<Institution>
Summary
The client has issues with one of his housemates. Currently, he shares a house with four other people. However, one of them isn’t doing his share in terms of making sure that the place is clean. For the purpose of this paper, the housemate that causes the issue will be called Housemate 1. In particular, Housemate 1 always leaves the sink and the kitchen dirty despite knowing and seeing that the others are extending effort to clean it. This makes the client really upset. He shares this sentiment with his other housemates who also observe the unclean and disorganized behavior of Housemate 1. They often discuss about it. The client says that the issue stresses him out. Because he is an organized person and he values cleanliness, it makes him feel stressed every time he sees the dirty kitchen. Although the client and his other housemates have already reminded Housemate 1 about ensuring cleanliness of the house, they never really had a formal discussion about it. The reminders were not helpful in changing the behavior of Housemate 1.
Counselling Skills
Summarization
Counselor: You have issue with one of your roommates that he isn’t help you and your friends to just make your room clean. (I said this after the client shared his issue so that he would know that I am carefully listening. Summarizing the issue also helps me recall the client’s problem. When the client answered me after I summarized his problem, it also helps ensure that I understood him correctly).
Closed-Ended Question
Counselor: Do you share this issue with your other roommates? (I asked this question to determine whether he is the only one who considers the situation with Housemate 1 an issue or if others feel the same way. This is important to understand whether or not the issue is specific only to the client.)
Counselor: Have you ever like talk to him about this issue? (I asked this question to determine whether a step to resolve the issue has been done on the part of the client. This question prompted the client to share some details below about what he and his housemates actually did in response to Roommate 1’s behavior.)
Open-Ended Question
Counselor: How does this issue make you feel? (I asked this question to continue the conversation with the client and to gather more information about what he is going through).
Counselor: How do you think this issue has affect your life? (I asked this question to understand the extent or the severity of the impact of the issue on the life of the client)
Counselor: In your opinion, what do you thinkif there is something that will solve the problem or make it better? (I asked this question so that I would know if the client already has an idea about how the issue can probably be resolved. This would allow me to determine whether he needs assistance on thinking about how to deal with the problem with Housemate 1)
Reflection/Paraphrase
Counselor: You tried to solve the problem with him but he just like promised you but he didn’t do I anymore (I used this statement to verify that I accurately heard and understood the client’s explanation about the outcome of his first attempt in solving the issue with Housemate 1).
Strengths
I believe that I have demonstrated some strengths in the counselling session. For instance, I have used nonverbal communication quite well. First, I was able to maintain an eye contact with the client during conversation. This is particularly important because it establishes a sense of connection. This also lets the client know that I am paying careful attention to what he is sharing. Without eye contact, he might feel that I am not interested with his issue. Second, I also use nodding. I believe that this minimal response is helpful in letting the client know that I’m following the thoughts and ideas that he is sharing with me. Also, it helps in encouraging the client share his opinions and feelings. In addition, I also try to sit in a relaxed manner. I tried not to slouch because the client might feel like I’m too lazy to pay attention or that I’m not enthusiastic about our conversation. I also tried to avoid unnecessary gestures that might cause distraction in our exchange of thoughts. At the same time, I also used different communication strategies to make the most of our conversation. I consider these skills as part of strengths, too. For example, I used summarization and paraphrases. Because there are moments when I’m not sure if my understanding was correct, these two skills helped me make that I have accurately understood what the client was sharing about his issue with his housemate. I also used closed-ended questions to get specific answers from the client. The good thing about it is that although the questions are close-ended, my client was cooperative enough to share more details about his answers without taking too much time from our session. In addition, I also used open-ended question which helps the conversation keep going. It also allows me to gather more information about what the client has been going through in his house. Both of my nonverbal and verbal communication skills served as my strengths during the counselling session.
Points for Improvement
Although I have identified several strengths, I am very much aware about the many things that I need to improve on in terms of my counselling skills. However, I am still learning, so there some areas that I feel I could improve it. For instance, it is advisable to provide a brief description or explanation of the importance of each question that I would ask. This would allow the client to understand why he needs to answer each question. However, I failed to do this. Instead, I just started the session by telling the client that I will ask him series of questions. In my opinion, what I did would make the client feel more comfortable with the questions. An example of this would be the question, “In every problem has a way of making us feel one way or another. So, how does this problem typically make you feel?”. Moreover, I did not provide affective messages. To be honest, I still find it challenging to construct this type of message; therefore, improving my knowledge and application of this aspect will really be a great improvement for me. Furthermore, as a counselor, I also missed in terms of reflecting on the client’s emotions. This could have helped elicit more emotions from the client which could have helped me deeply understand the trouble he is having. It can also help him see that I understand what he feels. However, I honestly find it difficult to express myself. Although I understand the importance of using affective messages and reflecting on client’s emotion, it is quite challenging to do this during the session as I sometime get lost in words. One of the reasons is because English is not my first language. I’m still working on my English skills. I know I keep asking questions that are sometimes hard to understand. Also, I often encounter grammatical errors when speaking. It is easier for me to write in English than to speak because when I write, I have more time to think things through and to correct my errors. Although I no longer get mental block, I know that I can still improve my speaking skills in English, and this will greatly help me during counselling sessions.
Similarities and Differences in Performance
In the first video, I was so nervous and because of that, I was not able to provide and catch both cognitive or affective messages. I only realized about this after the session. Also, instead of encouraging the client to open up more about his issue, I tend to give advice as we talk. This is because I used to have a wrong understanding about what the relationship of a counselor and counselee is all about. Clearly, I was wrong. A good counselor has to let the client think for themselves and the client should be encouraged to figure out how to solve his/her issues. In addition, I was not in control of my nonverbal communication in the first session. I was using too much hand gestures. On the other hand, in the second session, I believe I did more mistakes compared to the first one. For instance, I was smiling too often, and it doesn’t look very much appropriate at that time. I also asked more close-ended question than open-ended ones. This is wrong because open-ended questions are more helpful as it will help gather more information from the client and it also helps in encouraging continuous information. In the third counseling session, I noticed that I did way better. I was more in control of my nonverbal cues. Also, I used more open-ended question and less close-ended questions. Furthermore, I also improved in terms of how I asked questions. For example, in the second video, I keep using the word “so” every time I am lost for words. This means that I found it hard to complete my questions and statements. After that, I just let the client do the talking. However, I saw that I improved that in the third video session because I was able to complete most of my questions. Despite my wrong grammar, the client still understood my message. Clearly, the differences in the three sessions can be noticed based on the improvements that that I demonstrated.
What I Learned from the Assignment
This class taught me a lot of things that I was not aware of before. It taught me about my skills, what I can do, and what I need to improve on. I learned about the importance of asking questions and the importance of the way each question is delivered or spoken. In other words, verbal skills can really make a difference in every counselling session. I also learned about the role of counselors. As a counselor, I learned that it is not my responsibility or role to solve the client’s problems. Instead, all I have to do is to encourage the client to open up, talk, share his thoughts, and feelings, and encourage critical thinking in order to solve his problems. Lastly, I also learned that the client’s culture, economy, and the other aspects of his life can create a significant impact in the counselling session.
