Explain the stages of the developmental model of counselling.

1) Initiation or problem clarification

2) Development or goal setting

3) Action and closing.

During each stage, sessions of between 30 minutes and one hour are held. The number of sessions is determined by the nature of the problem and the client’s personality. There are clients who will need longer as well as more sessions whereas other clients will need shorter session and shorter duration of counseling.

Stage I - Initiation or problem or clarification

The purpose of this stage is for the client to clarify the problems. The client should be able to pinpoint what the actual problem is. During the initial stage the client is not sure whether to trust the counselor. He may fear being rejected, or being judged or condemned by the counselor. At this stage some clients will project their anger and frustration on the counselor. This is referred to as transference. On his own part the counselor should make the client to feel accepted and received with positive regard. There should be mutual respect.

Skills needed at this stage
The counselor needs to use the following skills;
a) Attending. This refers to paying attention to the client. The counselor should face the client and move to a comfortable safer distance. The conference arrangement is preferable.
b) Active listening. Active listening refers to paying attention to both verbal and non-verbal messages. The counselor should listen to the client’s story even if the story is told in a confused fashion. At this level the counselor tries to ask himself the following questions;
What is the client saying about his experiences, feelings or behaviour?
c) Observation.
The counselor pays attention to what the client is doing. Is the client fidgeting? Is he demonstrating unwillingness to share?
d) Responding.
The client should use verbal and non-verbal responses. The responses should be geared towards encouraging the client to be more specific in his problem statement.
e) Questioning and probing.
The questions should be directed towards ensuring that the problem situation is completely clear. For example asking the client to restate what he has said or asking him a question like do you want to say, mean or imply that.
f) Obtaining information]
This requires the counselor to obtain strict facts such as history. The counselor, also checks out the manner of telling the story, for example, does the client stay on focus? Is he focusing on the central issues and feelings?

Stage two: Development or goal setting

The counseling process moves to stage two:

1) If the client has developed confidence in the counselors trustworthiness and support.
2) The problem situation has been fully understood by both the client and counselor.

The goal of this stage is for the client to;
i. Develop a more objective perspective or point of view of the problem situation.
ii. Set goals for or make plans for a changed lifestyle. The goals should be defined in behavioral terms. The goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound (SMART)
Skills of stage two
The counselor uses the following skills;
a) Data integration
(i) This refers to bringing all the information together.
(ii) Identifying the themes associated with the client’s problem situation. This should lead to self-understanding. That is, where is the client coming from with his problems? Where is the now? From here he should be helped to plan for the future. At this stage too the counselor can help the client to attack areas that have been over looked. Mostly these will be areas where the client has been defensive and failing to accept or acknowledge his own personal weaknesses or contribution towards the problem situation. The client is helped to become more realistic and more objective in his approach.

Stage 3 - Action and closing (termination)

When the client has worked through the emotion and established their goals for future behaviour or lifestyle, the process enters the third stage. At this stage the counselor should ensure that the client is following through on tasks to be done. The counselor has to be firm with the client so that action is followed through to the end. Excuses or failure should not be accepted. However, new plans and actions can be tried. During this stage the counselor should give a lot of support to ensure that the client continues to manage his problem situation.

Termination
The termination process refers to the end of the counseling process. It must be carefully planned. The counseling process should not be terminated abruptly. If the counselor was meeting the client once a week he can schedule to meet him once in two weeks, then once a month and then end the sessions. These lengthened intervals between visits allow the client to test independence. Complete termination takes place when the client is maintaining the necessary changes in behaviour, is coping adequately and can plan for day-to-day functioning. During the termination, a support system must be ensured.

Skills of stage 3

This stage requires the following skills;
- Program development skills. Programs are the means chosen to implement the goals. The client’s is helped to go through all the stages of the program.
- The counselor discusses, possible difficulties, provides challenge and support during the closing place. This can be achieved through reinforcement and confrontation at the various steps of program implementation

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marto answered the question on March 20, 2019 at 06:20