Best Counselling Approaches

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A counsellor’s approach is a reflection of their training and coaching philosophy.

Professional counsellors apply a variety of clinical approaches based on the clients’s needs. These counselling approaches are based upon theories about human function and change accordingly, hence no counselling approach is better than the rest.

However, of the hundreds of approaches to choose from, there are a few that are most preferred by counselling professionals. These include:

1. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
2. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
3. Schema Therapy
4. Client Centered approach.

With that said, let’s look at each of these approaches in depth.

1. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

This approach focuses on how people’s thinking can influence feelings and behaviors.

It is generally used when the client encounters emotional difficulty wherein their thinking is out of sync with reality. When this distorted way of thinking is applied to problem-solving, the result understandably leads to faulty solutions.

Cognitive counsellors work to challenge their clients’ faulty thinking patterns so clients can derive solutions that accurately address the problems they are experiencing.

The goal is to teach people that while they cannot control every aspect of the world around them, they can only take control of how they interpret and deal with things in their environment.

CBT is used to treat a wide range of conditions, including:

• Addiction
• Anger issues
• Anxiety
• Bipolar disorder
• Depression
• Eating disorders
• Panic attacks
• Personality disorders
• Phobias

In addition to mental health conditions, cognitive behavioral therapy has also been found to help people cope with:

• Chronic pain or serious illnesses
• Divorce or break-ups
• Grief or loss
• Insomnia
• Low self-esteem
• Relationship problems
• Stress management

2. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

Traumatic and painful memories may cause post-traumatic stress when they aren’t processed completely. The slightest sights, sounds, or smells trigger those unprocessed memories.

EMDR therapy shows that the mind can in fact heal from psychological trauma much the same as the body recovers from physical trauma.

When you cut your hand, your body works to heal the wound. If a foreign object or repeated injury aggravates the wound, it festers and causes pain. Once the block is removed, healing resumes. EMDR therapy illustrates that a similar sequence of events occurs with mental processes. The brain’s information processing system clearly moves toward mental health. If the system is blocked or imbalanced by the impact of a disturbing event, the emotional wound festers and can cause intense suffering. Once the block is removed, healing resumes. Using the detailed protocols and procedures learned in EMDR therapy training sessions, clinicians help clients activate their natural healing processes.

3. Schema Therapy

Schemas are unhelpful patterns that some people develop if their emotional needs aren’t met as a child. They can affect you throughout life and contribute to problematic coping methods and behaviors if they aren’t addressed.

Schema Therapy is an integrative approach that aims to treat personality disorders and other mental health concerns that don’t always respond to other treatment options.

Two important concepts pop up in many of the techniques used in schema therapy. Both work best when you feel safe and comfortable with your therapist. These concepts are:

• Empathic confrontation. Your therapist validates the schemas coming up in therapy, offering understanding and empathy while helping you realize the importance of change.
• Limited reparenting. Your therapist helps fulfill emotional needs that weren’t met in childhood by offering security, compassion, and respect. “Limited” simply means your therapist makes certain this reparenting aligns with ethical standards for mental health professionals.

4. Client-centered approach

Also known as Humanistic Counselling, this approach is based on the assumption that individuals already possess the qualities needed to flourish. It promotes a safe climate in which the therapist is empathetic and nonjudgmental. In this way, the client experiences a sense of acceptance, openness, and unconditional positive regard. It is important to note that the client needs to be willing to share their internal experiences with their therapist without seeking direct guidance or advice.

Rather than providing a lot of therapist direction, the counsellor allows the client to make their discoveries. They may express positive feelings to you or offer reassurance or practice active listening, responsive eye contact, and positive body language to let you know they’re engaged in the session.

Client-centered therapy may help people who are experiencing:

• Anxiety and psychosis
• Dementia
• Depression
• Mood disorders
• Negative thoughts related to
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Each of these approaches is unique and is selected based on what the counsellor deems best for the clients situation after asking the client for consent.

At Incontact, we have a team of professionals looking to help you with any of these approaches as per your needs.

Head over to our website www.incontact.com.sg to book an appointment today!