Counseling
I have had almost two weeks away from being a counselor and having classmates comment on my clients. With such distance and less emotional involvement with my supervision feedback, I think I have figured out what has been bothering me so much. I have been taught to use Rogerian techniques of warmth, genuineness, unconditional positive regard, and reflection. These are the bases for how I respond to my clients with other techniques being second. However, when I listen to others in the counseling program pick apart my client's choices and ways for me to proceed, unconditional positive regard is not there. This is one of the more important things in therapy in my opinion. If I thought that Dr. Thatcher was spending time picking apart my decisions and criticizing how I feel, I would be humiliated. I understand that clients will manipulate their counselors. I understand that more experienced counselors can recognize that faster than I will. However, I am not going to apply logic to a situation to which my client is having an emotional reaction. It does not matter at the moment that a client is intruding on a family member's life, because that family member is not my client. I would rather focus on what is causing distress for him or her and giving my client a safe environment in which he or she can express feelings, whatever they may be. Telling someone to butt out of another business, no matter how gently it is delivered, makes me sound judgmental.