Archives for: October 2009, 22

10/22/09

Link: http://www.billboardmama.com/methods-or-models-of-couples-counseling-p-359.html

The fourth element of therapeutic success contributing about fifteen percent of the total benefit refers to the methods or techniques used in couples counseling in Bethesda, MD. The other three elements discussed earlier in this article contributes 40% for client factor, 30% for client-therapist relationship and 15% for hope expectancy.

Be aware that the primary healing factor is no one else but YOU. Along with hope and the therapist's supportive contribution, the couples counseling in Bethesda, MD methods would help you get to a phase of healing. Simply put, the magic rests on you, the client.

Link: http://www.billboardmama.com/client-expectancy-and-hope-in-couples-counseling-p-358.html

Most people who resort to couples counseling in Bethesda, MD are not "sick" in the medical sense, but they may be having mental and emotional pain, they may be frustrated and discouraged about not reaching their life goals or they may not be functioning optimally. This is because sometimes, people continually use old and ineffective ways, avoid or deny problems, or simply don't have a support system. After feeling demoralized in their unsuccessful problem solving efforts or powerless about changing things, individuals then resort to therapy. However, the act of doing therapy shows a new determination to get better, the "I can do it" sense; this is an act of hope.

Good therapy supports this kind of thinking. Effective therapy offers hope that something can be done to improve one's situation. Dr. Durana's methods for counseling makes way for clients to experience effective problem-solving techniques. A client's perception of the problem and his/her hope about how to imporove it is the 3rd important factor in measuring the success of therapy. A belief in the healing properties of the therapy helps facilitate progress. Attending to what's functional in the client's life, and enhancing the client's strengths, resources and capacities to effectively copy within a context of care and respect helps generate optimistic expectations that change will occur and that the client has the competency and power to make recovery and change feasible.

Change is defined as a step-by-step process wherein an individual tries out new things a lot of times. In everyday life, people change through normal processes of thinking about a problem, discovering and experimenting with solutions and receiving feedback from the environment; out of this come new perspectives and experiences which then result to new solutions and explorations. These are natural self-righting mechanisms, that when laid out, will generate hopefulness in the pursuit of goals.

Couples counseling in Bethesda, MD can be useful for most people. Therapy research findings contend that beneficial effects can be attained in 5-10 sessions with at least fifty percent of clients. 20-30% of the clients, however, need about 25 sessions. The chances for a successful therapy lessens for hostile, poorly motivated and passive clients.

Link: http://www.billboardmama.com/the-clienttherapist-relationship-in-couples-counseling-p-357.html

The alliance that the client and the therapist have developed is the 2nd most important factor for successful couples counseling in Reston, VA. Believe it or not, this is another resource that you can utilize for growth and healing to take place. Some of the essential characteristics displayed by a good counselor are warmth, empathy, care, interest in and respect for you as an individual (your ideas and feelings), genuineness, and support in trying out novel solutions. This relationship acts as a safe and supportive environment for you to ponder problems through, generate new perspectives, experiment with potential solutions, receive feedback and conquer your own problems.

Dr. Durana then emphasizes on the importance of listening to and engaging with the client, instead of "treating" or "fixing." Through this, a trusting relationship is created and this allows the client to feel more at ease in exploring his or her deeper areas of concern. Even the unsure and the cynic will take benefit from this kind of relationship - so in the end, they will discover new resources and skills which are important for their growth and healing.

What makes Dr. Durana an effective counselor is the fact that he lets you set the agenda - you dictate your level of willingness for engagement and learning. Counselor and client agreement of objectives and tasks to be carried is a good predictor of successful outcome. In the end, if you, the client, see the product of the couples counseling in Reston, VA as a consequence of your own best efforts and have accepted responsibility for the changes, then the results are more likely to last.

Link: http://www.billboardmama.com/successful-couples-counseling-your-role-as-a-client-p-356.html

According to studies, the success of couples counseling in Reston, VA is evaluated in four elements. The client's power for growth and self-healing makes up 40% percent of the success. Every individual has strengths and resources; these may include beliefs, values, feelings, skills, knowledge, experience, abilities, relational capacity, and many others. An effective therapy is thus, one that will help clients properly allocate and use their resources. Dr. Durana emphasizes that what has worked rather than what has failed it, brings out strengths, competencies, and resources. This idea lets us hold that we can seamlessly move from a position of strength - as such, problem-solving is facilitated and self-esteem is improved. By focusing on at what is right with people, what works or has worked for them in the past and by identifying assets in what people say and do, peoples' capacity for healing and change can be supported.

Other forms of counseling and learning place emphasis on what is wrong with the person (pathologizing), on what is the unseen cause of the problem and what can be done to fix it. Dr. Durana, however, saw that this approach has many disadvantages - despite being helpful at certain points in time. For example, when a person is called phobic about relationships, this term and the associated lack of capabilities can act as hurdles that may prevent fully understanding the person; the label may threaten and cause defenses. Dr. Durana believes that an individual is much more than a label. It's much more useful, in this example, to say that the person has forgotten how to relate because of past disappointments. Thinking this way about oneself can then promote self-understanding, self-acceptance and self-love. As a counselor, Dr. Durana believes that thinking about the client in this fashion may help in avoiding getting into a rut, trying to "fix" the person. What is of great importance is how we think about what goes on with ourselves and with others.

While it's essential to know what has not worked before, it is more practical to focus on what has worked (for example, when were we at our best). Dr. Durana's approach promotes self-discovery, personal responsibility, personal control and problem solving. It is based on the premise that people possess the ability to uncover resources and directions for growth in life, and it is based on a faith and an interest in everyone's personal worth, competence and lovability.

Dr. Durana believes that it is the responsibility of the therapist to help the client uncover their resources and potential for growth, and to lay out the conditions under which effective couples counseling in Reston, VA can take place, but it is the client that makes therapy work, not the therapist's or that of the technique.