Seasons of Life, Cygnus
Editorials
By William Bloom on 24 April,
2013
Obtaining an assessment
of the client the counselor will be guiding through the journey of counseling
is important. Acquiring an accurate and meticulous appraisal of the client the
counselor will be assisting is essential. Thomas and Sosin stated the
following, “Basic to the counseling enterprise is an accurate and thorough
understanding of the person you are trying to help” (2011, p.325). The initial assessment
helps the counselor to create a psychological portrait of the client. It is
necessary for the counselor to be careful and effective in this stage, rather
than, rapid and unproductive.
The principle of the
appraisal is to attain information on the way the client is doing in the main areas
of life. This information allows the counselor to direct the treatment towards
the area of need. The book presents four main domains of life that should be view
by the counselor; the biological, psychological, social, and spiritual
functioning of the client. The better the counselor comprehends these areas of
the client’s life it permits the counselor to design an effective and achievable
treatment plan for the client. Attaining an accurate assessment of the client
paints a clear and insightful life panorama of the client to the counselor. As
counselor in training we need to keep in mind the great importance of this
phase in the counseling session. The assessment may look simple to conduct;
however, the information acquired will help determine the client’s treatment.
Reference
Thomas,
J. C. & Sosin, L. (2011). Therapeutic expedition: Equipping the
Christian counselor for the journey. Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing
Group.
ReplyDeleteVictor,
I agree with you, it is very important for the counselor to take time to get to know and understand the client in order to be able to help, and create an achievable treatment plan. I think this is something that can also be carried on into our daily lives. The best way we can help anyone or be an influence in the lives of others is by taking our time in getting to know them and gain their trust.
Erica C.