POTENTIAL PHASES AND ASPECTS OF TRANSFORMATIVE
COUNSELLING ENCOUNTERS
Step 1: Relationship Building - involves building a relationship and focuses on engaging
clients to explore issue that directly affect them. The first interview is important because
the client is reading the verbal and nonverbal messages and make inferences about the
counsellor and the counseling situation.
= Introduce yourself
= Invite client to sit down
= Ensure client is comfortable
= Address the client by name
= Invite social conversation to reduce anxiety
= Watch for nonverbal behaviour as signs of client's emotional state Invite client to
describe his or her reason for coming to talk
= Allow client time to respond
= Indicate that you are interested in the person
Step 2: Problem Assessment - While the counsellor and the client are in the process of
establishing a relationship, a second process is taking place, i.e. problem assessment.
This step involves the collection and classification of information about the client's life
situation and reasons for seeking counselling
Step 3: Goal Setting - = Like any other activity, counselling must have a focus.
= Goals are the results or outcomes that client wants to achieve at the end of
counselling.
= Sometimes, you hear both counsellor and client complain that the counselling session
is going nowhere. This is where goals play an important role in giving direction.
= Goals should be selected and defined with care.
Step 4: Intervention - = There are different points of view concerning what a good
counsellor should do with clients depending on the theoretical positions that the
counsellor subscribes to.
= For example, the person-centred approach suggests that the counsellor gets involved
rather than intervenes by placing emphasis on the relationship.
= The behavioural approach attempts to initiate activities that help clients alter their
behaviour.
Step 5: Evaluation, follow-up, termination or referral - = For the beginning counsellor, it
is difficult to think of terminating the counselling process, as they are more concerned
with beginning the counselling process. However, all counselling successful termination
aims towards terminating the counselling process will have to be conducted with
sensitivity with the client knowing that it will have to end.
= Counsellor always mindful of avoiding fostering dependency and is aware of own
needs.
COUNSELLING ENCOUNTERS
Step 1: Relationship Building - involves building a relationship and focuses on engaging
clients to explore issue that directly affect them. The first interview is important because
the client is reading the verbal and nonverbal messages and make inferences about the
counsellor and the counseling situation.
= Introduce yourself
= Invite client to sit down
= Ensure client is comfortable
= Address the client by name
= Invite social conversation to reduce anxiety
= Watch for nonverbal behaviour as signs of client's emotional state Invite client to
describe his or her reason for coming to talk
= Allow client time to respond
= Indicate that you are interested in the person
Step 2: Problem Assessment - While the counsellor and the client are in the process of
establishing a relationship, a second process is taking place, i.e. problem assessment.
This step involves the collection and classification of information about the client's life
situation and reasons for seeking counselling
Step 3: Goal Setting - = Like any other activity, counselling must have a focus.
= Goals are the results or outcomes that client wants to achieve at the end of
counselling.
= Sometimes, you hear both counsellor and client complain that the counselling session
is going nowhere. This is where goals play an important role in giving direction.
= Goals should be selected and defined with care.
Step 4: Intervention - = There are different points of view concerning what a good
counsellor should do with clients depending on the theoretical positions that the
counsellor subscribes to.
= For example, the person-centred approach suggests that the counsellor gets involved
rather than intervenes by placing emphasis on the relationship.
= The behavioural approach attempts to initiate activities that help clients alter their
behaviour.
Step 5: Evaluation, follow-up, termination or referral - = For the beginning counsellor, it
is difficult to think of terminating the counselling process, as they are more concerned
with beginning the counselling process. However, all counselling successful termination
aims towards terminating the counselling process will have to be conducted with
sensitivity with the client knowing that it will have to end.
= Counsellor always mindful of avoiding fostering dependency and is aware of own
needs.
