »
How can we move beyond ‘schoolism’ towards a paradigm that embraces the full diversity of effective therapeutic methods and perspectives? Mick Cooper and John McLeod propose a ‘pluralistic’ approach. »
Over time, the distinction between the three terms, stress, traumatic stress, and crisis, have become blurred, thus numerous professionals started using these terms synonymously. Some authors specifically indicate that they deal with both stress and developmental crisis, but do not make distinctions between these terms/concepts. Others define their work as dealing with crisis, but take cases from... »
Click here to read Part 1 of this series… Click here to read Part 2 of this series… Group work and team building are vital at the performing stage of group development. In psycho-educational groups, teamwork and learning are promoted by emphasising how groups can achieve tasks that cannot be accomplished by individuals alone (Gladding, 2003). Groups that work to achieve consensus, promote in... »
The Storming Stage is a time of conflict and anxiety within the group as it moves from primary tension (awkwardness about being in a new and strange situation) to secondary tension (intragroup conflict between members). Each group experiences the storming process differently. Some groups may encounter all the problems associated with this period where others may only experience a few of the relate... »
Goal orientations are cognitive representations of the general type of goal an individual will tend to pursue. Goal orientations are dynamic and subject to change as information pertaining to one’s performance on the task is processed. While an individual can hold a number of goal orientations that govern their reasons for engaging in an activity, research has primarily focused on two types ... »
A number of problems can occur during the formation of the group and afterwards. Some of these difficulties involve group members while others are related to group processes. One of the best ways to handle group problems is to prevent them. Where prevention is not possible, the group members and the group therapist can work together to bring about resolution (Gladding, 2003). Dealing with people p... »
In the last article you witnessed how easy it can be to find yourself in a relationship with someone who is practically a stranger. But you also saw how it was possible to take steps to get to know your self and your partner so as to determine whether or not you both wanted the same things from your relationship. John and Sue-Anne had taken this journey of discovery and realised that even though t... »
You are co-facilitating a mediation session for Patricia and Jonathan White (a separated couple in their early 40s, with two children). In your first session, Patricia expresses clear opinions regarding residency arrangements for the children. Patricia is also steadfast in her beliefs about the fair division of assets and cash. Jonathan is equally sure in his beliefs and expresses these loudly and... »
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