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Video Commentary Introduction

Purpose of Commentary

The purpose of this video commentary is to report on a counselling session that took place at KAPC premises on 1st November 2012 between Mercy M (client) and Albert Muraya (counsellor) as part of the requirement towards completion of the Higher Diploma in Counselling Studies course.
Reason for session

The client reported that she was experiencing a conflict in managing her time around two academic research papers that she was to write for different courses in different institutions.
Relationship to client

The client is a classmate of the counsellor, though the issue presented was an actual, current difficulty.
Define video commentary

A video commentary is a written summary of a video taped counselling session. The purpose is to outline the process of a counselling session, identify and highlight the skills and techniques used and establish the effect of the session on the client.
Portion of video chosen

I have chosen to analyse the first twenty minutes of the session. Where does commented section start Body
Comment on skills used define & refer from appropriate literature Techniques used Structure of session

Beginning Introduction At 00:05, I introduced myself to the client and welcomed her to the counselling centre. By way of contracting, I briefly outlined the structure of the session, cost and duration and encouraged her to be relaxed, open and honest. In so doing I established the notion of a shared enterprise where we both have specified roles (Culley & Bond, 2011). This formed the basis of the therapeutic alliance or counselling relationship. I stated the exception to the confidentiality clause being a danger of harm to her or another; I also told her that if the need arose to consult with another professional about her issues, I would first request her informed consent. The client accepted the contract terms. The missed opportunities were when I omitted to mention the need for strict boundaries between us a way of enhancing clarity and allaying suspicions or mistrust; also failing to get the clients explicit agreement to the contract; and leading the client when outlining the limits to confidentiality. As I did all the talking at this point, the only skills in evidence were attending skills by way of my sitting and body posture I had an open orientation towards the client; I

maintained eye-to-eye contact with the client throughout this stage; my facial expression conveyed interest and concern for the client; I was seated 3-an-a-half feet from the client - close enough to communicate interest, but not too close to crowd the client. Exploration Stages in the counselling relationship are a way of ordering the interactions between client and counsellor in order to identify the most appropriate strategies and skills to employ at any point, whereas skills provide a means for establishing a shared understanding (Culley & Bond, 2011). These authors categorise exploration as a strategy rather than a stage in the process, which they term as The Beginning Stage. However other writers Egan (2007) calls it Stage I, and Nelson-Jones (2005) calls it Relating have offered different terminology to identify the same step or stage. At 02:06 the client proceeded to outline her problem as being one of time management and competing academic assignments. The skills I used at this point were to paraphrase, and to show empathy (sounds like a lot of work), followed by an open-ended question. Paraphrasing is part of the constellation of skills called reflective skills; its purpose is to express to the client that you as therapist, understand the clients concerns from their (clients) point of view. In so doing the client gets to hear again what they have stated and are given the opportunity to modify their statement should they desire. To paraphrase accurately requires close attending and listening skills. (Culley & Bond, 2011). The open-ended question is part of a set of intrusive skills called probing, as they take the flow of the conversation from the clients frame of reference or point of view, to the counsellors. This is done to focus the client, gather information or obtain a fuller response than the client has already offered. In this case, I asked the question to get the client to expound a little more on the workload involved in doing a research project, to get a fuller perspective on her dilemma. As the client expounds on the nature of academic research, I interject with a paraphrase about the literature review they have to do. This helps to push the conversation whilst conveying to the client that I am still with her. I ask the client at 04:20 how they are able to cope with their workload. This is followed by my making a statement that the client is able to cope, as an expression of affirmation for the client; this establishes the other two of the core conditions for effective therapy respect and genuineness. However despite the forgoing, it is too early in the session to begin to look at solutions, which is what follows next. At 4:40, following the affirmation above, the client summarises that their problem is how they will cope, as they feel confident that they will be able to manage in the end. I follow this with a paraphrase outlining this understanding together with a value judgement to the effect that the client was doing well. This was by way of showing respect or universal positive regard, one of the core conditions to counselling relationships (Rogers, 1958). At 05:05 I offer a summary to the effect the client showed determination to go through with the projects despite the workload. Summaries are extended paraphrases that join

different parts of a session together. They bring clarity, allow for review of what has taken place, prioritise and focus, and are often used to end sessions and begin subsequent sessions. In this case I used the summary to move the process forward by creating a focus for the rest of the session understanding her priorities. Understanding At 05:32 I use a direct closed question; the client is unable to elect a priority over the two projects, so I try to get her to choose. My hypothesis at this point is that the client has too much to do, and subconsciously knows this. I try to bring this awareness to the surface by probing directly using an either, or type of question. It is a restrictive type best not used as it limits the clients responses to the alternatives; it is not exploratory. The client is initially unable to choose one as a priority so I had to rephrase the question and break it down; because I had used a restrictive question, the clients scope for response was limited. However there is a discrepancy in the clients attitude as the pressure from doing two research projects was the presenting issue. As I did not highlight this, it counts as a missed opportunity. Action Clients agenda Sub-titles Challenges What challenges faced Evaluation How effective was the session Did movement of the client take place Problems the client had in the session How did you do as a counsellor Opportunities missed Challenges faced & overcome

References Skills literature

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