A Life Panorama

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.