Discussion: Clinical Supervision
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Discussion: Clinical Supervision
With the help of competent therapists, psychotherapy clients work to improve their mental health, behaviors, relationships and social skills. All patients have different attitudes that vary depending on the individual’s sum of past experiences and the current state. This, among other factors like their view on the output and changes to expect, stress level or trauma and capacity to trust to create a therapeutic alliance contributes to treatment outcome. Some clients are impacted by their therapist’s dressing and physical appearance, the environment and social support.
As much as the quality of therapist is crucial in terms of method of treatment and relationship with the client, Levitt et al. (2016) state that “clients’ contributions to therapy are the most powerful determinant of change.” According to Groth‐marnat et al. (2001), therapist’s factors contribute to 25% of client change; 15% to the therapeutic relationship, 5% to therapy technic and 5% to therapy training and experience. The client’s self-awareness and reflection, cooperation with the therapist and implementation of learned techniques during therapy, result in the dynamic change (Khattra et al. 2017).
In my experience, while counselling an older man, I discovered that the client’s therapy output did not match my input. After proper evaluation, I realized that change was almost impossible, although not impossible, because the older client was physically ill, hence posing new issues. The physical wellness of an individual often influences sorting psychological issues. Initially, my approaches to the client were to create a rapport, trust and engage care from family members. I tried to put the patient to ease and enquire their condition and feelings, then explore the presenting problems and establish a good conversation. With this approach, I expected the client to be more willing to admit to physical symptoms and bring up arising issues bearing that older men tend to keep to themselves.
Taking note of the physical illnesses, and client’s emotions, I will work more on instilling hope, incorporate skills in death counselling and grief work. I will provide the patient with clear information and allow him to make decisions and evaluate how they manage it. Still, if their approach sounds incorrect, I shall present it again and suggest coping methods. Lastly, focus on minimizing the idea of sickness and depression and talk more about the symptoms and be open to explore other treatment procedures.
References
Groth‐marnat, G., Roberts, R., & Beutler, L. E. (2001). Client characteristics and psychotherapy: Perspectives, support, interactions, and implications for training. Australian Psychologist, 36(2), 115-121.
Khattra, J., Angus, L., Westra, H., Macaulay, C., Moertl, K., & Constantino, M. (2017). Client perceptions of corrective experiences in cognitive behavioral therapy and motivational interviewing for generalized anxiety disorder: An exploratory pilot study. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 27(1), 23.
Levitt, H. M., Pomerville, A., & Surace, F. I. (2016). A qualitative meta-analysis examining clients’ experiences of psychotherapy: A new agenda. Psychological bulletin, 142(8), 801.