Hey, guys! Welcome to this Mometrix video over life stages in client assessment. Show There are five major stages that we will look at today: Stage 1: Initial disclosure Let’s look at what each of those means. Stage 1: Initial DisclosureIn this stage, the main focus is relationship building. When I say relationship building, in this setting, I mean establishing rapport with the client that is based on trust, respect, and care. When there is a good relationship between you and your client, the likelihood of the sessions being more productive is greater. In this stage, you want to practice all the basic counselor skills that we discussed in the Basic Counselor Skills video, such as empathy, genuineness, unconditional positive regard, etc. Here are some practical tips for helping to build a relationship with your client:
Remember, your client may talk about all their experiences, from earliest childhood to the present, and the way that you respond can either help them to trust you or lend to them feeling a betrayal of trust. One of the greatest obstacles in the relationship-building stage is the tendency to move at too quick of a pace. Be patient with your client, be sensitive, and give them room to move at a natural pace. As trust begins to build between counselor and client, they are more inclined to respond in a positive way as you encourage them to move towards change. Stage 2: In-Depth ExplorationIn this stage, you will hone in on problem assessment. One of the major reasons a client goes to talk with a counselor is to have help resolving problems or concerns that interfere with their daily lives, or are causing them major heartache. The counselor should have the expectation to be an effective tool to help them move towards change. Assessment refers to anything the counselor does to gather information and draw conclusions about the concerns of the client. This stage should not feel like an interrogation to the client, but, rather, they should feel that someone desires to know who they are, the things that have shaped how they think, how they feel, and their concerns. Psychologist Martin Seligman suggests the following reasons for assessing a client:
So, now, let’s talk about the different things that you will want to explore or assess. Identifying data such as the client’s name, address, phone number, email, age, gender, marital status, occupation, etc. This enables the counselor to be able to contact the client, but it also gives insight into living conditions and background about marital status. Problems presented. How does the problem affect or interfere with the client’s daily life? What behaviors, thoughts, and feelings are being provoked by the problem? How long has the problem existed and how often does it occur? Is there a pattern of events that lead to the problem? A person? And is the problem predictable? Client’s current lifestyle. What does the client’s typical day look like? What social, religious, or recreational activities are the client involved in? What is the client’s education status? What are some special characteristics about the client, like age, physicalities, cultural characteristics, etc. Family History. You want to gather information about both the father and the mother; things like age, occupation, personality, roles, and the client’s relationship with each of them. Does the client have siblings? How many? How old are they? What is their relationship with each of their siblings? What was the stability of the family like when growing up? Jobs held? Family moves, and the reason for the move. Personal history. What is their medical history like? What about their educational history- like academic performance, extracurricular activities, hobbies and interests, relationships with peers. What about their career? What jobs have they had? What was their relationship like with their colleagues and bosses? What personal goals does the client have? Description of the client during the interview. What was their physical appearance like? Things like posture, dress, gestures, facial expression. How did the client relate to you (the counselor) during the session? Client’s warmth, willingness, motivation, passivity, etc. Were the client’s remarks logical? Did they flow, or were they all over the place? Summary and recommendations. Were there any connections between problems that the client stated and any other information gathered? In your opinion, does the client need to be assigned to any other counselor? Were the goals for counseling, stated by the client, practical and realistic? How much counseling, if you had to suggest, might be required? Stage 3: Commitment to action or goal-settingJust like with anything in life, counseling needs to have a focus. The client’s focus is going to be on the problem, but the counselor needs to be focused on the problem, the client, the counseling process, and the overall goal. Goals help to give direction during each session. In goal setting, the client identifies, with the help of the counselor, specific ways to move towards change and the best course of action to help make that happen. Clear goals can help to motivate your client to take the steps necessary in achieving those goals. It helps them to structure their lives in a way that makes reaching those goals more practical. Setting goals helps to eliminate sideways energy, as the client and counselor set forth on the same page about what the goal is. In some cases, the client may be hesitant to set goals. It is possible that a person who resists setting goals could be protecting the very behavior that is in need of modification, because that behavior is also serving some desirable behavior. For example, someone begins to recognize the negative consequences of an unhealthy, abusive dating relationship, yet they cling to it claiming that the person makes them happy. Here are some helpful guidelines for selecting and defining goals:
Stage 4: Counseling InterventionThere are 3 steps within the counseling intervention stage: Step 1: Summarize the problem Step 1: Summarize the problemSummarize the problem using the four-dimensional analysis, which includes four different components: affective, behavioral, cognitive, and interpersonal/systemic component.
Step 2: Identify a strategyThe counselor must be equipped to carry out the strategy that is chosen. The strategy should simulate the character of the client’s problem. For instance, if the client experiences the problem mostly in emotive or affective terms or states, then the strategy should engage them in that same way and be more relatable to them. The strategies should be decided on with the previous goals stated in mind. Everything should be directed towards the goal. The client’s level of functioning should be considered when selecting an intervention strategy. Before the intervention strategy is implemented, the counselor should review it with the client. Step 3: Implement the intervention strategyNow, remember, we talked about choosing a strategy that relates to how the client experiences the problem. They may experience it more cognitively or more effectively. The goals of affective intervention strategies are to help the client express feelings or feeling states, manage feelings or feeling states, identify or discern between feelings or feeling states. Some feeling states may be so consuming for a patient that they need to be managed to function effectively. The client must express and recognize the feeling state. The goals of cognitive intervention are to reduce emotional distress and corresponding behaviors by correcting errors in thought, perception, and beliefs. Cognitive interventions are meant to alter a patient’s way of thinking about a particular event, person, self, or life. Cognitive interventions are based on the assumption that clients have the ultimate responsibility for the way that they think about something. Stage 5: Evaluation, Termination, or ReferralIt may seem odd for someone beginning counseling to think of terminating a patient. But, termination is something that you want to move towards. Ideally, termination happens when the goals that are mutually agreed on by the counselor and client have been achieved, or the problem has become more manageable or resolved. Researchers at Syracuse University say that “Termination should be one of the first topics the counselor and client discuss. The counselor is ethically bound to discuss how long they are able to meet with the client, the timeline of their relationship, and to make helpful referral or recommendations at the conclusion of the counselor/patient relationship.” Here are some helpful tips to appropriately move your client towards termination, when ready:
Those were the five stages in client assessment. I hope this video was helpful! See you next time! |