Multiple Factors in the Development of the Expert Counselor and Therapist

Abstract

Expertise in counseling and therapy is both desirable and elusive. Increasing our knowledge about expertise in counseling and therapy enhances understanding of the role it plays in our profession. This understanding has the potential to improve the training of counselors and therapists. Yet expertise in counseling and therapy appears to be a multifaceted and dynamic concept needing further definition and description. In this article, we outline challenges faced trying to describe expertise in counseling and therapy and present research-based factors that contribute to developing expertise in counseling and therapy. Important factors include: experience, personal characteristics of the counselor and therapist, cultural competence, and comfort with ambiguity.

Counsellor presence: bridging the gap between wisdom and new knowledge

“…Based on a series of qualitative studies, the authors organised the characteristics of 'the Highly-Functioning Self' of the therapist and included such descriptors as comfort with ambiguity, motivated learner, emotionally mature, open to change, self-aware, congruent, attends to self-care and interpersonal skills. Similarity exists between these characteristics and those identified by other researchers (e.g., Ackerman & Hilsenroth, 2003;Dunkle & Friedlander, 1996;Hilsenroth & Cromer, 2007;Najavits & Strupp, 1994;Sexton et al, 2005), but Jennings et al (2003) added a level of complexity by including paradoxical characteristics and by thickening the description of therapist characteristics. Paradoxical characteristics include for example 'Drive to Mastery and Never a Sense of Having Fully Arrived; Ability to be Deeply Present with Another and Often Preferring Solitude; Great at Giving of Self and Nurturing of Self' (Jennings, et al, 2003, p. 65, emphasis in the original).…”

“…Theodore Reik wrote of listening with the third ear as his way of describing presence, hearing 'what is expressed noiselessly, what is said pianissimo' and warning that 'The psychoanalyst who must look at all things immediately, scrutinize them, and subject them to logical examination has often lost the psychological moment for seizing the fleeting, elusive material' (1948, p. 145). These descriptions evoke a sense of what may be called presence and are reminiscent of the characteristics of the master therapist illuminated by Jennings et al (2003) as well.…”

“…In fact, therapist qualities are treated as part of the alliance itself in several measures (Gaston & Marmar, 1994;Gelso et al, 2005;Gomez-Schwartz, 1978;Luborsky, 1976;Saunders, Howard, & Orlinsky, 1989). In another line of research on therapist qualities, Jennings, Goh, Skovholt, Hanson, & Banerjee-Stevens (2003) created what they call a portrait of the master therapist. Based on a series of qualitative studies, the authors organised the characteristics of 'the Highly-Functioning Self' of the therapist and included such descriptors as comfort with ambiguity, motivated learner, emotionally mature, open to change, self-aware, congruent, attends to self-care and interpersonal skills.…”

“…Those who have studied presence propose conceptually that counsellors' ability to be present enhances their capacity to build a stronger alliance and a more therapeutic relationship Pemberton, 1977;Phelon, 2001). There is also overlap among descriptions of the qualities of master therapists (Jennings et al, 2003), therapist qualities associated with positive therapeutic alliances (Hilsenroth & Cromer, 2007) and descriptions of counsellor presence. Presence, as both an intra-personal counsellor factor and as a co-constructed, intersubjective experience, fits intuitively in the realm of the therapeutic relationship and yet there is no sign of presence in theoretical models of the relationship.…”

Tornar-se Psicólogo para além das aulas: Grupo de desenvolvimento com estudantes de Psicologia

“…A reflexão contínua a par da valorização da complexidade e ambiguidade humana, do auto-conhecimento, de uma postura aberta e não-defensiva, da competência cultural, bem como da maturidade (integração dos selves) e da saúde mental, sem descurar a importância da experiência, têm sido as características encontradas nos Psicoterapeutas especialistas e, portanto, associadas ao desenvolvimento (Jennings & Skovholt, 1999;Jennings, Goh, Skovholt, Hanson, & Banerjee-Stevens, 2003;Skovholt & Ronnestad, 1995). Relativamente à saúde mental, Skovholt e Ronnestad (1995) ressalvam a importância dos motivos da escolha da profissão, na medida em que a excessiva focalização em si quer do ponto de vista do desenvolvimento pessoal e da cura, quer do da resposta a necessidades narcísicas que passam por sentir poder e percepcionar alguma omnipotência no apoio que prestam, influenciam negativamente o desenvolvimento.…”