The person of the therapist in psychotherapeutic practice.

McConnaughy, Eileen A.

doi:10.1037/h0085720

Cited by 43 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…Heppner & Claiborn (1989) found that non-verbal behaviours such as smiling have a greater effect on the client's perception of the therapist's competence than verbal behaviour or therapy content. McConnaughy (1987) has written convincingly in support of the notion that "the nature of the therapist's approach to clients is determined by who the therapist is as a person. The personal development, interpersonal style and life experiences of the therapist shape the emotional climate, theoretical perspective and techniques offered to clients" (p. 303).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Traditional psychotherapy training schemes approach this problem head-on by asking for a report from the trainee's analyst or therapist, to ascertain whether they are ready to start a training course and later whether they are ready to complete it. If the analyst or therapist is not satisfied that the trainee has completed sufficient work then he or she is required to continue the therapy and delay completion of the course (McConnaughy, 1987). Counselling training courses tend to be less demanding of their trainees, and personal therapy or group work experience is considered to be confidential, However, some personal assessment has to be made about the trainee's ability to make a relationship with a client without judgement or prejudice, and about the ability to facilitate the client's exploration of a wide range of issues without being handicapped by their own blind spots.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The limits of tolerance in assessing the competence of counselling trainees

Wheeler

1995

Int J Adv Counselling

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Abstract. At a time when there is intense demand for counselling training in Britain, at considerable cost in terms of time and money for students, the pressure for successful outcome weighs heavily on course tutors. At the same time the pressure to ensure that professional standards of competence in counselling are upheld make the process of continual and final assessment critical.As part of a study investigating the assessment of competence of counsellors in training, trainers were asked a series of questions about the ethical difficulties they have encountered in assessing students. Four case scenarios were presented highlighting various dilemmas that can face trainers when aspects of a student's personal development or self awareness potentially pose a threat to the counselling relationship they have with clients. Trainers were also asked whether they had ever passed students studying on their courses against their better judgement or with reservations about their capacity to fully engage with their clients in a competent and professional manner. If so they were also asked how this came about. The response to these questions was varied and interesting. The majority of respondents reported that students had graduated from their courses about whom they had reservations. The response to the varied scenarios produced valuable qualitative data that reflects both differing frames of reference and value systems of trainers and training courses.The information gathered in this enquiry is discussed with reference to recent sparse literature on counselling training, professionalism and ethics. This paper addresses the concerns that counselling trainers agonise over in private, now open for debate in a public arena, namely how tolerant can they afford to be when assessing the competence of their trainees.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The limits of tolerance in assessing the competence of counselling trainees

Wheeler

1995

Int J Adv Counselling

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“…The problem with such studies is that they focus on specific therapeutic behaviours rather than on personal aspects of the individual counsellor. McConnaughty (1987) summarizes this concern.…”

Section: Points Out Thatmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…The final area of research has attempted to outline the specific behaviours assumed to exemplify specific aspects of the counsellor's self (as highlighted by Gurman, 1987;Hayes, 2002;Herman, 1993;Kline, 1992;Lambert, 1989;McConnaughty, 1987). For example, when discussing congruence, Duehn and Proctor (1977) highlight stimulus-response congruence, that is, whether the counsellor's verbal responses acknowledged the content of the client's preceding communication.…”

Section: Points Out Thatmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…However, while no one treatment or approach is uniformly superior, there is an agreement that therapy is more effective than no treatment at all (Bergin & Garfield, 1994;Kazdin, 1986;Lambert & Bergin, 1994;Orlinsky, Grawe, & Parks, 1994;Shapiro & Shapiro, 1982;Smith et al, 1980). McConnaughty (1987) writes, "We know that something is working" (p. 307, original emphasis), this "something" being the person of the counsellor.…”

Section: Reupertmentioning

confidence: 98%

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The Counsellor's Self in Therapy: An Inevitable Presence

Reupert

2006

Int J Adv Counselling

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Each counsellor brings his or her personal qualities or what is sometimes referredto in the literature as the "counsellor's self," when working with clients. The aim of this paper is to highlight the theoretical, clinical and research work regarding the self of the counsellor, and to indicate gaps within such work. It is argued here that while the person of the counsellor is vital to the therapeutic process, more work needs to be directed at defining this concept, and describing the process by which the counsellor engages his or her self whilst working with clients, particularly from a trans-theoretical perspective. Such research has implications for the training and supervision of counsellors, as well as providing potentially valuable information for future studies that focus on counsellor variables, particularly those associated with developing the therapeutic alliance.KEY WORDS: counsellor's self; person of the counsellor; personhood; inevitable presence.Each counsellor will bring his or her personal qualities to the therapeutic environment. While referring only to family counsellors, Tester (1992) composed a composite statement defining the counsellor's self in therapy from a group of expert and experienced family therapists as "the therapist's private experience [including] dreams, fantasies, song fragments, urges, fears, wishes, impulses" (p. 165). It is these personal qualities of the individual counsellor that are the primary focus of this paper. More specifically, a review of how the counsellor's self is represented and manifested in the therapeutic environment will be shown. Research gaps conclude the paper, highlighting the need for trans-theoretical or a common factors framework.

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Personal background, motivation and interpersonal style of psychotherapy trainees having different theoretical orientations: An Italian contribution to an international collaborative study on psychotherapy training

Messina

Gelo

Gullo

et al. 2018

Couns and Psychother Res

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Background Therapist characteristics seem to be a key factor in clinical effectiveness. Trainees’ personal and professional background, motivation, and interpersonal style have been shown to deserve attention in previous research concerning therapist development and warrant further study due to their potential implications for psychotherapy training outcomes. Aim To explore personal and professional background, motivation, and interpersonal style of psychotherapy trainees with different theoretical approaches. Findings In the present study, 135 post‐graduate psychotherapy trainees with different theoretical approaches (psychodynamic, systemic, and cognitive‐behavioral) completed the Trainee Background Information Form (TBIF), reporting information concerning their background, style of relating, and motivations. Personal experiences of trainees were frequently reported as a motivation in undertaking psychotherapy training and were associated with negative experiences in childhood. Significant differences were found in the motivations and interpersonal style of trainees with different theoretical approach. Implications Personal experiences, motivation and interpersonal styles should be taken into consideration in future studies on therapists’ development and in the implementation of psychotherapy programs.

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The person of the therapist in psychotherapeutic practice.

Cited by 43 publications

References 50 publications

The limits of tolerance in assessing the competence of counselling trainees

The limits of tolerance in assessing the competence of counselling trainees

The Counsellor's Self in Therapy: An Inevitable Presence

Personal background, motivation and interpersonal style of psychotherapy trainees having different theoretical orientations: An Italian contribution to an international collaborative study on psychotherapy training

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