Configurations of Self in Person-Centred Counselling The concept of ‘Configurations of Self’ in person-centred counselling was developed by David Mearns and Brian Thorne. It describes the philosophy that we develop various alternative personalities or configurations of self that come to… Read More ›
Touchstones in Counselling People visit counsellors to feel better about themselves and their lives. Carl Rogers, one of the most influential psychologists, once said “In my early professional years I was asking the question: How can I treat, or cure,… Read More ›
Negotiating the Therapeutic Contract in Person-Centred Counselling “No man has any natural authority over his fellow men.” – Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The social contract We live in times where the traditional ethic norms are shifting from desirable actions of… Read More ›
Ending Counselling Sessions Smoothly There is no particular hard-and-fast rule for ending a counselling session, but terminating a session does require skill, experience, and practice. It may be even more challenging when using a non-directive approach such as person-centered theory…. Read More ›
Counsellor Self-Disclosure As my reflections on training as a counsellor come to an end for Year 1, I would like to take this opportunity to tackle what may be one of the biggest controversies in the field of counselling: a… Read More ›
Carl Rogers’ Organismic Valuing Process Sometimes, we set goals on the basis of the expectations of friends, family or society. Achieving such goals fails to give us satisfaction. Carl Rogers, one of the founders of the humanistic approach to… Read More ›
Relational Depth in Counselling “People are essentially trustworthy, can self-direct their growth, have the ability to understand the issues that plague their lives and find the appropriate solutions.” Carl Rogers, a prominent psychologist in his day, was the… Read More ›
Counselling: Working with a Third Party Counselling is perceived as an intimate encounter between counsellor and client. Person-centred counselling, in particular, is based on a facilitating environment created by the counsellor, in which there is empathy, unconditional positive regard towards… Read More ›
Counselling Outcomes Whatever the exact field a counselling practitioner works in, their orientation or the type of clients they work with, one goal should always remain the same: aiding and bolstering the client in the process of changing their… Read More ›
Typical Challenges of Process Groups Following on from my blog on ‘The Function of Process Groups,’ I wanted to discuss some of the typical challenges often encountered in process groups. According to Marriage and Family Therapist, Shalini Mongia,… Read More ›
Process Groups for Counsellors: How do they Function? I recently introduced the concept of process groups for counsellors. In this blog, I explain how process groups function. The unfolding patterns of relationships among and between group members, and… Read More ›
Process Groups for Counsellors For counsellors in training, the journey ahead towards practicing as professionals is an exciting, but arduous one. All kinds of struggles will come up, evoking positive and negative emotions that are sometimes hard to process…. Read More ›
Maintaining Professional Standards as a Counsellor In the UK, the National Occupational Standards (NOS) specify the standards of performance that different professions, including counsellors, are expected to achieve in their work, and the knowledge and skills they need to… Read More ›
