Emotional Intelligence

                                                           Emotional Intelligence
Robert O'Shea

                                                 Caption:Intelligence


       "There is little doubt helpers must possess this emotional intelligence in the same way an engineer must have the intellectual ability to understand higher mathematics." (Young, 2017). This quote helps display how beneficial emotional intelligence can be and how we must understand its meaning. Young (2017) goes on to discuss emotional intelligence and how it is about ones ability to monitor ones emotions and the emotions of others. This will help us greatly in counseling for if we are aware of our own ability to utilize this asset it can be of great help to the counselor. This is why it would be beneficial for counselors to seek getting their emotional intelligence tested, for which there are centers. This would help me the counselor aware of where they stand on this skill.

       As Shaheena Parveen and M. Shafiq (2014) state "It has been found, for example, that emotinal intelligence factors successfully predict counseling self-efficiency of both counseling students and practicing counselors."(Parveen and Shafiq, 2014). This statement captures just how beneficial high emotional intelligence can be for a counselor. This is another reason every prospective counselors should get tested for this attribute as it can give the counselor a heightened sense of confidence upon entering the field.  
     
       In an article by Daniel Guiterrez and Patrick Mullen (2016) they state "This article describes a correlational investigation that examined the relationship of practicing mental health counselors and marriage and family counselors to their degree of burnout." (Guiterrez and Mullen, 2016). This article goes on to discuss this study showing a correlation between high emotional intelligence and less burnout. This study makes clear however that a lower emotional intelligence in now way implies you will burnout, just states a slight edge goes to those with a higher emotional intelligence.


                                                                               References

Parveen, S., & Shafiq, M. (2014). Emotional Intelligence: Implications for counseling and psychotherapy. Indian journal of posotive psychology.

Guiterrez, D., & Mullen, P. (2016). Emotional intelligence and the counselor: Examining the relationship of trait emotional intelligence and counselor burnout.  

Intelligence. Photogrphy. Britannica ImageQuest, Encyclopedia Britannica, 25 May 2016. quest.eb.com/search/139_2011706/1/1392011706/cite

Multicultural Competence: A Responsibility and A Privilege

Hands-World-Map-Global

https://pixabay.com/en/hands-world-map-global-earth-600497/

By Amber Bateman 

   As future clinicians, we are learning the importance of multicultural counseling. One tripartite model to multicultural competency outlines three dimensions: 1) Counselor self-awareness 2) Nonjudgmental learning about other cultures 3) Intentional use of multicultural skills (Jones, Begay, Nakagawa, Cevasco & Sit, 2016). Some studies have shown that many graduate students do not feel sufficiently prepared for the third step, actually implementing effective multicultural skills (Jones et al., 2016). According to Young (2017), professional counselors should take a tutorial stance toward clients from backgrounds with which the counselor feels unfamiliar. Beginning counselors cannot know everything about every culture. The picture of the open hands with the world painted on them can help visualize the respectful naiveté and humble attitude counselors can adopt as they invite clients to help them understand cultural differences. According to Young (2017) and McDowell, Goessling, and Melendez (2012), cultural immersion experiences, such as extended trips, are one of the best ways to become multiculturally competent. This kind of exposure helps students see people from different backgrounds not only through statistics or textbook examples, but as people with real faces and real struggles (McDowell et al., 2012). For many students, international travel seems unlikely due to time and financial restraints. Young (2017) states that learning another language and exposing oneself to foreign books, movies, and art are also helpful ways to improve multicultural skills. Other ideas may include intentionally getting to know international colleagues or coworkers, visiting churches from a different cultural background, and volunteering at an English as a Second Language program. With this information in mind, readers should know that multicultural competence seems to grow over time, with experience, and can be a very enjoyable journey along the way (Jones et al., 2016).

References

McDowell, T., Goessling, K., & Melendez, T. (2012). Transformative learning through international immersion: Building multicultural competence in family therapy and counseling. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 38(2), 365-379. Doi: 10.1111/j.1752-0606.2010.00209.x

Jones, J. M., Begay, K. K., Nakagawa, Y., Cevasco M., & Sit, J. (2016) Multicultural counseling competence training: Adding value with multicultural consultation. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 26(3), 241-265. DOI:10.1080/10474412.2015.1012671

Young, M. E. (2017). Learning the Art of Helping: Building Blocks and Techniques (6^th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.  

Facing Secrets

Facing Secrets

By: Jenna Beever

Caption: Shhhh

URL: https://flic.kr/p/8NEiE9

            I know there have been times in my own life where I was struggling through something and felt too ashamed to tell anyone. It bottled up inside until I was ready to explode with depression, guilt, worry, and anxiety. When I kept all my burdens to myself, I was suffering, but when I decided to use the resources around me, and share with a mentor, I had finally felt free. I could feel the emotional weights being lifted off of me. It is normal to have secrets, however, sharing these dark parts of life can be very difficult (Richards & Sillars, 2012).

            “You are only as sick as your darkest secret” is used by Alcoholics Anonymous to encourage participants to be open and honest (Young, 2017, p. 127). As first this quote might sound intimidating to people who are vulnerable, but it sheds light on something meaningful to the healing process. Personal disclosure of the unknown parts of one’s life can be therapeutic. For example, negative thoughts occur when an individual suppresses secrets into the private (Richards & Sillars, 2012). While we cannot force our clients to share with us, we can educate them on the benefits of self-disclosure, all while building rapport that could support an open therapeutic atmosphere.

Kelly and McKillop (1996) shared benefits of disclosure, which are:

• ·      Reduction in psychological and physical problems
• ·      Accountability that affects behavior
• ·      Change of power when secret is suppressed
• ·      Gained insight from viewing from another lens

Further, these positive effects of self-disclosure might be seen when used when coming to the Lord. Even though He already knows our hurts, we can share them with Him in prayer to seek for help and guidance. This step of faith, by sharing our pain with God, can be beneficial as our relationship with Him grows.

Reference

Kelly, A., & McMillop, K. (1996). Consequences of revealing personal secrets. Psychological Bulletin, 120(3), 450.

Richards, A., & Sillars, A. (2014). Imagined interactions as predictors of secret revelation and health. Communication Research, 41(2), 236-256.

Young, M. (2017). Learning the art of helping, 6^th edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Walking on the Journey

Caption: The Journey

URL: https://postimg.org/image/906w9p6ld/

Our recent class times, class discussions, and readings have covered the topics of goal setting with clients. Goal setting and homework should be collaborative. Counseling is a special type of relationship where the two individuals should be working towards something together.

C. S. Lewis has an apt quote about this type of collaboration, saying “True friends don’t spend time gazing into each other’s eyes. They may show great tenderness towards each other but they face in the same direction - toward common projects, goals - above all, towards a common Lord.” The counseling room where goals are set and homework is created should not be dictatorial, where the expert counselor doles out instruction. It should be a joint endeavor, and it should be shared. The counselor serves as an encourager, a fellow traveler on the journey with the client (Meir, 2011).

These goals should also be SMART. SMART stands for specific, measurable, agreed upon, realistic, and timely. Creating goals that are attainable is important for the client to succeed. Unrealistic and unattainable goals create an environment that can contribute to the client’s feelings of helplessness. Usually this means that we are to use scaling in collaboration with goals. We use scaling to get an idea of where the client is at with their specific issue, and then we set a goal that might help them get a half point or one point closer to their goal. Usually scaling helps keep it measurable, and keeping the goal at a small achievement keeps the goal realistic (Young, 2017).

References

Meir, S.T., & Davis, S. R. (2011). Elements of Counseling. 7^th edition. Belmont, CA:

Brooks Cole.

Young, M. (2017). Learning the art of helping, 6^th edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ:

Pearson.     ISBN: 0-13-416578-0

The Importance of Support and Challenging

   When building relationships, we usually begin with sharing something about ourselves.  As time goes on, we continue to disclose more and more of our experiences, perspectives, and feelings about certain aspects of our lives.  The same is true for the counseling relationship.  Clients choose to initiate counseling, and are usually hesitant at first to share too much too soon.  In other words, they are hesitant to share extremely personal things early on in their counseling process.  For individuals who bring certain issues to counseling that are atypical or not easily related to by others, like mental illness for example, there is even more caution before deciding to share or even seek support in the first place (Roxburgh & Evenden, 2016).  From the very beginning, counselors must keep in mind that they have a great deal of influence on the direction of the sessions.  Whether recognized or not, the conversation is essentially molded by the helping professional.  Because this is the case and because clients are (usually) voluntarily seeking help, the counselor must display empathy and support in order to bring about positive outcomes. 

   As human beings, we have an innate need to receive support and esteem from those around us (Hart & McGarragle, 2010).  Sometimes counselors are the only individuals in a person’s life that do so.  This delicate situation is further complicated by the fact that a majority of the time, genuine and lasting change is only brought about by challenging inconsistencies between clients’ values/beliefs and actions.  Through using challenging, the client becomes aware of the steps they need to take in order to once again align themselves in both values and actions.  All the while, it is critical to continue to support the client while challenging because the removal of support severely damages the relationship and prevents the client from working through their issues.

Caption: Hand, United Hands, United, Together, People, Unity

URL: https://pixabay.com/en/hand-united-hands-united-together-1917895/

Hart, K. E., & McGarragle, O. (2010). Perceived social support from counselors and client sobriety during aftercare: A pilot study of emotional and functional support. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 28, 198-229. doi: 10.1080/07347321003648216

Roxburgh, E. C., & Evenden, R. E. (2016). ‘Most people think you’re a fruit loop’: Clients’ experiences of seeking support for anomalous experiences. Counseling and Psychotherapy Research, 16(3), 211-221. doi: 10.1002/capr.12 077

Grief in Counseling

Caption: Children & Grief: What You Need to Know

URL:http://www.drchristinahibbert.com/dealing-with-grief/children-grief-what-you-need-to-know/

Grief can be described as the natural reaction to loss, which may affect physical and psychological health (Hall, 2014). Some loss-related events could be the death of a family member, divorce, and even the loss of a beloved pet. Dealing with grief in a counseling session can be very complex because everyone handles the grieving process differently. The counselor must be aware of this and very cautious in how he or she goes about helping the individual. The client does not necessarily go into counseling specifically for grief itself, but rather it can arise throughout the course of therapy (Meir & Davis, 2011). The griever can experience a variety of emotions such as sadness, shock, loneliness, anxiety, and even guilt. But, as said before, grief is a process, so the therapist can remind the client that it is normal to for such emotions.

The counselor might also come in contact with a child that has just lost someone or something special. This interaction should be handled differently than when dealing with an adult. The grief process in children is dependent on their emotional and cognitive development as well as the environmental changes that can occur following a loss (Pond, 2012). Children can be confused with the concept of grief. Very young children do not realize the permanence of death. They can believe that the lost one will indeed return. A sense of betrayal can also be experienced because the child believes that the deceased abandoned him or her. With that being said, counselors have quite a challenge when dealing with such a topic. It is the therapist’s responsibility to be knowledgeable on the subject to best help his or her client. 

  

Hall, C. (2014). Bereavement theory: recent developments in our understanding of                      grief and bereavement. Bereavement Care, 33(1), 7-12.

Meir, S., & Davis, S. (2011). Elements of Counseling. 7^th edition. Belmont, CA: Brooks

            Cole. Cengage.

 Pond, K. (2012). A study of childhood grief and the church's response. Christian                         Education Journal, 9(1), 43.

An Empathic Connection

Caption: Hands, Compassion, Help, Old, Care

URL: https://pixabay.com/en/hands-compassion-help-old-care-699486/

A counselor should be equipped with many skills to assist clients through counseling. Nevertheless, one skill that is critical for a therapist to possess is the skill of reflecting feelings. Such skill is necessary to build and maintain an empathic connection with clients. As a counselor, we will often find ourselves serving as a teacher because some clients will learn how to express their feelings from observing and modeling our behavior (Murdock, 2013). In certain families and cultures, people are discouraged from talking about their feelings (Young, 2017). Although it is beneficial to discuss one’s thoughts and emotional state, some believe it is inappropriate. Clients who have learned to always suppress their emotions will have to relearn how to communicate their feelings. They will also have to change how they view emotions (Young, 2017). To build the therapeutic relationship and teach clients new and healthy ways to express how they feel, a therapist must utilize empathy (Kwon & Jo, 2012). Empathy involves understanding how someone feels and being able to communicate this understanding to them (Clark, 2010). It is quite different from sympathy, which people are accustomed to portraying in their personal relationships (Clark, 2010). Sympathy is used to demonstrate that you share a person’s feelings of hurt and pain. (Clark, 2010). Also, it is primarily used to comfort someone when they are experiencing suffering. In counseling, empathy is more useful and effective because clients do not need us to feel for them, they need us to feel with them.

Clark, A. J. (2010). Empathy and sympathy: Therapeutic distinctions in counseling. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 32(2), 95-101.

Kwon, K. I., & Jo, S. Y. (2012). The relationship among counselor experience level, empathic accuracy, and counseling outcome in the early phase of counseling. Asia Pacific Education Review, 13(4), 771-777.

Murdock, N. L. (2013). Theories of counseling and psychotherapy: A case approach (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Young, M. E. (2017). Learning the art of helping: Building blocks and techniques (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. 

Do not Judge

Caption: Judging Others

URL: http://journeyofbecoming.blogspot.com

Do not Judge

I find it interesting and yet, not ironic, that major concepts of counseling are coherent with Biblical principles. From a Biblical perspective, as is the golden rule for many religions, we are to treat others the way we would like to be treated. When thinking of this concept, I think it correlates very well with the idea of being non-judgmental toward others. In our own personal lives, we would not like to be judged for our beliefs, values, or actions. Nor would anyone appreciate being judged the same. Matthew 7:1-2 say, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” With this being said, a counselor, especially a Christian counselor, should understand the significance of being non-judgmental in the counseling environment. Phull (2013) distinguishes judgment in the mental health field as being separate from the professional’s duty to maintain discernment, wisdom, and understanding. What is meant by non-judgment in the mental health field is more specifically focused on moral judgement, character disposition, and virtues. This means that counselors should set aside their values, so as not to impose their beliefs on what is right and what is wrong on the client (Phull, 2013; Meier & Davis, 2011). Judgment does not allow the counselor to create an empathetic relationship, nor does it allow them to practice their universal duty to care (Phull, 2013). A good example of this is in mandated reporters who may have several criminal convictions to their name. If the counselor can only judge the client for their misdeeds, they are denying equal treatment and disregarding their duty to serve (Phull, 2013). From a Biblical perspective we can see how Jesus modeled non-judgment when he said he came for the sinners. He also took his last breathes to ask for the forgiveness of everyone. Likewise, we should show equal compassion to our clients. A good place to start our non-judgmental practice as counselors is from a mindfulness based intervention. By understanding our own judgments and views of others, we become aware of them as they come up in our practice. Mindfulness utilizes attention to one’s experiences with a non-judgmental attitude towards others. These types of approaches are very good for diverse client populations (Brown, Marquis, & Guiffrida, 2013). Becoming a counselor that does not make moral judgments will be crucial in establishing empathy, trust, and a positive-regard.

References:

Brown, A. P., Marquis, A., & Guiffrida, D. A. (2013). Mindfulness-based interventions in counseling. Journal of Counseling & Development, 91, 96-104.

Meier, S. T., & Davis, S. R. (2011). The elements of counseling. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learing.

Phull, J. (2013). How to judge - without judging. Mental Health Practice, 16(9), 8.