 What have been your key learning experiences over the duration of the workshop?

 How has your appraisal of theory influenced your original perception of therapy?
 How well do the different approachs fit with your own view of the purpose, process and
ethics of counselling and therapy?
 How might your personal preferences enhance or hinder your ability to work with
different situations?
 How might you integrate different aspects of the theories and approaches into your
practice?

Reflection Week One

It is of my personal belief that no one theory can define a person’s actions, thoughts, nor beliefs.
Human beings are so complex- they cannot simply be put into categories. I came straight out of my
psychology undergrad I was under the impression that every set of symptoms needs to check the
boxes of a disorder. This frustrated me. How is it so easy to judge a set of symptoms, label it as a
disorder and write off some theory-based therapy that will magically help them? Then the following
quote appeared on the screen.

“Each person is an individual. Hence, psychotherapy should be formulated to meet the uniqueness
of the individual’s needs, rather than tailoring the person to fit the Procrustean bed of a hypothetical
theory of human behaviour”

I learnt that every client needs undivided attention to learn about what makes them different – their
past, present, aspirations, their coping mechanisms, support networks- and that we never put clients
in boxes. Rather, the theoretical framework of assessment, formulation and treatment only guides
our direction.

One of the most important notions I took away from this lecture is that it is more important to help
the client – rather than come up with theories as to why they behave that way. Theory can be used
as a foundation to help people. However, people’s individuality remains of upmost importance.

I think I will love this course because it focusses on helping our future clients individually rather than
just trying to put people in boxes.
Week Two Reflection

Freuds research into the human psychic is: (1) very entertaining for the juvenile mind (2) relentlessly
obsessed with sex (which probably reflects more about Freud himself than the human psychic) and
(3) actually reflective and insightful of a few interesting human behaviours.

I think most of us will agree his research of defence mechanisms is very agreeable. Everyday
experiences of working with our fellow humans will show explicit defences when people feel
vulnerable and targeted. Of his research, I find this to be undeniably ‘true’.

One of his more controversial theories about dreams however, never fails to attract my attention.
Imagine that that dream about your teeth falling out actually means something. During REM sleep
there is a major increase in the functioning of brain areas associated with emotions and memories. I
personally, keep tabs on certain dreams that I think might be insightful to my current wellbeing.
Hopefully, future research will shed light on the actual importance of dreams in relation to the
unconscious.

Perhaps this therapy could help me in the future with difficult clients. Methods like free association
could help me un
Week Three Reflection

I am interested in attachment theory. In relationships, I am definitely an anxious type; I need

I really like the idea of making the client be in the ‘now’. The past hurts and sometimes it really is
best to move on from it and not dwell in the past. This idea coincides with Eckhart Tolles teachings
(which I am a firm believer of). However, I also believe it is important to address the past, and not to
ignore it completely. A lot of understanding about a person can come from learning about their past
and it is important to know what experiences the client has had to form an understanding of why
they are the way they are. As a therapist I would still want to learn about the clients past and resolve
these issues in conjunction with the notion that the past does not define who we are (and that we
are in the now)

I also like the forward relationship that the therapist takes – like being able to openly comment of
the client’s body language or things that the therapist disagrees with. I know that I am very forward
when I disagree with something. I definitely think that I will employ some Gestaltian ideologies into
my future counselling techniques.

I really like the idea of the ‘empty chair’ technique- unfinished businesses can cause a lot of pain and
this seems like a very simple solution.

I feel like the other technique ‘the two chair’, however, could be more difficult technique to use. It
seems like the client would be doing most of the work and there would be little need for the
therapist’s interjection.

The chair techniques are very practical and physical (which is probably more my forte). However, I
also think I would be good at some of the more visual techniques such as the ‘loosening and
integrating technique’. This would be very good to use to challenge core beliefs, and compulsions.
Like asking a client with OCD to imagine what life would be like if they didn’t have to count (for
example). Or perhaps someone with a social anxiety to imagine a world in which people liked them,
didn’t judge them or only cared about themselves. This technique ties into cognitive therapy and it is
definitely something I will use in the future.

Gestaultian theray has some flaws, however, I overall find it very agreeable and it coincides with
man of my own view of the therapy.
ACT and Mindfulness Reflection

We began the class with a meditation. I found it very difficult to stay in the moment because there is
a lot on my plate. I found my mind wandering to all of my assignments that are due. I wonder how
this sort of exercise would work on a very stressed client. It could backfire and make them impatient
and irritated. I would only use this sort of technique for a very specific client – those who are open.

ACT is very person-centred and requires the counsellor to be compassionate, accepting and
respectful. The client and the counsellor stay present together. I like this concept as it promotes
equality between the client and the counsellor.

The idea of being an ‘outside observer’ is very similar to the teachings of Eckhart Tolle. By
understanding that we are separate form our thought processes; we can understand that our
thoughts do not define us, do not control us, and that we are a separate entity to our thoughts. A
good way to do this that resonated with me is writing thoughts down. Writing thoughts down can
help to externalise the thoughts and can allow the client to fully scrutinise these thoughts. However,
rather than changing these thought processes (like what happens in CBT) we are able to ‘watch’
these thoughts and accept them as they are. This allows the client to acknowledge that they are
more than their mind. I believe that this is a better approach to understanding thought patterns and
should be done even before CBT. I will definitely use this approach to help future clients.

Somehting that I have done in the past to discern my values in a counselling session was to use
‘value cards’. When I admitted to being lost, my counsellor gave me the task of going though 150
different values that were written on cards and putting them in three categories- ‘not important to
me’, ‘ important to me’ and ‘very important to me’. This allowed me to externalise my values and re-
evaluate them in a safe and helpful manner. This helped me so much that I will definitely use it for
future clients that are in similar positions of uncertainty in their lives.

I see an issue with using this therapy on clients with severe trauma. Observing thought patterns and
being really self-aware of these emotions could trigger a negative reaction and actually cause more
trauma. I think you have to be really careful when discerning whom this approach would be
beneficial for.