Theories of Counselling

Counselor is a people who listen to others and help resolve difficulties. Counselling can be more precisely defined as a relatively short-term, interpersonal, theory-based process of helping persons who are basically psychologically healthy resolve developmental and situational problems.Counseling activities are guided by ethical and legal standards and go through distinct stages from initiation to termination. Personal, social, vocational, and educational matters are all areas of concern; and the profession encompasses a number of sub specialties. Here are some of the theories of counselling. 

Theories of counselling 
1. Psychoanalytic
2. Analytical/Jungian
3. Adlerian
4. Self-Psychology
5. Time-Limited Dynamic
6. Client-Centered
7. Existential
8. Gestalt
9. Behavioral
10. Cognitive
11. REBT
12. Reality
13. Family Systems
14. Biofeedback

Psychoanalytic Theory
The founder of psychoanalytic theory was Sigmund Freud. While his theories were considered shocking at the time and continue to create debate and controversy, his work had a profound influence on a number of disciplines, including psychology, sociology, anthropology, literature, and art. Sigmund Freud was the founder of psychoanalysis and the psychodynamic approach to psychology. This school of thought emphasized the influence of the unconscious mind on behavior. Freud believed that the human mind was composed of three elements: the id, the ego, and the superego. 

Key Psychoanalysis Terms 
Case study
In a case study, nearly every aspect of the subject's life and history is analyzed to seek patterns and causes for behavior. The hope is that learning gained from studying one case can be generalized to many others. Unfortunately, case studies tend to be highly subjective and it is difficult to generalize results to a larger population.
Concious
The conscious mind includes everything that is inside of our awareness. This is the aspect of our mental processing that we can think and talk about in a rational way.
Defense mechanisms
Defense mechanisms are thought to safeguard the mind against feelings and thoughts that are too difficult for the conscious mind to cope with. 
Ego - The ego is the largely unconscious part of personality that mediates the demands of the id, the superego, and reality. The ego prevents us from acting on our basic urges (created by the id), but also works to achieve a balance with our moral and idealistic standards (created by the superego). 
Id - The personality component made up of unconscious psychic energy that works to satisfy basic urges, needs, and desires. 
The superego - works to suppress the urges of the id and tries to make the ego behave morally, rather than realistically. 
Unconscious - A reservoir of feelings, thoughts, urges, and memories that outside of our conscious awareness. Most of the contents of the unconscious are unacceptable or unpleasant, such as feelings of pain, anxiety, or conflict.

Analytical/Jungian
Jungian viewpoint, analysis is essentially a dialogue between two people - the analyst and the analysand.  Its aim is to help the analysand get in touch with his/her own inner sources of healing and growth, and thus to arrive at individual answers and solutions. Jungian analysis involves weekly face to face meetings between the analyst and the analysand,

Adlerian Psychology focuses on people's efforts to compensate for their self-perceived inferiority to others. These feelings of inferiority may derive from one's position in the family constellation, particularly if early experiences of humiliation occurred; a specific physical condition or defect existed; or a general lack of social feeling for others was present. According to Adler, when we feel encouraged, we feel capable and appreciated and will generally act in a connected and cooperative way. When we are discouraged, we may act in unhealthy ways by competing, withdrawing, or giving up. It is in finding ways of expressing and accepting encouragement, respect, and social interest that help us feel fulfilled and optimistic.

Self psychology is a school of psychoanalytic theory and therapy created by Heinz Kohut and developed in the United States at the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis. Self psychology explains psychopathology as being the result of disrupted or unmet developmental needs. Essential to understanding Self psychology are the concepts of empathy, self-object, mirroring, idealising, alter ego/twinship and the tripolar self. Though self psychology also recognizes certain drives, conflicts and complexes present in Freudian psychodynamic theory, these are understood within a different framework.

Time-limited dynamic psychotherapy originated as an interpersonal, time-sensitive approach for clients with chronic, pervasive, dysfunctional ways of relating to others. 

Client-Centered Therapy (CCT) was developed by Carl Rogers in the 40's and 50's. It is a non-directive approach to therapy.

CC therapists do:
    * Listen and try to understand how things are from the client's point of view.
    * Check that understanding with the client if unsure.
    * Treat the client with the utmost respect and regard.
    * There is also a mandate for the therapist to be "congruent", or "transparent" - which means being self-aware, self-accepting, and having no mask between oneself and the client. The therapist knows themselves and is willing to be known.

Existential psychotherapy is a powerful approach to therapy which takes seriously the human condition. It is an optimistic approach in that it embraces human potential, while remaining a realistic approach through its recognition of human limitation. Falling in the tradition of the depth psychotherapies, existential therapy has much in common with psychodynamic, humanistic, experiential, and relational approaches to psychotherapy.  

Gestalt therapy is highly efficient existential experimental psychotherapy. The process is based upon the relationship between the therapist and the patient.

Behavioral theories of leadership do not seek inborn traits or capabilities. Rather, they look at what leaders actually do.If success can be defined in terms of describable actions, then it should be relatively easy for other people to act in the same way. This is easier to teach and learn then to adopt the more ephemeral 'traits' or 'capabilities'.

Cognitive theory is a learning theory of psychology that attempts to explain human behavior by understanding the thought processes.  Cognitive theory is concerned with the development of a person's thought processes. It also looks at how these thought processes influence how we understand and interact with the world.

REBT or Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy was originally founded by Albert Ellis. Basically a process of a rational theory, rationalising our thinking. Rational emotive behaviour therapy focuses on uncovering irrational beliefs which may lead to unhealthy negative emotions and replacing them with more productive rational alternatives.

Reality therapy is a problem solving method that works well with people who are experiencing problems they want help solving, as well as those who are having problems and appear to not want any assistance. Reality therapy also provides an excellent model for helping individuals solve their own problems objectively and serves as the ideal questioning series during coaching sessions.
In Reality Therapy they are classified under five headings:  

    * Power (which includes achievement and feeling worthwhile as well as winning)
    * Love & Belonging (this includes groups as well as families or loved ones)
    * Freedom (includes independence, autonomy, your own 'space')
    * Fun (includes pleasure and enjoyment)
    * Survival (includes nourishment, shelter, sex)

Family system operates as a single mutually-influencing unit from which each person must differentiate herself, particularly the children as they move through the process of self-definition. A healthy family system is composed of well-differentiated parents who provide the resources their children need to differentiate themselves, thereby reducing unhealthy behaviors such as emotional reactivity and chronic anxiety.

Biofeedback procedures represents a new approach to clinical management of speech disorders. Thus far, results of experiments utilizing biofeedback techniques have suggested positive effects in the remediation of speech disorders. The purpose of this paper is to provide the reader with the principles of biofeedback; to survey areas of clinical application including voice, fluency, and other clinical disorders; and to explore potential applications of biofeedback procedures for the speech and language pathologist.