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Counseling Process Factors Influencing the Counseling Process In counseling process we will discuss factors affecting the counseling process. In addition to that, we will study about the first interview, middle phase (working in a counseling relationship) and finally the last interviews or termination of counseling process. The counseling process is influenced by several characteristics that help it become a productive time for the client and counselor. Not all characteristics apply to all situations, but generally, the following help bring about positive results. The process of counseling develops in definable stages with recognizable transitions. The first stage involves building a relationship. It focuses on engaging clients to explore issues that directly affect them. Two struggles take place at that time: 1. Battle for structure, which involves issues of administrative control, by counselor (scheduling, fees, and participation in sessions) 2. Battle for initiative which concerns motivation for change and client responsibility. It is important that the counselor wins the first battle and the client wins the second. Let's discuss all of the important factors influencing counseling process: Structure Initiative Setting Client Qualities Counselor Qualities 1. Structure It refers to the "joint understanding between the counselor & client regarding the characteristics, conditions, procedures, and parameters of counseling" (Day & Sparacio, 1980, p.246). o Structure helps clarify the counselor-client relationship. This give form to what the formal process will look like. Many clients come to counseling with no idea what to expect. Counseling moves forward when client and counselor know the boundaries of the relationship and what is expected. o Structure protects the rights, roles, and obligations of both client and counselor. o Practical guidelines are part of building structure. They include time limits, action limits, procedural limits, specific goals and needs, fee, audio- or video-recording, permission to record, etc. this is therapeutic in itself. o Structure is more important when a client has unrealistic expectation. o Structure is especially important in the beginning but is provided throughout all stages. o To help client new directions to their life, constructive guidelines are provided as clients are in a static state. o The counselor needs to stay flexible and continually negotiate the nature of the structure with their clients. A sample client-counselor contract, provided by Witmer & Remley from University of Florida, is given below to enhance students' understanding: Example: Counselor-Client Contract: (Witmer & Remley, 1994)

Introduction: Our profession is becoming more attuned to client rights as well as to counselor accountability. Both give their addresses here. Please feel free to change the contract...... Qualification/ Experience Nature of counseling (the emphasis is on the professional relationship) Referrals Fee cancellation & insurance Records & confidentiality Signatures 2. Initiative, Reluctance & Resistance Initiative can be thought of as the motivation that the client brings into the session. Majority of the client are reluctant to some degrees. However, Reluctance is generally seen in those clients who are referred for help by a third party and are unmotivated, e.g., school children, and court-referred clients. In such a situation, some counselors become impatient, irritated and insensitive, and may ultimately give up. Counselor needs to understand the dynamics involved in working with difficult clients. Resistance is unwillingness to change. Resistant clients bring a motivation to cling to their issues through various sorts of actions like those with "I don't know" statement. Resistant clients want to cling to the certainty of present and do not want to face the pain that change demands. Four broad categories of resistant clients (Otani, 1988): Otani has pointed out 22 forms of resistance which can be categorized into 4, as described below: Amount of verbalization: shown by silence and minimum talk. Content of message: intellectual talk, emotional display, future/past preoccupation, symptom preoccupation, etc. Style of communication: false promising, thought editing, last-minute disclosure, externalization, thought editing, false promising, etc. Attitude toward counselor and counseling session: poor appointment keeping, payment delays, favor asking, etc. Ways to let client win the battle for initiative: To anticipate the anger and defensiveness To show acceptance and understanding To use persuasion Through confrontation; client can respond by: o Denial o Accepting confrontation as true o Developing a middle position. Using pragmatic techniques: Roloff and Miller have mentioned two pragmatic persuasion techniques: door in the face, and foot in the door. Other pragmatic techniques could be silence, reflection, questioning, sharing, etc. 3. Physical Setting Counseling can happen anywhere, but a professional counselor generally prefers to work in a place that provides privacy, confidentiality, and quietness.

There is no universal quality that a room should have "except it should not be overwhelming, noisy, or distracting" (Benjamin, 1987, p. 3). Room should facilitate rather than distracting the client. In this reference, Shertzer & Stone (1980) indicated that the room should be comfortable and attractive. Features of a counseling room: o Soft lighting o Quiet colors o An absence of clutter o Harmonious and comfortable furniture o The spatial features of the environment; Optimum distance: A distance of 30-39 inch between counselor and client has been found to be the average range of comfort. Desk: Pietrofesa et al. (1984) note the symbolic and physical barrier of a large desk. Auditory and visual privacy is mandatory for maximum client-disclosure. 4. Physical Arrangement Different layouts of the therapy office Cultural and gender preferences may exist, but individual differences are the most important variation to observe. Positioning is expressed by the clinician in the layout of the therapy office. o a large desk is positioned between client and clinician o a small desk is positioned between client and clinician o the clients and clinicians chairs are directly across from each other without obstacles in between Arrangement of chairs should be arranged in relation to each other o face-to-face arrangements o side-by-side seating A therapy office that is set up so that a desk is positioned between client and clinician will communicate something very different from a therapy room in which the clients and clinicians chairs are directly across from each other without obstacles in between. Similarly, the decision about how a client's and counselor's chairs should be arranged in relation to each other communicates different things to different clients. For some, face-to-face arrangements may suggest an attempt at emotional sharing; for others, only side-by-side seating may be acceptable. Benjamin (1987) suggests two chairs and a nearby table. Observation about how clients react to the layout may be helpful in making necessary revisions 5. Client Qualities Clients come in all shapes and sizes, personality characteristics, and degrees of attractiveness (Warnath, 1977). Counselors' interaction is influenced by the physical characteristics of the client (Goldstein, 1973) The most successful clients tend to be YAVIS (Young, attractive, verbal, intelligent, successful) compared to HOUNDs (homely, old, unintelligent, nonverbal, and disadvantaged), or DUDs (dumb, unintelligent and disadvantaged). These observations show that ironically disability and age provide invisible but powerful barriers. Total liking is determined by verbal, vocal, and facial liking. However, in a study nonverbal behavior was shown to be more important (Facial expressions = 55%) than either vocal (38%) or verbal (7%) cues (Mehrabian et al., 1971). Counselors generally like to work with clients who are most lik