i need someon do my homwork

read the chapters2 and write a one page critique describing what was most helpful anything with which you disagreed and overall effectiveness of the chapters 

write two questions that the chapter raises for you put answer with that questions

apa staul

Chapter 2

Brief Therapy and t he Counseling Relationship

No matter how educated you are, how many theories you know or how many techniques you

can use, the client is always the expert on her experience. It is vitally important that you listen to

the verbal and nonverbal communication of the client to understand her. It is also important to

know that whatever the client does in the session is a function of being with you. She would not

behave exactly the same with anyone else or be the exact same person. You and she are co-

creators of her story and of her resolutions. The most important aspect of successful counseling

is the relationship. You must prove to the client that you care, that you can be trusted and that

you will listen and do your best to understand her situation (Presbury, Echterling & McKee,

2008, p. 35).

Honor and respect are the basis for good therapeutic relationships. Acts that honor and

respect the client set the stage for cooperation. They lead the client to experience you as

someone they can trust and with whom they feel comfortable. When you offer your beliefs as

the right way to look at things, you lose the connection with the client because you have failed to

act with honor and respect. To honor and respect means to esteem the client and to yield to the

client’s viewpoint. This means that you view the client as the expert on her life. You are the

guest in the client’s world (Chevalier, 1995, pp. 5-7).

Presbury, Echterling & McKee (2002, pp. 49-50) state that attending and acknowledging

sum up well the behavior of the successful counselor. They describe what this means by using

the LUV triangle. The L stands for listen. To listen to the verbal and nonverbal communication

of the client, you must be focused on the client. You must be facing the client, leaning toward

the client and have nothing else vying for your attention. The U stands for understanding. To be

sure that you understand what the client is experiencing, repeat what you think the meaning of

the communication is. Use words and phrases that the client has used. Nonverbally match the

behavior of the client and the tone and tempo of the client’s speech. The V stands for validate.

To validate the client, give nods of approval, smiles when appropriate, and refrain from

communicating doubt or suspicion.

Resistance is a product of the relationship. It is a sign that you have not sufficiently

responded to build trust. One way to overcome the resistance is to return to the LUV triangle

(this should always be in use). De Jong & Kim Berg (2008, pp. 63-70) offer the following

guidelines for overcoming resistance: assume that the client has good reason to think and act as

she does. Suspend your judgment and agree with the client’s perceptions. Ask the client what

she wants and accept her answer. Listen for and reflect the client’s use of language rather than

paraphrasing what the client has said. Nardone & Watzlawick (2005, pp. 80-81) suggest that you

redirect the resistance so that it can be used to achieve the therapeutic goal. One way of doing

this is to create a double bind. When the client is resisting, you suggest that the client resist.

Now the client has to resist resisting to be resistant.

Empathy is an important part of building rapport. It is the ability to understand what the

client is experiencing. It is not feeling what the client feels. This is sympathy. De Jong & Kim

Berg (2008, p. 39) point out that the empathic therapist “works to explore and adopt the client’s

sense of his or her experience, without ever losing the inner sense that he or she is a separate

person from the client.” Presbury, Echterling & McKee (2008, p. 60) distinguish between

levels of empathy. They state, “Primary empathy is conveying an understanding of the client’s

stated major themes and concerns. Advanced empathy, on the other hand, is a deeper level of

understanding that invites clients to delve into issues that had been outside of their awareness.

Advanced accurate empathy goes beyond the contents of a client’s words and reaches for what

may be suggested, implied, overlooked, and – until now – undiscovered.”

Littrell (1998, p.46) points out that you, the Brief Therapist, must be careful to remember

empathy as you push toward solutions. If you are so focused on finding solutions that you fail to

accurately hear your client, you will fail.

Another important function you must perform in the relationship to be an effective Brief

Therapist is to help the client frame goals. Effective goals assist you and the client in knowing

where you want to go, what you want to accomplish. An effective goal is one which helps the

client change her life for the better. It is specific and can be accomplished by the client. It must

be valued by the client. de Shazer (1988, p. 93) states, “Goals are established to help determine

how the client and therapist alike will know when the problem is solved.”

Presbury, Echterling & McKee (2008, pp. 76-79) give the following principles in helping

the client to formulate successful goals:

Help create positive goals. Make certain that the goal states what the client wants rather

than what she doesn’t want or what she wants to stop doing. It should state what she will be

thinking or doing when she achieves it, rather than what she will not be thinking or doing. For

example, rather than the goal being, “I want to stop being anxious when I speak in front of a

group”, it should be “I want to speak calmly and confidently when I am in front of a group.”

Dig for goals in problem-saturated talk. As the client expresses her negative feelings and

desires, find ways to turn this into a positive goal. For example, someone who is depressed and

expresses a desire to die may be saying that she has lost hope in the ability to have a happy life.

As you listen to her and respond to her pain, you may lead her to discover that what she really

wants is to learn how to take control of her life and succeed, which will lead to happiness.

Help create action goals. Effective goals are not filled with nouns but with verbs. They are

about thinking and doing.

Be presumptive as you help clients envision change. Respond in ways that indicate that you

are assuming the client will change. For example, instead of asking, “If you accomplish your

goal, how will

you think and act differently?”

ask, “When you accomplish your goal, how will

you think and act differently?”

Keep it simple. Simple goals are more achievable than complicated or complex goals. The

goal should be a change in how one thinks or how one behaves.