Personal Model of Helping
Andra Bachan
BSHS 312
July3, 2011
Lonnie McCullough

Personal Model of Helping This paper will discuss my personal model of helping that I have developed so far in my educational career so far. This paper will cover how and why I have formed this viewpoint, my view of helping, the relationship between the client and participant, techniques or approaches to change, the kinds of problems that can be addressed with my model, and multicultural issues. The limitations and strengths of the model and there populations this model can help will also be addressed in this paper. The personal model of helping that I have developed involves various theories. My model of helping involves the Adlerian theory, existential theory, person-centered theory, gestalt theory, reality therapy, cognitive behavior theory, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and rational-emotive theory.
Adlerian theory includes the importance of birth order, takes into consideration the individual’s life style, their social interest, and their personality as it pertains to inferiority and superiority. The goal of the Adlerian theory is to increase social interest, change negative behaviors that are self-destructive, and help increase problem solving skills. In therapy sessions the family dynamics are observed. Often times the family unit assigns the roles the individual plays within the family based on birth order. The eldest child may have most of the responsibility placed on them because they are the eldest and are expected to take a leadership role. In the sessions the client’s present lifestyle is examined and their early childhood experiences are discussed and examined. The here and now is discussed and the counselor provides the client with encouragement. The counselor provides the client with ways to overcome the feelings of being inferior and low self –concept (Cohen, 2011).
The Adlerian theory would be most effectively used when there are in person counseling sessions. Sessions will mostly consist of one-on-one counseling but there can be a couple of family sessions to observe the family dynamics. The Adlerian theory emphasizes the importance of in- person sessions because non-verbal communication is very important when trying to effectively help a client. This theory can be used with clients that are addicted to drugs and alcohol. Clients that are seeking to improve their marital skills and parenting may also benefit from Adlerian therapy. The client may be assigned homework assignments, contracts may be set up, and suggestions given to the client (Parrott, 2003).
The second theory that I want to incorporate is the existential theory. This theory puts the client in control of finding and pursuing the meaning of life. The counselor helps the client examine their views and how it fits into the worldwide meaning of life and purpose. Self-awareness and their ability to choose an action or make a decision is active and not passive. Individuals begin to realize that their lives and the direction it will go is in their own hands and only they have to power to change their lives. Once they realize that their future is in their own hands the way they view their life and the events around them will change (Parrott, 2003).
A client that grew up in a single-parent household and they blame their problems, such as making poor decisions when choosing the men they choose to be with, because their father was not around would benefit from using existential therapy because they can learn that their past does not have to determine their future. The client can look at the positive aspects of growing up in a single-parent household. She is able to see how strong her mother is and because she realizes the reasons she makes poor choices in men she can work on those aspects and maybe work on her relationship with her father.
Person- centered theory again places the responsibility for change in the client’s hands. This theory emphasizes that the client is the only person that can change and help them. The counselor is there to help guide them but the ultimate responsibility is placed in the client’s hands. The counselor and client’s relationship involves positive regard and empathy. The client and counselor relationship is a bit passive because the client finds their own self-worth and their own path. Genuineness, positive regard, and empathy is important in this theory (Parrott, 2003).
This approach gives the client a sense of empowerment because they are put in control of their decisions and the counselor is not focusing on the past and the negative, the emphasis is placed on the present and the positive areas of the individual’s life (Cohen, 2011).
Gestalt therapy helps the clients embrace self-responsibility, relying less on others, and incorporating one’s own parts into forming their own self-whole. This theory put the responsibility on the individual and holds the individual accountable for their own actions and feelings. The individual can work on issues they have had in the past that is unresolved. Clients are at times stuck in the past and helping them resolve their open issues will help the close the open chapter in their lives and be able to successfully move on. This therapy can involve the client confronting the problem, analyzing the client’s dreams, and role plays (Cohen, 2011).
Reality therapy also emphasizes the person taking personal responsibility for themselves. The client cannot control or change the past they can only change the present. The goal is to help the client relate better to others. I believe interpersonal relationships are important and many individuals do not know how important how they relate to others affects their happiness and their feeling of fulfillment in life. What motivates people to look and find lasting relationships are survival, love and belonging, power or achievement (Cohen, 2011). I believe cognitive-behavior therapy is also important. Being able to change the way an individual processes and views the event is important because if the individual is able to look at an event in a positive manner instead of negative more individuals will not be so depressed and sad. Cognitive behavior therapy can be used with an individual that is suffering from depression or anxiety. Individuals that suffer from depression look at the negative aspects of a situation and if the therapist can work with the client and help them look at the positive aspects of the situation the person may not feel as depressed. Cognitive behavior therapy is also important part of my personal model of helping because I have personally used this theory in my life. I have been diagnosed with major depression and after years of depending on medications I took the time to examine when I feel more depressed versus other times. I find that I feel more depressed when events in my life happened and I viewed them in a negative manner. I have worked on looking at the events in a more positive manner and I have been able to reduce the amount of medications I take from 15 pills to one pill, mainly used for sleep. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is important when counseling individuals because basic needs must be met first in order to move to the next level on the pyramid. The need for food, water, and warmth must first be met. Once that is met the individual’s safety must be met. Once the client is safe the client’s psychological needs can be met. The need for love and belonging is an important part of achieving their self-esteem needs. The final step is self-actualization which refers to a state of full-expression (Parrott, 2003). Working with victims of domestic violence I have realized the importance of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. As a case manager at the shelter I encountered many clients and their primary concern was how their basic needs were going to get met because they left the place where their primary needs were met. The client met with a case manager and counselor within the first three days so they can work on their primary needs and as the sessions progressed they worked on the rest of the hierarchy of needs. Rational emotive theory can help the client eliminate habits that do not promote positive behaviors. This theory is also important because many clients make decisions based on emotions and do not make their decisions based on logic. This theory encourages clients to think about decisions and make decisions based on logical reasons (Cohen, 2011). An approach I would like to change is the all or nothing views that I have as it pertains to me. In order to effectively help a client I would need to work on how I view what I consider failure. I know from working in the field that we will not be able to help everyone and since I still have the all or nothing views I will be prone to early burn-out. I need to work on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. As I continue through this class and previous classes I have worked on the self-actualization part of the pyramid. I realize that I have a lot of work to do on personal issues that I have put aside because I did not think that it would come back up or be an important part. I have learned from these classes that in order to effectively help a client I cannot let my personal problems effect my sessions with a client. My model of helping may need to be changed or adjusted based on the client’s cultural background or based on their beliefs. Adjustments may also need to be made based on the client’s problem or the areas that they feel needs to be worked on. It is important as a counselor to take into consideration the individual’s cultural background. The counselor needs to be culturally sensitive and be careful to not make assumptions about the individual based on their ethnicity or cultural beliefs and backgrounds (Parrott, 2003). I personally feel very passionate about being culturally aware because when I sought out counseling I changed numerous counselors because I felt many of them were not culturally aware and if they were not aware they did not ask. I had a counselor assumed that I was African-American. My parents are South Asian from the West Indies so I have mixture of cultural backgrounds and I was born and raised in America so it was very important for the counselor to not make assumptions about my ethnicity and my beliefs. This model of helping can address the problems of numerous groups of people because it empowers the client and puts the decision making and changing in their hands. The therapist is there to guide the client but the choices are up to them. Some of the specific populations this model can help are victims of domestic violence, individuals that are addicted to drugs and alcohol, individuals that suffer from depression or anxiety problems, troubled adolescents, individuals with anger problems, and individuals suffering from low self-esteem. My model of helping may not be conducive as far as helping children because children need more guidance and hands on helping. Art therapy may help a client that is younger. My model may not help clients that do not voluntarily want counseling because my model puts the power in the client’s hands and the counseling is primarily guided by the client and the therapist is there for support. My model may not be helpful when conducting couple’s therapy. This model also may not help individuals that were molested or raped as children because it focuses on the present and victims of child abuse tend to have problems stemming from the abuse they suffered as children, and that would need to be addressed in the counseling sessions in order to help the client heal from the abuse. This model’s strength is the focus that it puts on the client’s current situation and their future instead of focusing on the past. This model puts the client in control of their future thus empowering them to control their own future. This empowerment will help build the client’s self-esteem and will result in longer term change because the client was put in the position of power to change their own future. This model does not examine the individual’s past which may be necessary for them to change their future. An individual who is an alcoholic that is seeking help turned to alcohol for a reason. It may be necessary to examine their past to see why they turned to alcohol. Once the reasons have been established then my personal model of helping will be able to be utilized to help the client stop their addiction to alcohol. My personal model of helping includes the Adlerian theory, the existential theory, the person-centered theory, gestalt theory, reality theory, cognitive-behavior theory, rational-emotive theory and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. This is the personal model that I have developed thus far in my education. As I continue with my education and as I practice in the field I will find it necessary to adjust or change my personal model according to the client I am helping based on their presenting problem or their cultural background. This paper discussed my personal model of helping as it is today, the multicultural issues, who my model can help, and problems that may affect my model of helping. The most important part of any model, including mine, is the client’s needs.

References

Cohen, L. J. (2011). The Handy Psychology Answer Book. Canton, MI: Visible Ink Press.
Parrott 111, L. (2003). Counseling and Psychotherapy. Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.