Integrative Counseling: Meeting Clients' Needs in a Challenging World - Essay Sample

Introduction

In the current world where people face diverse challenges, it is important for mental health practitioners, counselors and therapists to adopt an integrative approach to meet the needs of clients. My personal counseling philosophy is founded on the basis that the integration of various approaches helps to effectively work with clients to positively meet their feelings, behaviors, and thoughts. Therefore, it is important for me to meet all the three levels of human experience (Corey 76). Besides that, my approach to counseling also understands that individuals are unique and committing to a single approach would be inadequate to effectively meet the needs of a diverse population. Besides, my personal stance on therapy is natured in the sense that counselors should assist clients to develop healthy coping skills.

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Furthermore, therapists should create a supportive and empathetic environment to help clients handle stress among other challenges productively. With this note, I want to enable my clients to make a realization that they are not victims to whatever challenges they face, and that they can be empowered to create a meaningful life full of purpose. Furthermore, it is my understanding that people do not have equal opportunities to make choices due to cultural, environmental, and among other socioeconomic circumstances. Being cognizant about their diverse life circumstances will help me to administer therapy or counsel them in line with each client's worldviews. For instance, some people get caught up in detrimental or negative self-fulfilling prophecies that lead to unconstructive behaviors and emotions which changes their view about life. As a counselor, this is where I come in as a teacher, guide, and partner to help them address their problems, face them and formulate actionable plans to lead a positive and satisfying life.

As a result, I see myself as an eclectic therapist because my approach to therapy will not focus on a single technique. I will utilize knowledge from existential theory, feminist, and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to forge a solid building-block for serving diverse clients. The incorporation of a wide range of skills, knowledge, and theories will fit in my personality and most importantly, my counseling philosophy. Different challenges require diverse solutions and that is why I believe that it ideal for therapies to be eclectic. They should have a wide pool of knowledge to tackle the different needs of clients. Therefore, following the existential approach, I will help clients achieve balance with respect to individual limitations and life's possibilities. At the core of the existential theory is the importance of taking action to alter the course of life. As such, self-awareness about where one would want to be is vital. Similarly, the CBT approach would help me to effectively address the clients' past experiences, patterns of thought, and negative internal dialogues and ultimately assist them in making positive future turnarounds. In the same sense, a feminist approach to therapy will help me address the gendered differences and problems that affect both men and women. Most importantly, a feminist approach is essential to understand the multicultural challenges women face that have been not socially solved. The three approaches are core to my personal counseling theory. However, I believe I need to learn more psychotherapy theories to fully engage clients eclectically.

My personality fits into the field of psychotherapy because I am caring and supportive to people in need. I have been taught to respect others and to socially interact and engage while respecting personal boundaries. However, I feel I am biased to some of the social issues that people find it hard to talk about. Having been brought up in a family that respects gender boundaries, I have a negative connotation towards LGBTQ issues. I am opposed to the virtues of homosexuality, gay marriages, transgender and queer behavior. I feel that my personal bias towards the LGBTQ community would interfere with my role as a therapist. Bias in counseling may affect a therapist's recommendation while addressing clients' needs. This form of unconscious bias may interfere with my work. Nevertheless, I have learned that acknowledging one's biases is important. Keeping bias in check helps to positively face the personal limitations and eradicate the chances of influencing decision-making. Therefore, as I deal with diverse clients, I have to keep my views about LGBTQ aside especially while dealing with people that fall into this category. I should be professional and tolerant of individual differences even when I feel irritated. As a counselor, my sole obligation would be to have a positive impact on a client's life regardless of the social differences. Therefore, my role as a therapist will vary depending on the attributes of each client and my approach will be accompanied by compassion, support, understanding, and empathy.

Therefore, while starting therapy, it will be important for me to build trust with my clients in open sessions of counseling. Regardless of my personal biases, I will disclose information about myself that will nurture a therapeutic relationship with my clients. Most importantly, I should be nonjudgmental as I deal with my clients. As therapy sessions increase, I will shift responsibility to the clients to gauge the counseling progress and analyze the areas that need improvement.

Conclusion

In summation, I believe that employing an integrative approach to therapy is essential to achieve positive client outcomes. I will integrate various theories such as CBT, feminist, and existential approach to meet the diverse needs of clients. My ultimate goal as a therapist will be to empower my clients and help them realize their potential and life's possibilities. Most importantly, I should manage personal biases that may interfere with my recommendations or interactions with clients.

Works Cited

Corey, Gerald. Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy. (10th Edition)

Cengage Learning, 2017.