Counseling Psychology Methods

Counseling Psychology is a field of psychology that focuses on everyday stress-related problems, rather than dealing with issues of mental illness. These problems typically involve average individuals, who are coping with issues that are related to personal interactions, relationships, and occupational stress. Counseling Psychologists work to establish a client's goals and counseling objectives, in order to employ the appropriate counseling methods to produce the desired effect. Though Counseling Psychology initially, and often primarily, uses a conversation-based method of stress and behavior management, there are a variety of methods that may be used to achieve counseling goals.

Therapeutic Conversation

• Counseling Psychologists use therapeutic conversation in order to deduce problems and come to a coordinated solution and appropriate course of action. These conversations give the client a chance to "open up" to the counselor and to verbalize an issue that they may not usually feel comfortable acknowledging openly. This method of counseling is usually the initial approach, in order to understand a client's reason for seeking counseling, counseling goals, and desired counseling approach. Many counselors stick with this method, while others move on to other options once the goals and objectives of the counseling are understood.

Establishing Exercises and Techniques

• In cases where a client is seeking counseling because of a reaction to a specific type of situation or incident, a Counseling Psychologist may use methods that teach coping exercises and techniques to help the client learn new and non-detrimental reactions. These lessons begin in a counseling session, and sometimes involve homework that carries the lessons into the outside world. Anxiety, fear, and self-consciousness are reactions that some individuals may experience frequently, which may be detrimental to daily function. Some coping skills may include: meditation, relaxation techniques, positive reinforcement, and employing positive habits to replace negative habitual reactions to intense emotions.

Art Therapy

• Art therapy involves the use of artistic means to work through difficult emotions. This method of Counseling Psychology helps individuals who are having trouble discussing their problems verbally. Artistic methods include drawing, painting, writing, creative writing, poetry, and other creative means.

Community Resources

• Part of the job of a Counseling Psychologist is to work with the client in order to establish positive methods of coping with harmful stress. One method of accomplishing this task involves an examination of the client's personal and community resources for stress management. This method comes out of the conversation method, which gives the counselor the ability to ask questions about day-to-day stress-management tools. It is likely that an individual already has extracurricular "fun" activities that are used as coping mechanisms. These activities are a form of stress-release, though some of them may actually be detrimental to the function of the individual. The establishment of "therapeutic resources" acknowledges and provides healthy coping skills for stress management, like physical exercise, religious support, volunteer opportunities, and fun excursions to museums, theaters, beaches, etc.

Counselor's Personal Experiences

• One method that differs Counseling Psychology from other areas of Psychology, is that counseling psychologists, unlike professionals in some other fields, are encouraged to draw openly on their own life experiences in the counseling of others. This personalizes counseling sessions and encourages a professional but comfortable connection between the counselor and client, allowing for a repertoire that enables a greater arena of mutual understanding. This method takes advantage of the personal knowledge of the counselor, in order to provide comparative experiences that enable conversation, and to acknowledge coping skills that the counselor has personally espoused or witnessed in action.