A Look At Counselling Psychology Essay

A Look At Counselling Psychology Essay Introduction This essay will comprehensively provide definition of counseling and discuss what the counselor can do with regards to the counseling setting to make the client feel safe. It will also discuss the characteristics of an effective counselor and discuss the importance of unconditional positive regard, empathy and congruence in the counseling process, and attribute to Carl Rogers Person-Centred Approach. It will also discuss importance of self-care for the counselor. Reference will be included. Counselling is a relationship between a trained counselor and a client. They interact with one another to produce change in the clients cognition, feelings and behaviour. Counselling is a  process that enables a person to figure out and gain insight in issues and reach decisions affecting their life. Often counselling is practiced out in challenging times in a persons life, it need not be so, however, as counselling can also be helpful and necessary in ones life at any time. Talking with a person (client) is the essential factor in counselling in a way that the client acknowledges the problem and strive to solve it or help create conditions that will adhere understanding to the client and/or improve his/her behaviour, character, values or life circumstances. Counselling is often performed face-to-face in confidential sessions between the counsellor and client(s). However, counselling can also be practiced by telephone, internet, by email or video conferencing and in writing, but most preferably by face-to face in an appropriate venue confortable to the client. For a client to feel safe, the counselor should create a setting- physical and emotional space for the client to develop a strong therapeutic alliance. Creating a warm and safe environment is essential for a client to break the tension and build trust and boundary issues such as such as contracting and terminating sessions on time. According to Jan Sutton (2009), the counselor should strive to keep the room neutral, in other words free from personal belongings such as books, ornaments and family photographs, to reduce the quality gap. And barriers such as a desk should be avoided, and chairs should be uniformed and placed approximately three to four feet apart and slightly at an angle. Sutton advises that a box of tissues must be strategically placed where the client can easily reach them, and a vase of fresh flowers or a potted plant can add some kind of warmth and colour to the setting. The setting should be private and the same every session. The confidentiality of the client must be assured at all times. It is also suggested that addressing the client with their first name builds comfort ability and acceptance, but first ask how the client wants to be addressed. Also the counselor referring themselves by their first name breaks the barrier of inequality. An effective counselor should clearly define his expectations to achieve with his client and discuss realistic time frames for reaching his goals and agree on how he will measure his clients progress. He will establish a good relationship with his client and allow the client to be completely honest about his thoughts and feelings. He will create chemistry that the client feels comfortable, and help cope with the trying circumstances. An effective counselor can identify negative thinking pattern that may be feeding feelings sadness, depression or anxiety. By encouraging you to build upon personal strengths and suggesting skills that can overcome self-afflicted feelings of hopelessness, a counselor can help develop a more positive attitude (Poston,L. 2006). A good counselor can assist the client in making effective changes and help establish acknowledgement or bring insight of the clients behavior and can teach the client effective ways of communicating with the people who may be causing the distress. The counselor should be able to empower and create personal growth in the clients life. The personal qualities found in effective counselors include self-awareness and understanding, good psychological health in terms of being qualified to perform and being cognitively constructed and ready. It also involves the counselor being sensitive and considerate of racial, ethnic and cultural factors in self and others. And possessing the ability to be open-minded having a broad perception and being objective. This also should acquire Person Centred counseling. Carl Rogers is known as the father of counseling. He believed that people are relatively good and born independent. He helped change Patient to Client. He invented the humanistic approach named Person-centred Approach- which is basically focusing on the client being in control of the therapy, which encourages the client to develop sense of autonomy, self-exploration and improves self-concept and their perception. There are three main core condition considered to be essential in an effective counseling are; Unconditional Positive Regard (UPR), Empathy and Congruence. These core conditions are needed to facilitate change. Congruence is the first element; it is called genuineness and realness. It is considered that the counselor becomes himself during the session and not put up the professional facade. This will suggest that the counselor shows feeling according to the manner of the session. And make the client feel comfortable to make alterations and grow in the constructive manner. Unconditional Positive Regard is important in creating a climate for change by the counselor to possess an attitude of acceptance, caring or prizing. The counselor should enforce positivity towards whatever the state of the client is so change can occur. Prizing the client as a total rather than a conditional manner is necessary. Empathy is the third facilitative aspect of the relationship between the client and the counselor. This is where the counselor picks up the feelings of the client and reflects back to the client. It is based on understanding the clients feelings and personal meaning of what the client is experiencing. The counselor also reflects the private side of the client by observing below the level of the clients awareness and bringing it insight to be acknowledged and understood. Empathy is shown through way of being non-judgmental and understanding from the clients perspective. Counselors use an approach of being empathetic, such skills involve; active and empathetic listening, reflection of the clients feelings and content, and include appropriate self-disclosure of the counselor. Roger also emphasize other skills such as; active listening, encourage body language, open ended and closed questions- questions that allow the client to express feeling and openness- good tone, paraphrasing so the client can see that you are listening and also acknowledge him about what he said out of the unconscious mind and summarizing so that he knows in words what he is really feeling and feel accepted. Core conditions can improve relationship between client and counselor. If one feels safe and comfortable, he will open up and completely express himself, which will empower change and growth. The way the counselor represent himself also has an effect on the clients perception and where his cognitive approach is constructed. It is important for a counselor to always look representable. Self-awareness and self-care include the counselor reflecting on their personal issues first and their own development before attending the client. For the counselors self-care, it is advised that they take note of the important aspects of self-care; firstly, Physical self-care which consist of eating breakfast, lunch and dinner, eat healthy and exercise, get enough sleep, do activities that are fun, take time to be sexually active, and take vacations and time away from the telephone. Secondly, Psychological self-care; have your own counselor, reflect on yourself, engage yourself in new areas, socialize, talking to colleagues and decrease stress in your life. Thirdly, Emotional self-care means spending time with loved ones and those you value the most, and find ways to increase self-confidence and esteem, cry when you feel like it and value and praise yourself. Lastly, Spiritual self-care includes spending time with nature, meditate, pray, sing, journaling and be open for inspiration. It is also considerable to seek social support of peers as an asset to maintain self-care. Being active with a supportive relationship is valuable and helpful. Conclusion This essay comprehensively provided definition of counseling and discussed what the counselor can do with regards to the counseling setting to make the client feel safe. It also discussed the characteristics of an effective counselor and discussed and elaborated further on the importance of unconditional positive regard, empathy and congruence in the counseling process, and considered Carl Rogers Person-Centred Approach. It also discussed importance of self-care for the counselor. Reference is included. Bibliography ACAs Taskforce. (2010) Counselor Wellness and impairment. American counseling association. Retrieved 11,2012 from http://www.counselling.org/wellness_taskforce/tf_wellness_strategies.htm. Cormier,S, Hackney,H. (2012). Counseling Strategies and Interventions, 8.(221) Online, retrieved 11, 2012 from http://garethmartin.hubpages.com/hub/The-core-conditions-which-Carl-Rogers-considered-essential-for-effective-counselling. Ponton, L. (2006) characteristics of effective counseling. Psych central. Retrieved on April 12,2012, from http://psychcentral.com/lib/2006/characteristics-of-effective-counselling/ Table of content Page Introduction 1 Question 1 Definition of Counseling 1 Factor in Counseling 1 Question 2 Safety of the client 1 Comfort of the client 2 Question 3 Effective Counselor- Goals 2 Good Counselor- Establish change 3 Personal Qualities in effective Counselor 3 Question 4 Carl Roger: Person-Centred Approach 3 Congruence 3 Unconditional Positive Regard 3 Empathy 3 Core Conditions 4 Question 5 Self-awareness and Self-care 4 Physical Self-care 4 Psychological, Emotional and Spiritual Self-care 4 Conclusion 4

William Shakespeares Use of Song in the Early Comedies Essay -- Biogr

Shakespeare's Use of Song in the Early Comedies Undertaken to determine what features make a song germane to the story in successful musical theater, this study outlines some characteristics of Shakespeare's use of song. Chosen from the plays with which the present author is most familiar-the early comedies-are three substantial pieces (each headed in the play by either "Song" or "sing," and each with at least two stanzas and refrain): "You Spotted Snakes," "Sigh No More," and "Under the Greenwood Tree." A close reading of the lyrics and surrounding text will establish the contribution of the song to plot, theme, and character, and a study of the form itself will support these aspects and perhaps explain the success of the lyrics in making a song. First in the study of Shakespeare's songs, "You Spotted Snakes" of A Midsummer Night's Dream (II.ii.9-24) demonstrates each of the aspects outlined above. To begin, by answering Queen Titania's command "Sing me now asleep" (II.ii.7), this lullaby serves to advance the plot: during the song the queen not only retires but achieves such slumber as endures undisturbed by King Oberon's ensuing mischief. This function resembles that of "Let Me the Canakin Clink" in Othello II.iii.71-75), explains Seng: "not only to establish an atmosphere . . . but to 'stretch' stage-time and make Cassio's rapid drunkenness plausible" (186). Further, Seng relates, an Elizabethan audience "believed that music had actual therapeutic value": the fairy song is "more than a lullaby, or even a magic lullaby; it is a charm to ward off evils" (31-32). That the song lulls Titania asleep is its obvious function, but that it also saves her from the snakes and spiders should be apparent even to modern audiences... ...r, 10 May 1993: 97-98. Long, John H. Shakespeare's Use of Music: A Study of the Music and its Performance in the Original Production of Seven Comedies. Gainesville: U of Florida P, 1961. HSU ML8O.55.L7 Rollin, Lucy. Cradle and All: A Cultural and Psychoanalytic Reading of Nursery Rhymes. Jackson: UP of Mississippi, 1992. HSU PR.976.R6 Seng, Peter J. The Vocal Songs in the Plays of Shakespeare: A Critical History. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1967. HSU ML80.55.535 Shakespeare, William. The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Ed. W. G. Clark and W. Aldis Wright. 2 vols. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, n.d. Sternfeld, F. W. Music in Shakespearean Tragedy. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1963. HSU ML8O.55.58 Walter, J. H. Introduction to King Henry V. Ed. Walter. The Arden Ed. of the Works of William Shakespeare. London: Methuen, 1954. HSU PR.2812.A2.W3.

How Does the Practical Life Exercises Help Children in Their Daily Living? by Maria Montessori

Reason for Practical Life ExercisesChildren are naturally interested in activities they have witnessed. Therefore, Dr. Montessori began using what she called â€Å"Practical Life Exercises† to allow the child to do activities of daily life and therefore adapt and orientate himself in his society.It is therefore the Directress’s task to demonstrate the correct way of doing these Exercises in a way that allows the child to fully observe the movements. Montessori says, â€Å"If talking don’t move, if moving don’t talk†.The directress must also keep in mind that the goal is to show the actions so that the child can go off and repeat the activity in his own successful way. Montessori says, â€Å"Our task is to show how the action is done and at the same time destroy the possibility of imitation†. The child must develop his own way of doing these activities so that the movements become real and not synthetic.During the child’s sensitive peri od between birth and 6, the child is constructing the inner building blocks of his person. It is therefore important for the child to participate in activities to prepare him for his environment, that allow him to grow independently and use his motor skills, as well as allow the child to analyze difficulties he may have in the exercise and problem solve successfully.Montessori also saw the child’s need for order, repetition, and succession in movements. Practical Life Exercises also helps to aid the child to develop his coordination in movement, his balance and his gracefulness in his  environment as well as his need to develop the power of being silent.Dr. Maria Montessori developed her philosophy of education based upon actual observations of children. She said children prefer work than play, and they can only be in their natural self, when their natural self is satisfied through work. It's also through work they acquire independence, order, the power of concentration and be normalized. Exercises of Practical Life was introduced and was recognized as the very heart of Montessori Education for it provides the opportunity for the child’s development of physical co-ordination, social skills, emotional growth as well as cognitive preparation.Having a rich and stimulating prepared environment equipped with purposeful materials and trained teachers are important for the child to grow to their full potential. Practical Life Activities are the first activities the child is introduced to within the Montessori environment. These exercises are prepared based on activities children witnesses in their day to day life. That is why children can immediately satisfy their inner needs and desires by mastering these exercises independently. Also Practical Life area allows children to do the things what adults do everyday, for example cleaning, dressing or greeting people. As we know that children construct their knowledge by themselves through their life experi ence.Categories of Practical Life ExercisesPractical Life Exercises are grouped into four categories, development of motor skills, care of environment, care of self and social grace and courtesy. Exercises in each of these categories provide the opportunity to do purposeful work and are designed to teach the child life skills, so that they may become confident to do their daily chores at home. Activities grouped under ‘Development of Motor Skills’, such as carrying, pouring, squeezing, and twisting, sorting, etc. give the opportunity to exercise and co-ordinate body movements of the child.Movement is very important to the child; because it contributes not only for the physical growth also intellectual and spiritual development of the child. â€Å"Through Movement, he acts upon his external environment and thus carries out his own personal mission in the world. Movement is not only an impression of the ego but it is an indispensable factor in the development of consciou sness, since it is  the only real means which places the ego in a clearly defined relationship with external reality.†The secret of ChildhoodThe child learns to ‘Care for the Environment’ from exercises like cutting, cleaning, washing, polishing, sewing and more. They learn that they are a part of the environment and learn to respect and develop a sense of responsibility towards the environment. Also the child will gradually learn how to gain greater control of his gross motor movements so that he would be able perform more complex tasks later on. Some of the activities such as washing of a table can be carried out as a group task, which helps the child to be socialized. The child needs to build himself and learn to take care of himself.The exercises in ‘Care of Self’ category are designed to provide the child skills need for his sole independence. In order to gain independence, the child needs to establish will and discipline in order. Some of the activities in this category are on how to dress himself and stay clean by washing himself; hands, face, feet as well as his belongings; shoes, napkins, etc.. Between the ages of 2 1/2 -6, the child is in a sensitive period for the learning of good manners.The exercises of ‘Grace and Courtesy’ are focused on developing will power, establish a proper posture, greet people, excuse one and interrupt when necessary. Maria Montessori considers the Social Grace and Courtesy activities as the most important exercises in the practical life curriculum. She felt that when children are first brought into a Montessori classroom, emphasis must be placed on social grace exercises.Motive of Practical Life ExercisesPractical Life Curriculum area has four main direct aims; Order, Co-ordination Independence and Concentration, Dr. Maria Montessori observed that children need order at a specific sensitive period in their development. If not provided during this period the opportunity is for egone. A routine is very important as well as a place for everything and everything in its place. This offers the child for orderly self construction. Co-ordination refers to coordinating large and small muscle movements as well as eye-hand co-ordination that reflect the respective development of child’s mental life. â€Å"Man achieves his independence by making efforts. To be able to do a thing without any help from others: this is independence. If it  exists, the child can progress rapidly; if it does not, his progress will be slow† The Absorbent Mind, chapter.XIV, pg 155It is very important that the child is given freedom to do these exercises at a time the child pleases; he should be allowed to try, make mistakes and correct his mistakes by himself without any help. The satisfaction of completing an activity drives the child towards independence. The power of Concentration is one of the most calming activities for a child. This is something which is controlled by the child and it challenges his body and his mind. With concentration the child is able to focus on purposeful work. I’ve witnessed to the concentration that my 3 and half year old niece had for folding her little brothers’ nappies.The pile of nappies was two times bigger than her, I thought, she would be bored and leave, but for my amazement after 45 minutes I could see that she has folded all nappies very neatly and have kept one on top of another and was ready to be placed in the drawers. Within the Montessori classroom deep concentration can be acquired through the ‘Silence Game†. To achieve silence requires effort and the attention of the will, and maximum control of self-consciousness of every movement. Montessori thought of the silence lesson as a means for bringing children to this higher level of spiritual awareness. Practical Life Exercises aid the child in his journey towards normalizationAs a result of learning Practical Life Exercises in the M ontessori environment, the child starts to develop confidence, self-esteem, he grow towards independence, mutual aid and co-operation, profound spontaneous concentration, attachment to reality and most importantly child's joy of learning is supreme. All these help the child to lead towards normalization. The normalized children possess a unique character and personality not recognized in young children Normalization is the most important single result of our whole work. The Absorbent Mind, Chapter XIX, pg. 204.Children needs a carefully prepared environmentIt is important to provide the child an environment to work on activities of their own choice at their own pace experiencing freedom and self discipline while developing towards independence. Even though materials in Practical  Life area are the least standardized, exercises needs to be carefully thought and designed. A prepared environment should consist of purposeful and meaningful materials and properly trained instructors. W hen preparing materials the teacher needs to consider few principles of the Montessori Practical Life materials which satisfy Childs’ development needs.Firstly she needs to make sure that each material we give the child should have a definite purpose, for an example the mat is laid to mark the area of his workstation, handling the spoon develops child’s skill of spooning which leads to independence. Secondly materials should progress from simple to more complex design and usage. As a preliminary exercise for transferring solid objects we could give the child a spoon and later, it could progress to tweezers, chopsticks. Also it should be designed to prepare the child indirectly for future learning’s such as writing, mathematics and scientific concepts.We prepare the child for wiring by teaching them the pincer grip, using thumb, index and middle fingers to hold objects and by left to right and top to bottom concepts, so that these orders naturally incarnates in t he child’s mind. The mathematical concepts such as judgement of capacity and volume, division, calculation and exactness includes in activities of spooning, pouring and sweeping. The activity, transferring water using a sponge gives the child the scientific concept of weight. The child could feel the weight of the sponge defers when the water is absorbed and when the water is released. Dr. Maria Montessori said, â€Å"Each individual should become aware of his own errors. Each should have a means of checking, so that he can tell if he is right or not.† Absorbent Mind, Chapter XXIV, pg 247.So she included the path to perfection, which she called â€Å"the Control of Error† within the materials itself so the child would be able to observe the activity he completes and understand his own mistakes. If a child has finished working on the dressing frame with large buttons, and he can see that buttons has gone through wrong buttonholes or buttoning halfway or seeing on ly half of the button come up the flap, these would be his control of errors. He has the opportunity to guide himself to correct his own mistakes. Furthermore when preparing the activity in the Montessori classroom the directress need to make sure that all materials are kept together in a basket or a tray and grouped accordingly to the level of  development.The activity should have its unique location and be reachable to the child so that the child could use the materials of their own choice and return the exercise, leading to independence and self-discipline. Also it is important to be providing attractive and clean child friendly and child size materials. Each activity should be limited in quantity. In a Montessori classroom the directress plays a major role. She needs to be properly trained, be a good role model and she should be able to develop and maintain a happy and rewarding teacher-child relationship. †The first essential is that the teacher should go thru an inner, spiritual preparation – cultivate certain aptitudes in the moral order.† Her Life and Work, Chapter XVIII, pg 298.The teacher's prime objectives are to: maintain order in the prepared environment, facilitate the development of the child, encourage independence and self-sufficiency. In conclusion it is apparent that Practical Life Exercises refines movement, providing a foundation in early learning, attitudes and dispositions. Practical life exercises also provide children a sense of accomplishment as they engage in real, meaningful work with tangible results. The familiar home-like environment of the practical life corner allows children to gain independence, order, concentration and confidence as they carry out thoughtfully prepared activities. This leads to normalization.

Key Historical Figures of World War I