The main stages of the psychological counseling process. The stress caused by the conflict should be more painful for the individual than the stress of trying to resolve the conflict.

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Ural State Pedagogical University

on the topic: “Main stages of psychological counseling”

Introduction

1. The essence of psychological counseling

2. Stages of psychological counseling

3. Features of the stages of psychological counseling by different authors

Conclusion

Introduction

The relevance of the chosen topic of work is determined by the fact that

Psychological counseling as a professional activity appeared relatively recently and is still at the stage of development. However, the degree of its influence on people and society is rapidly increasing. The number of people seeking help from a psychological consultant is increasing. These are problems Everyday life, associated with difficulties in the development and adaptation of personality, disharmony in interpersonal relationships, addiction (drug addiction, alcoholism, etc.), age-related crises. And recently, practical psychologists have become especially in demand in connection with so-called man-made disasters and the spread of terrorism throughout the world.

Thus, the demand and potential capabilities of a consultant today cover all spheres of human life and become practically inexhaustible.

Psychological counseling includes many different areas of work with people that involve professional psychologists or psychological knowledge is used. Thus, the first component of this type professional activity is the theory and practice of psychological counseling. The second component includes knowledge of the specifics of professional activity, which has a huge impact on both human psychology and the conditions in which counseling is carried out. Consulting psychologists have to work in the mode of individual and mass (collective) counseling of subjects and objects of activity. Each of them requires special knowledge and skills from the psychologist, especially knowledge of the stages and principles of implementing psychological counseling.

The purpose of the work is to study the stages of psychological counseling.

To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve the following tasks:

1. Explore scientific literature on the problem of psychological counseling.

2. Consider the concept of psychological counseling.

3. Determine the stages of psychological counseling.

4. Consider the features of the stages of psychological counseling by different authors.

The theoretical basis of the work was made up of textbooks on psychodiagnostics and management psychology.

Chapter 1. The essence of psychological counseling

Psychological counseling is one of the most popular types of work of a practical psychologist and is actively used in all “psychological schools”. Considering the history of the emergence of consulting, experts associate its emergence with the industrial revolution of the 19th century. and intensive development of career guidance, and, accordingly, career counseling. Here the consultant was seen as a specialist who helped the client develop the necessary problem-solving skills and correctly understand himself, using psychological methods, above all, psychological testing and sound scientific information. In fact, counseling was seen as providing the client with the necessary skills and knowledge.

By the middle of the 20th century. counseling is already more often considered in the context of psychotherapeutic practice.

The term “consultation” itself, regardless of the field of activity, is usually used in the following meanings:

* assistance from the teacher to the student before the exam or in the process of mastering the subject;

* an institution where specialists in any field of activity provide assistance (legal advice, Women's consultation and so on.).

However, in modern psychology there is no single view on

the essence, place and role of counseling as one of the types of psychological practice. This state of affairs reflects general state the development of psychology as a science and practice, in which different views on the problem of the subject of psychology, psychological practice, and, accordingly, various professional “schools” naturally arise and coexist.

Comparing different points of view on the essence of what is designated

The term “psychological counseling” can reveal both what brings these views together and what significantly distinguishes them. Each of the known definitions emphasizes one or another aspect of this type of work, most often the following:

* positions and degree of activity of the parties;

* focus, actual subject and specificity of work methods.

Some experts conditionally divide all known ideas about counseling into two main groups:

1) counseling as influence;

2) counseling as interaction.

A comparison of some specific definitions makes it possible

verify this directly.

1. “The essence of psychological counseling is psychological assistance to psychologically healthy people in coping with various kinds intra- and interpersonal difficulties in the process of specially organized interaction (conversation)" [Kolpachnikov V.V., 1998, P. 35]

2. “...psychological consultation includes three important aspects:

The activity of the person being consulted to resolve their own difficulties through internal psychological change (growth);

The consultant’s activities to identify and provide assistance in resolving life problems (difficulties) that are significant for the person being counseled;

Psychological new formations in mental life, changes in relationships, methods, self-esteem, self-perceptions, the emergence of new experiences, plans, the discovery of new opportunities” [Kuznetsova I.V., 1996, P. 48].

Yu. E. Aleshina, considering psychological counseling in the context of methods of psychological influence, notes the difficulty of its precise definition. In her opinion, the specificity of counseling appears in comparison with psychological correction and psychotherapy. She defines psychological counseling as “...direct work with people aimed at solving various kinds of psychological problems associated with difficulties in interpersonal relationships, where the main means of influence is in a certain way constructed conversation." [Aleshina Yu. E., 1994, P. 5].

The authors of the “Psychotherapeutic Encyclopedia”, published under the editorship of B. D. Karvasarsky, in the article “Psychological Consulting” (the subtitle of which is “Professional assistance in finding a solution problematic situation"), note: "Professional counseling can be provided by psychologists, social workers, teachers or doctors who have undergone special training. Patients can be healthy or sick people presenting with problems existential crisis, interpersonal conflicts, family difficulties or professional choices. In any case, the patient is perceived by the consultant as a capable subject responsible for solving his problem. This is the main difference between psychological counseling and psychotherapy. Psychological counseling differs from the so-called “friendly conversation” by the neutral position of the consultant...” [Karvasarsky B.D., 1998, p. 410].

3. Psychological counseling as a profession is a relatively new area of psychological practice that has emerged from psychotherapy. This profession arose in response to the needs of people who do not have clinical disorders, but are seeking psychological help. Therefore, in psychological counseling, we primarily encounter people experiencing difficulties in everyday life. [Kochyunas R., 1999, P.5].

4. P. P. Gornostay and S. V. Vaskovskaya dwell on this issue in more detail, writing: “Counseling is one of the forms of providing professional psychological assistance to a person... By the nature of providing assistance, counseling is closest to psychotherapy. Some specialists do not draw a clear line between them at all, considering counseling to be an abbreviated or simplified version of psychotherapy. However, we are of the opinion that counseling has the right to independent existence as a separate branch of practical psychology, because despite its substantive and technological proximity to other types, it also has its own specifics...” [Ermine P. P., Vaskovskaya S. V., 1995, pp. 9--11].

Some manuals define psychological counseling

in the following way:

1) “Professional assistance to the patient in finding a solution to a problem situation.” [Karvasarsky B.D., 1998, p. 413].

2) “…a learning-oriented process that takes place between two people, when a professionally competent consultant in the field of relevant psychological knowledge and skills strives to help the client using methods that are appropriate to his (the client’s) current needs and, within the context of his (the client’s) overall personal program, learn more about yourself, learn to connect this knowledge with more clearly perceived and more realistically defined goals so that the client can become a happier and more productive member of his society" [Gulina M. A., 2000, p. 37].

As can be seen from the above examples in the definition of the actual

There is no certainty about counseling as a type of practice and professional activity. The range of opinions on this matter is quite significant. This state of affairs is typical not only for domestic practice. A variety of interpretations of psychological counseling also exist in foreign practical psychology.

To summarize, we can say that psychological counseling is a type of short-term psychological assistance (from one to ten meetings) aimed at resolving a specific problem and restoring emotional balance. The joint work of the psychologist and the client at the level of the subconscious sphere ensures, along with the restoration of the “mental immune system,” the restoration of immunity and improved well-being.

Psychological counseling is widely used in the treatment of diseases such as depression, neurosis, chronic fatigue syndrome, as well as psychosomatic diseases.

Consulting a psychologist can be useful for all adults,

who feel:

· anxiety, fears or powerlessness;

· irritability;

· bad mood, apathy;

· insomnia

· suicidal thoughts

gaming and other addictions

· a feeling of dissatisfaction with life, work, marital status, and oneself.

Psychological consultations are often necessary for adolescents:

· who feel incomprehensible in their environment and family;

· suffer from a lack of self-confidence;

· have difficulty communicating with peers;

· doubt their abilities;

· afraid of the future, worried about their appearance and sexual relationships.

· experience a lack of love.

· suffer from various kinds of fears, study poorly, and often get sick.

Psychological counseling can help families and couples

· who experience difficulties and conflicts in relationships with each other, with children, with parents;

· as well as those who decided to break up and rebuild their personal lives.

In several meetings with a psychologist, through joint efforts, you can

clearly formulate the problem, look at it from different angles and clearly define the boundaries of its influence on life.

Often, after the first psychological consultation, the client understands the reasons for what is happening and the ways out of the crisis situation are clear; the person begins to better navigate what is happening, and in the future, he himself can successfully overcome difficulties.

In our “progressive” age, when, along with technical progress

Various addictions, fears, and competition flourish, which leads to stress and various psychosomatic diseases; the need for qualified psychological help is great. But, despite the fact that in the West a psychologist or psychoanalyst is almost family doctor, here in Russia, psychological counseling is poorly developed.

Firstly, many people think that they can cope with their problems and difficulties themselves, and, having reached chronic disease or neurosis, are the result of untimely consultation with a doctor.

Secondly, having encountered so-called “psychoanalysts”, “psychologists” or “healers” once, they know how difficult it is to find a good specialist. In this area, like in no other, the formal professional credentials of a psychologist are not capable of ensuring success. Healing the soul is not a purely technical problem. Psychological help is a joint mental work that requires time and desire to become healthy and happy.

Thirdly, some people think that psychological counseling is a simple, non-binding and non-leading conversation, like conversations with friends and colleagues. This is a common misconception, since conversation is one of the ways or methods of finding the causes of a disease or problem. Already during the conversation, an experienced psychologist begins treatment, in particular at the level of working with the subconscious sphere.

A real, effectively practicing psychologist always feels a sincere desire to help a patient, who very often turns out to be not as sick as he himself thinks or not sick at all.

We can talk about “magical” transformations,” about healing the soul and body, about changes in personal life and business, about finding one’s “half” and harmonizing relationships with the outside world, about solving one’s problems and finding a way out of a crisis situation only when when there is joint activity of an interested client and the professionalism of a consulting psychologist.

Chapter 2. Stages of psychological counseling

The entire process of psychological counseling from beginning to end can be represented as a sequence of main stages of counseling, each of which is necessary in its own way during counseling, solves a particular problem and has its own specific characteristics. The word “Stage” denotes a separate moment, a stage in the development of something. The ideas of various authors about the stages of psychological counseling have a lot in common, however, there are also some differences associated mainly with the detail, logic, and completeness of the presentation. Excessive completeness, however, is not always a virtue, since it obscures the main idea and logic of the author. The stages of psychological counseling were described and analyzed by Aleshina Yu.E., Abramova G.S., Ermine P.P. and Vaskovskaya S.V., Kociunas R.-A. B. and many others.

It should be noted that in real psychological counseling it is rarely possible to fully and consistently fulfill the requirements of any one model. But it is necessary to focus on some model of the sequence of steps, since this increases the degree of reflexivity of the consultant’s attitude towards the advisory process. [Aleshina Yu. E., 1994, pp. 22-33].

It is important to note that each stage of psychological counseling is characterized by certain psychological counseling procedures. Psychological counseling procedures are understood as groups of psychological counseling techniques united by purpose, with the help of which one of the particular problems of psychological counseling is solved. Its effectiveness directly depends on the thoughtfulness of psychological counseling procedures. [Veresov N.N., 2001, p. 198].

The main stages of psychological counseling are as follows:

1.Preparatory stage.

At this stage, the psychologist-consultant gets acquainted with the client according to a preliminary record available about him in the registration journal and in the file cabinet, as well as information about the client that can be obtained from third parties, for example, from a person in an enterprise, the head of an organization, work colleagues, psychological consultation worker who accepted an application from a client for consultation.

At this stage of work, the consulting psychologist, in addition, prepares himself for the consultation: he develops a plan for the consultation, taking into account individual characteristics the client and the problem that concerns him, prepares materials and equipment that may be needed during the psychological consultation.

At the first stage of psychological counseling, as a rule, no special procedures are identified or applied. The work time of a consultant psychologist at this stage is usually from 20 to 30 minutes.

2. Setup stage.

At this stage, the consulting psychologist personally meets the client, gets to know him and gets ready to work together with the client. The client does the same for his part. During this stage, the consultant psychologist performs the following actions:

You can stand up to meet the client or meet him at the door of the office, which will be perceived by the client as a demonstration of goodwill and interest.

It is advisable to encourage the client with words like “Please come in”, “Make yourself comfortable.”

After a pause, it is advisable to begin the actual acquaintance. You can say

to the client: “Let's get acquainted. What should I call you? After this, you need to introduce yourself to the client. It is best to introduce yourself the way the client introduced himself. You can discuss whether the client would be comfortable being called this way.

As Kociunas R.-A writes. B. (1999), the client must decide to enter into the counseling process quite consciously, therefore, before the start of the counseling process, the consulting psychologist is obliged to provide the client with maximum information about the counseling process, namely: about the main goals of counseling, about his qualifications, about payment for consultation, about the approximate duration of consultation, about the advisability of consultation in a given situation, about the risk of a temporary deterioration in the client’s condition during the consultation process, about the limits of confidentiality. Some of this information is provided upon the client's request, so as not to frighten the client before the start of the consultation with the flow of information. But it is advisable to raise some questions, for example, the question of payment, to the consulting psychologist himself. You should not instill in the client hope for help that the psychologist is unable to provide. The result of this part of the conversation should be a conscious decision by the client to enter into the counseling process. This is usually clearly visible on both verbal and non-verbal levels. [Kochinas R., 1999, p. 35]

It is important to agree in advance with the client on the possibilities of audio and video recording, observation through a one-way mirror, and the presence of other persons (trainees, students) at the consultation. This is excluded without the client's consent.

It is important not to allow the client to use the consultant for his own purposes that are far from counseling. You should not agree to call anywhere at the client’s request, write letters, invite for a consultation, that is, do not do anything that could be designated as the intervention of a consulting psychologist at the client’s request. privacy other people.

After solving all the above issues, you can proceed to questioning the client, which will mark the beginning of the second stage of psychological counseling. It is important to have a pre-prepared phrase that would allow you to make this transition, so as not to suddenly get confused under the impressions of your first meeting with a client, and not to get into a situation where you don’t know where to start. An example of such a standard phrase: “What brought you to me?” Saying this phrase marks the beginning of the next stage of psychological counseling.

On average, this stage takes time if everything else is already prepared

for a consultation can take from 5 to 7 minutes.

At the second stage, procedures for meeting with a person, general,

emotional and positive attitude of a person to conduct a consultation, removing psychological barriers to communication between a consultant psychologist and a person. This procedure includes other specific techniques and actions with the help of which the psychologist-consultant, from the very beginning of the consultation, tries to make the most favorable impression on the person and create in him a mood that ensures the success of the consultation. [Revenko N.V., 2001, p. 250].

3. Diagnostic stage.

At this stage, the consulting psychologist listens to the person’s confession and, based on its analysis, clarifies and clarifies the person’s problem. The main content of this stage is the person’s story about himself and his problem (confession), as well as psychodiagnostics of the person, if the need arises for it.

During confession, a psychologist-consultant can ask the client questions, clarifying something for himself, but without interfering with the client in his confession. It is necessary to ensure that the psychologist-consultant’s questions do not confuse the client’s thoughts, do not cause him irritation, tension, resistance, or create a desire to interrupt the conversation or simply transfer it to a formal framework or to another topic.

While listening to the client, the consultant must remember names, dates, facts, events and much more, which is important for understanding the client’s personality, for searching optimal solution its problems, developing correct and effective conclusions and recommendations.

It is best to remember information coming from the client without recording it in writing. However, if the consulting psychologist is not completely confident in his memory, then, having asked the client’s permission, he may well make short written notes of what he heard from the client, including during confession.

Sometimes it is not enough for a consulting psychologist what the client told about himself and his problem in confession. In order to draw more correct conclusions and formulate informed recommendations regarding the essence and solution of the client’s problem, the consulting psychologist sometimes needs additional information about him.

In this case, before formulating his findings and conclusions, the consulting psychologist conducts an additional conversation with the client or other persons related to the problem that has arisen with the client and who are able to provide information useful for counseling.

The fact that the psychologist-consultant is going to talk with other people about the client’s problem, he must inform the client in advance and ask his permission to do so.

Sometimes, in order to make a decision about a client’s problem, a consulting psychologist may need to conduct an additional examination of the client using a number of psychological tests. In this case, the consultant must explain to the client the need for such an examination, indicating, in particular, what it will consist of, how much time it will take, how it will be carried out and what results it can give. It is also important to tell the client in advance how, where and by whom the results of his psychological examination can be or will actually be used.

If the client does not consent to psychological testing, then the consulting psychologist should not insist on this. At the same time, he is obliged - if this is in fact the case - to warn the client that his refusal to participate in psychological testing may make it difficult to understand his problem and find its optimal solution.

It is not possible to accurately determine the time required to carry out this stage of psychological counseling, since much in its determination depends on the specifics of the person’s problem and his individual characteristics. In practice, this time is at least one hour, excluding the time required for psychological testing. Sometimes this stage of psychological counseling can take from 4 to 6-8 hours.

At the third stage of psychological counseling, the so-called empathic listening procedure actively works, as well as procedures for activating a person’s thinking and memory, reinforcement procedures, clarifying a person’s thoughts and psychodiagnostic procedures.

The procedure of empathic listening includes two interrelated aspects: empathy and listening, which in this case complement each other. Listening means that, having temporarily detached himself from his own thoughts and experiences, the consulting psychologist completely focuses his attention on the client and on what he is saying.

The task of empathic listening is to have a sufficiently deep, emotional understanding of the client - one that would allow the consulting psychologist to personally perceive and fully understand everything that the client is telling him, as well as to acquire the ability to think and experience what is happening in the same way as he himself experiences it. client (empathic listening moment).

During empathic listening to the client, the consulting psychologist psychologically identifies himself with the client, but at the same time, remaining in his role, continues to think, analyze, and reflect on what the client is telling him. These, however, are reflections of a special kind - those during which the psychologist-consultant, getting used to the image of the client, experiencing and feeling what he says, psychologically evaluates and tries to understand not himself in the image of the client, but the client in his own image. This is what is called empathic listening. It represents the main procedure of the second stage of psychological counseling.

The procedure for activating the client’s thinking and memory is a system of techniques, as a result of which the client’s cognitive processes are activated, becoming more productive, in particular his memory and thinking related to the problem under discussion, with the search for its optimal practical solution. As a result of applying this procedure, the client begins to more accurately and completely remember events and facts related to his problem, discovers for himself and the consulting psychologist who listens attentively to him what was previously hidden from consciousness.

The procedure for activating thinking may include such techniques as confirmation by the listener, in this case a psychologist-consultant, of the point of view of the speaker - the client, expression of a certain, most often positive, attitude towards what he is reporting, provision of practical assistance to the client in case of he has difficulties in correct design statements. This also includes the psychologist-consultant filling in unjustified, confusing pauses in the client’s speech to ensure its coherence and remove psychological barriers, asking the client leading questions, reminding him of what to say next, stimulating the client’s memory and thinking.

The reinforcement procedure consists in the fact that, while listening to the client, the psychologist-consultant from time to time - most often when the client himself is looking for support from the consultant - through words, gestures, facial expressions, pantomimes and other available extra and paralinguistic means, expresses agreement that what the client says, approves, supports him.

The procedure for a psychologist-consultant to clarify the client’s thoughts is that the consultant from time to time enters into dialogue with the client in the process of listening to his confession in cases where the client’s thought is not entirely clear to him or is inaccurately expressed by the client himself, clarifies the client’s thought out loud for himself or helps him formulate it more accurately. The need to use this procedure most often arises when it is obvious that the client himself is not entirely satisfied with what and how he tells the psychological consultant.

The consulting psychologist, having collected the necessary information about the person and his problem at the previous stages, at this stage, together with the person, develops practical recommendations for solving his problem. Here these recommendations are clarified, clarified, and specified in all essential details. At this stage, the consulting psychologist must help the person formulate possible alternatives to habitual behavior, and then, carefully analyzing and critically evaluating them, choose the option that is most suitable for the person.

At the fourth stage of psychological counseling, the following procedures can be used: persuasion, explanation, search for a mutually acceptable solution, clarification of details, specification. All these procedures are associated with bringing to a person’s consciousness those tips and practical recommendations that a consulting psychologist develops with him. The purpose of the relevant procedures is to achieve the most complete and deep understanding by a person of the conclusions and decisions that the psychologist-consultant comes to, as well as to motivate the person to carry out these decisions

Persuasion is a procedure based on logically impeccably reasoned proof to the client of the correctness of what the psychologist-consultant offers him as a result of long-term work with him. Persuasion includes arguments, facts, logic of evidence that is understandable, accessible and sufficiently convincing for the client.

Explanation is a procedure that includes a detailed, specific presentation and explanation to the client of the thoughts that the psychologist-consultant has in connection with his problem. Here, the consulting psychologist consciously conducts a dialogue with the client in such a way as to stimulate various questions on his part and give detailed answers to these questions. By offering these answers, the counseling psychologist simultaneously carefully observes the client and looks for obvious confirmation on his part that the client understands what he is being told.

The procedure called “searching for a mutually acceptable solution” means the following. Often in the process of psychological counseling a situation arises when the client is not satisfied with the consultant’s proposals. In this case, it is necessary to look for another, more acceptable solution to the client’s problem.

This procedure includes such techniques as offering alternative options decisions, leaving the client the right to make the final choice of the solution that suits him, clarifying, clarifying the details of what does not suit the client in the proposed solution, inviting the client to speak out about possible solution his problems.

The next procedure - “clarification of details” - is associated with explaining to the client small but significant details related to the implementation of practical recommendations jointly developed by the consulting psychologist and the client. In order to make sure that the client not only understands him correctly, but also knows well what to do and how to implement the recommendations received, the consulting psychologist asks the client questions and, based on his answers, determines whether the client understands correctly what they are discussing . If something in the client’s understanding of the issues under discussion does not completely satisfy the consulting psychologist, then he offers the client additional clarification of his thoughts, and tries to do this as specifically and practically oriented as possible.

5. Control stage.

At this stage, the consulting psychologist and the person agree with each other on how the person’s practical implementation of what he has received will be monitored and evaluated. practical advice and recommendations. The final stage of psychological counseling includes the following points: summing up the results of the consultation and parting with the person. Summing up, in turn, contains a brief repetition of the results of the consultation, the essence of the problem, its interpretation and recommendations for solving the problem. This is due to the fact that what is repeated at the end of the conversation is remembered better. If a person wishes, these recommendations can be offered to him not only orally, but also in writing. It is also important, summing up the results of the psychological consultation, together with the person to outline a well-thought-out program for implementing the recommendations developed, noting the following: what, how, by what specific date, and in what form should be done by the person. It is advisable that from time to time a person informs a psychological consultant about how things are going and how his problem is being solved. Here the question of how, where and when the consultant psychologist and the person will be able to discuss additional issues that may arise in the process of implementing the recommendations made is also resolved.

At the end of this stage, if the need arises, the counseling psychologist and the person can agree with each other about where and when they will meet next. It is formulated what tasks will be solved during subsequent meetings and how many specific meetings may be needed for this. It is better that the place and time of the appointment be constant. The issue of redirecting the client to another consultant is decided if there is reason to believe that he will be more competent in this situation, or if the consulting psychologist is forced to leave somewhere in the near future.

When saying goodbye, you should at least escort the client to the door and say a few warm goodbye words. It is advisable to mention the client by name several times. A good final impression on the client is usually made by a situation in which the consulting psychologist, parting with him, gives the client something as a keepsake, for example, his business card or some kind of souvenir reminiscent of our joint work in psychological consultation.

Finally, the most important last words uttered by a psychologist-consultant at the moment when he breaks up with a client. Here are the approximate beginnings of some suitable phrases for this case that correspond to the accepted norms of Russian speech etiquette:

* I am quite satisfied with our meeting.

* We had a pleasant time with you.

* It was interesting for me to communicate with you.

* It's good that we agreed on everything.

* It’s great that we found a common language.

* I am pleased that you and I have reached mutual understanding.

*Thank you for listening to my advice.

*Thank you for agreeing to meet and talk with me.

* Thank you for the pleasure of communicating with you.

* I can't keep you any longer.

* Goodbye.

* See you!

* Best wishes!

* All the best!

* Be healthy!

*Happy!

* We'll see you again!

* I'm not saying goodbye to you!

* Don't forget us!

* Come!

* Come in!

* Don't disappear, let us know about you!

* You are welcome to visit us again!

It is undesirable for one client to immediately enter

next. This can alienate those who need a trusting relationship.

At the fifth and final stage of psychological counseling, the same procedures are applied that were used at the fourth stage. However, this time they mainly concern estimates of expected effectiveness practical implementation person of the advice he received from the consultant. Here, the special procedure is to strengthen a person’s confidence that his problem will definitely be solved, as well as his readiness to begin a practical solution to his problem immediately after completion of the consultation. At this stage, techniques of persuasion, suggestion, emotional-positive stimulation and a number of others can also be used.

Thus, the stages and accompanying procedures are aimed at

achieving the goals of psychological counseling.

Chapter 3. Features of the stages of psychological counseling by different authors

In the literature on the problems of psychological counseling, the stages

consultation conversations are somewhat different, but their content and final result are identical. Let us consider the features of the stages of psychological counseling by different authors.

Features of the interview stages with G.S. Abramova:

1. Structuring - lasts up to 10 minutes.

The peculiarity of this stage is that the psychologist determines the topic

interaction with the client, receives information about his capabilities (how he can help). At the same time, problems of establishing contact are solved. This stage, according to G.S. Abramova, ends when:

Psychologist: “I understand him, I feel him”

Client: “They listen to me, I trust this person”

2. Gathering information in the context of the topic.

At this stage of psychological counseling, the problem is identified and the issue of identifying the client’s potential capabilities is resolved.

3. Desired result - “What do you want to achieve?”

Here the psychologist helps the client determine his ideal, resolve the issue of

what he wants to be. If the consultant is already clear about the client’s goals, then G.S. Abramova advises to immediately give recommendations.

4. Development of alternative solutions - “What else can you do?”

Work in progress various options problem solving in order to avoid rigidity.

5. Summary of previous stages - “Will you do this?”

There is a transition from discussion to action. [Abramova G.S., 2001, p. 142].

Yu.E. Aleshina suggests dividing psychological counseling into four stages:

1. Start of conversation (duration 5-10 minutes).

The psychologist meets the client. At the dating stage, Yu.E. Aleshina draws attention to the position of equality of names, and also suggests that the consulting psychologist avoid “unfortunate words” (problem) and “expressions” (“Don’t be afraid.”) “In whatever form such remarks may be heard, it follows from them that something can be done here "to be afraid."

2. Questioning the client, telling the client about himself (25-35 minutes).

In order to “talk” the client, the psychologist is recommended to ask open-ended questions. For example: "What is your family like? When did this start?" In order to fully participate in the dialogue with the client, the consulting psychologist should remember the names, titles, dates, details mentioned by the client. This stage can be divided into two substages: 1. Formation of advisory hypotheses. 2. Testing advisory hypotheses.

3. Corrective influence.

At this stage Yu.E. Aleshina allocates from 10 to 15 minutes, but it is necessary to understand that the time allocated for all stages of the consultation process is determined conditionally. There are many ways of corrective influence, for example, paradoxical questions that call into question adherence to generally accepted norms (“Why not...?”); and paraphrasing - what was negative makes the reason positive emotions, emphasizing the contradictions of the client’s story, that is, emphasizing them, making them noticeable, conscious, and analyzed.

4. Ending the conversation (5-10 minutes).

At this stage, the consultant psychologist usually performs the following actions:

Summing up the conversation (a brief summary of everything that happened during the reception). This is due to the fact that what is repeated at the end of the conversation is remembered better.

Discussion of issues related to the client’s future relationship with the consultant or other necessary specialists. [Aleshina Yu.E., 1994, p. 122].

Stages of psychological counseling according to V.Yu. Menovshchikov look like this:

1. Establishing contact and orienting the client to work.

Motivation has a huge impact on the success of counseling. There are various ways to motivate a client to work: this and the use various types charisma (charisma of a stranger, charisma of inferiority, charisma of a vocation, charisma of a fighter, charisma of a game and charisma of novelty), the ability of a psychologist-consultant to clearly explain what the client will learn in the course of work (“possible benefit”), “possible damage” - what he will be deprived of the client himself if he resists counseling; help the client take responsibility for the events taking place, since it is known that the ability to influence events reduces stress and helps restore the body’s strength.

2. Research and awareness of the task.

3. Enumeration of hypotheses, here the developed creativity of the consultant is of particular importance.

4. Solution.

5. Leave contact.

[Menovshchikov V. Yu., 1998, p. 165].

American psychologist and psychotherapist, classic existentialist

humanistic psychology, R. May, offers four stages of psychological counseling:

1. Establishing rapport, i.e. establishing a trusting relationship with a client can be done through mirroring (reflecting the client’s gestures, repeating the endings of phrases, etc.) and cross-work. The goal of this stage is to join so that the person opens up.

2. Reading character - express compilation psychological portrait the client by his manners, habits, tone of voice and other characteristics.

3. Confession and interpretation of results. At this stage of consultation there is a process active listening and the psychologist’s interpretation of the information heard, events and feelings that the client describes.

4. Personality transformation. The goal of the consultant is “not only to alleviate the client’s experiences, but also to direct them in a constructive direction”

[May R., 1994, p.62].

So, ideas about the stages of psychological

consulting with such authors as G.S. Abramova, Yu.E. Aleshina, V.Yu. Menovshchikov and R. May. Some of them offer four stages of consultation, others five, but despite the different names, the essence of psychological counseling, the tasks of each stage of psychological counseling are the same, but they are solved within the framework of a certain philosophy, from the point of view of a certain concept.

Conclusion

At the end of the work, let us summarize.

Psychological counseling is the practical provision of effective psychological assistance with advice and recommendations to people in need of this help from professionally trained specialists, psychologists-consultants.

Psychological counseling is a process professional interaction between a consultant psychologist and a person - a working person (manager, team member, team) in order to effectively carry out adequate and effective work.

The purpose of psychological counseling is to help people understand and clarify their own views on their living space and teach them to achieve their own, self-determined goals through conscious choice and problem solving of an emotional and interpersonal nature. The goals of psychological counseling are: - facilitating behavior change; - improving a person’s ability to establish and maintain relationships; - increasing a person’s productivity and his ability to overcome difficulties; - assistance in the decision-making process; - promoting the disclosure and development of human potential

Psychological counseling in the process of its development goes through a number of successive stages, which are characterized by their tasks, goals and procedures of psychological counseling.

Stages of psychological counseling are sequential steps in conducting psychological counseling, designed to achieve the specific goals of counseling that are pursued in its process. The stages of psychological counseling include, in particular, the person’s mood for confession, the psychologist-consultant listening to the person’s confession, clarifying the essence of the person’s problem, searching for and formulating recommendations for its practical solution.

Psychological counseling helps a person choose and act at his own discretion, and learn new behavior. promotes personality development. Counseling emphasizes the responsibility of the individual, i.e. it is recognized that an independent, responsible individual is capable of making independent decisions in appropriate circumstances, and the consultant creates conditions that encourage the person’s volitional behavior. The core of the psychological is the “advisory interaction” between a person and a consultant, based on the principles of humanistic philosophy.

List of used literature

psychological counseling practice

Abramova G.S. Psychological consultation. Theory and experience. - M.: Academy, 2001. - 240 p.

Aleshina Yu.E. Individual and family psychological counseling. - M.: Academic project, 1994. - 164 p.

Aleshina Yu.E. Specifics of psychological counseling // Bulletin of psychosocial and correctional rehabilitation work. 1994. - No. 4.

Veresov N.N. Psychology of management, textbook. - M., 2001.- 304 p.

Ermine P. P., Vaskovskaya S. V. Theory and practice of psychological counseling. Problem approach. - Kyiv: Naukova Dumka, 1995. - 128 p.

Gulina M. A. Fundamentals of individual psychological counseling. St. Petersburg, 2000. - 325 p.

Elizarov A.N. Introduction to psychological counseling - M., 2001.-620 p.

Karvasarsky B. D. “Psychotherapeutic Encyclopedia”, St. Petersburg, 1998. - 521 p.

Kolpachnikov V.V. General introduction to individual psychological counseling // Questions of psychology. 1998. No. 6.

Kociunas R. Fundamentals of psychological counseling. - M.: Institute of Practical Psychotherapy, 1999. - 214 p.

Kuznetsova I. V. Psychological counseling for adolescents with disabilities / Ed. I. V. Kuznetsova. Yaroslavl, 1996.

Menovshchikov V.Yu. Introduction to psychological counseling. - M.: Academy, 1998. - 302 p.

May R. The Art of Psychological Counseling. - M.: Aventa, 1994. - 126 p.

Nemov R.S. Basics of psychological counseling. - M., 1999.- 528 p.

15. Revenko N.V. Psychology of management. - St. Petersburg, 2001. - 270 p.

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1. Initial stage. The stage of entering a situation of psychological assistance.

The main tasks of the psychologist at this stage, fundamental to establishing a working relationship, are as follows:

Supporting client motivation to work together;

Clarification of the true (realistic) possibilities of psychological assistance and correction of unrealistic expectations;

Expression of readiness to understand, accept the client and provide him with possible psychological assistance;

Trial setting of goals for psychological assistance and determination of approximate deadlines and results of work;

Elaboration, if necessary, of your own difficulties in work associated with possible countertransference or emerging projections.

2. The stage of acting and living the situation of psychological assistance.

Includes working with the client’s personal material: experiences, relationships, feelings, dreams, value meanings.

The psychologist’s possible tasks arise from the logic of his actions and the phenomenology of the client’s experiences, among them:

Providing emotional response;

Elaboration and symbolic satisfaction of certain frustrated needs;

Creating conditions for insight and catharsis;

Reinforcement of the desired course of action (retraining);

Providing conditions for personal reflection and living in a situation of free and responsible choice.

3. The stage of entering a new experience.

This is the stage of personal transformation and attempts to join a different way of living life, free from previous misconceptions and problems.

This leads to the following possible tasks in the activities of a psychologist:

Emotional and existential support;

Reinforcing tendencies towards personal reorientations and transformations;

Help in coping with personal and situational anxiety caused by changes in the life world;

Elaboration of value-semantic or behavioral obstacles blocking the implementation of necessary actions.

4. The stage of entering everyday life with enriched new experience.

This is the final stage of work.

Its significance is reflected by the specific tasks facing the psychologist:

Encouraging the client and emphasizing the time boundaries of both the traumatic issue and the end of the counseling process;

Analysis of elements of dependence in the client’s behavior and assistance in achieving independence and self-sufficiency;

Redefining and rethinking the situation of psychological assistance as an opportunity for a person to understand his own motives, values, goals and choices;

Finding the “golden mean” between the tendencies of overprotection, patronage and emotional detachment from the client.

Each stage has its own duration. The consequences of counseling can be considered in terms of changes occurring in the client's personality and the degree of his satisfaction with the results of counseling.

R. Kochunas, referring to V. E. Gilland, proposes the structure of the psychological counseling process in the form of a systemic model, which places emphasis on research and teaching the nature of psychological assistance ( Kochunas R., 2000):

This systemic model, covering six closely related stages, reflects the universal features of psychological counseling or psychotherapy of any orientation.

1. Problem research. At this stage, the consultant establishes contact (report) with the client and achieves mutual trust: it is necessary to listen carefully to the client talking about his difficulties and show maximum sincerity, empathy, care, without resorting to assessments and manipulation. The client should be encouraged to in-depth consider the problems he has encountered and record his feelings, the content of his statements, and non-verbal behavior.

2. Two-dimensional problem definition. At this stage, the counselor seeks to accurately characterize the client's problems, identifying both the emotional and cognitive aspects of them. Problems are clarified until the client and consultant reach the same understanding; problems are defined by specific concepts. Accurate identification of problems allows us to understand their causes, and sometimes indicates ways to resolve them. If difficulties or ambiguities arise when identifying problems, then we need to return to the research stage.

3. Identification of alternatives. At this stage, possible alternatives for solving problems are identified and openly discussed. Using open-ended questions, the consultant encourages the client to name everything possible options which he considers appropriate and real, helps put forward additional alternatives, but does not impose his decisions. During the conversation, you can create a written list of options to make them easier to compare. Problem-solving alternatives should be found that the client could use directly.

4. Planning. At this stage, a critical assessment of the selected solution alternatives is carried out. The counselor helps the client figure out which alternatives are appropriate and realistic in terms of previous experience and current willingness to change. Creating a realistic problem-solving plan should also help the client understand that not all problems are solvable. Some problems take too long; others can be solved only partially by reducing their destructive, behavior-disrupting effects. In terms of problem solving, it is necessary to provide by what means and methods the client will check the realism of the chosen solution (role-playing games, “rehearsal” of actions, etc.).

5. Activities. At this stage, a consistent implementation of the problem solving plan occurs. The consultant helps the client build activities taking into account circumstances, time, emotional costs, as well as understanding the possibility of failure in achieving goals. The client must learn that partial failure is not a disaster and should continue to implement a plan to solve the problem, linking all actions with the final goal.

6. Rating and feedback. At this stage, the client, together with the consultant, evaluates the level of goal achievement (the degree of problem resolution) and summarizes the results achieved. If necessary, the solution plan can be clarified. When new or deeply hidden problems arise, a return to previous stages is necessary.

This model, which reflects the consultation process, only helps to better understand how specific consultation occurs. The actual consulting process is much more extensive and often does not follow this algorithm. The identification of stages is conditional, since in practical work Some stages overlap with others, and their interdependence is more complex than in the presented diagram.

As we see, the direction of psychological counseling is determined not only by structural characteristics (goals, subject matter, leading activities of the client and consultant, role position of the psychologist), but also by process characteristics, one of which is the sequence of implementation of its stages.

The main stages of psychological counseling are as follows:

1. Preparatory stage. At this stage, the consulting psychologist gets acquainted with the client based on the preliminary record available about him in the registration journal, as well as information about the client that can be obtained from third parties, for example, from a psychological consultation worker who accepted the client’s application for consultation. Preparation for psychological counseling includes solving a number of general and specific issues, with general issues relating to counseling in general, and specific issues relating to the reception of clients in psychological consultation.

Among the general issues of preparing for psychological counseling, the following are most often identified:

1. Selection of premises and equipment for consultations. The equipment of the room includes providing it with chairs or chairs that are comfortable for the client and the consultant, preferably swivel, and a coffee table.

Chairs instead of armchairs are used if consultation time, i.e. collaboration between a psychologist-consultant and a client is relatively small, and during a consultation it is important to carefully observe the client’s non-verbal behavior. Preference is given to chairs when the counseling procedure is quite long in time, and during the consultation it is necessary to create and maintain an informal atmosphere of communication between the consulting psychologist and the client. In addition to furniture, it is advisable to have audio and video equipment in a psychological consultation in case there is a need to record, listen to or view any recordings.

2. Supplying the consultation with paper, copying equipment, a computer, everything necessary to record the progress of the consultation and its results, reproduce documentation, etc. In addition, in a psychological consultation it is advisable to have a calculator, which, in particular, may be needed when quantitatively processing the results of a client’s psychological testing.

3. Equipping the consultation site with the necessary documentation and providing means for storing it, in particular a logbook, a client file and a safe (a safe is also needed to store files with confidential information when using a computer). The registration journal records general information about clients and consultations. The card file contains personal data about each client obtained during the consultation as a result of questioning the client by a consulting psychologist. This data should be detailed enough to provide an understanding of the client and the nature of his problem. A safe or computer is needed so that you can store client files and other non-disclosure data.

4. Acquisition of a minimum of special, including psychological, literature for consultation. This literature, firstly, is needed so that the psychologist-consultant can promptly and quickly enough obtain the necessary information for himself and the client directly from primary sources, and secondly, in order to provide the client with the necessary literature for temporary use for the purpose of self-education . In addition, it is recommended to purchase for psychological consultation a certain number of the most useful popular publications on practical psychology, which the client would have the opportunity to receive here, in the psychological consultation, for an additional fee for his own, permanent use on the recommendation of the consulting psychologist.

The consultation room is decorated in such a way that the client feels comfortable there. It is desirable that the room for psychological consultation resemble something between an office and a home (work space, apartment, living room).

Special issues in the preparation of psychological counseling include the following:

Preliminary acquaintance of the psychologist-consultant with the client according to the data about him that is available in the registration journal and in the file cabinet. An individual card for each client is usually filled out for the first time when the client applies for psychological counseling and comes to see a specific consultant. The entry in the client’s individual card is made by the consultant psychologist who conducts the consultation. He is also responsible for the confidentiality of information received from the client.

Preparation of materials and equipment that may be needed during a psychological consultation.

Obtained from various available sources additional information about the client – one that may be needed during counseling.

Development of a consultation plan taking into account the individual characteristics of the client and the problem that concerns him.

The work time of a consultant psychologist at this stage is usually from 20 to 30 minutes.

2. Setup stage. At this stage, the consulting psychologist personally meets the client, gets to know him and gets ready to work together with the client. Procedures are applied at this stage meeting with the client, general, emotionally positive mood of the client for consultation, removing psychological barriers to communication psychologist-consultant with a client.

Before starting a conversation with a client on the merits of his case - on the problem with which he turned to psychological counseling - you should sit next to the client and take a short pause in the conversation so that the client can calm down and tune in to the upcoming conversation. As soon as the client calms down and is psychologically ready to listen to the consultant, you can begin a meaningful conversation about the client’s problem. The conversation with the client should begin by getting to know him as a person, clarifying what is important for counseling, but is not noted in the client’s card. If necessary, the consultant can tell the client something about himself.

The client does the same for his part. On average, this stage in time, if everything else has already been prepared for the consultation, can take from 5 to 7 minutes.

During the story, the consultant must listen carefully, patiently and kindly. From time to time, a psychologist-consultant can ask the client questions, clarifying something for himself, but without interfering with the client in his confession. It is necessary to ensure that the psychologist-consultant’s questions do not confuse the client’s thoughts, do not cause him irritation, tension, resistance, or create a desire to interrupt the conversation or simply transfer it to a formal framework or to another topic.

While listening to the client, the consultant must remember names, dates, facts, events and much more, which is important for understanding the client’s personality, for finding the optimal solution to his problem, developing correct and effective conclusions and recommendations.

At the third stage of psychological counseling, the so-called procedure actively works. empathic listening, as well as procedures for activating the client’s thinking and memory, reinforcement procedures, clarifying the client’s thoughts and psychodiagnostic procedures (we will consider them further, in the fifth chapter of the textbook).

The procedure of empathic listening includes two interrelated aspects: empathy and listening, which in this case complement each other. Listening consists in the fact that, having temporarily detached himself from his own thoughts and experiences, the consulting psychologist fully concentrates his attention

on the client, on what he says. The task of empathic listening is to have a sufficiently deep, emotional understanding of the client - one that would allow the consulting psychologist to personally perceive and fully understand everything that the client is telling him, as well as to acquire the ability to think and experience what is happening in the same way as he himself experiences it. client (empathic listening moment).

Procedure activating the client's thinking and memory is a system of techniques, as a result of which the client’s cognitive processes are activated, becoming more productive, in particular his memory and thinking related to the problem under discussion, with the search for its optimal practical solution. As a result of applying this procedure, the client begins to more accurately and completely remember events and facts related to his problem, discovers for himself and the consulting psychologist who listens attentively to him what was previously hidden from consciousness.

The procedure for activating thinking may include such techniques as confirmation by the listener, in this case a psychologist-consultant, of the point of view of the speaker - the client, expression of a certain, most often positive, attitude towards what he is reporting, provision of practical assistance to the client in case of he has difficulties in correctly formatting his statements. This also includes the psychologist-consultant filling in unjustified, confusing pauses in the client’s speech to ensure its coherence and remove psychological barriers, asking the client leading questions, reminding him of what to say next, stimulating the client’s memory and thinking.

Procedure reinforcements is that, while listening to the client, the consulting psychologist from time to time - most often when the client himself is looking for support from the consultant - through words, gestures, facial expressions, pantomimes and other available extra and paralinguistic means, expresses agreement with what he is saying the client approves and supports it.

Procedure clarification of the client's thoughts by the consultant psychologist consists in the fact that the consultant from time to time enters into dialogue with the client in the process of listening to his confession in cases where the client’s thought is not entirely clear to him or is inaccurately expressed by the client himself, clarifies the client’s thought out loud for himself or helps him formulate it more accurately. The need to use this procedure most often arises when it is obvious that the client himself is not entirely satisfied with what and how he tells the psychological consultant.

Next, the conversation is continued by the psychologist-consultant, and the client, listening to him, can ask questions that interest him and, if he wishes, supplement his confession. In addition, in this part of the consultation, the client can express his opinion on what he himself will hear from the consulting psychologist.

The fact that the psychologist-consultant is going to talk with other people about the client’s problem, he must inform the client in advance and ask his permission to do so.

It is not possible to accurately determine the time required to carry out this stage of psychological counseling, since much in its determination depends on the specifics of the client’s problem and his individual characteristics. In practice, this time is at least one hour, excluding the time required for psychological testing. Sometimes this stage of psychological counseling can take from 4 to 6–8 hours.

At the fourth stage of psychological counseling, the following procedures can be used: persuasion, clarification, search for a mutually acceptable solution, clarification of details, specification. All these procedures are associated with bringing to the client’s consciousness those tips and practical recommendations that the psychologist-consultant develops together with him. The purpose of the relevant procedures is to achieve the most complete and deep understanding by the client of the conclusions and decisions that the psychologist-consultant comes to, as well as to motivate the client to implement these decisions.

This procedure includes myself such techniques as offering alternative solutions, leaving the client the right to make the final choice of the solution that suits him, clarifying, clarifying the details of what does not suit the client in the proposed solution, inviting the client to speak out about a possible solution to his problem.

The next procedure – “clarification of details” – is associated with explaining to the client small but significant details related to the implementation of practical recommendations jointly developed by the consulting psychologist and the client. In order to make sure that the client not only understands him correctly, but also knows well what to do and how to implement the recommendations received, the consulting psychologist asks the client questions and, based on his answers, determines whether the client understands correctly what they are discussing . If something in the client’s understanding of the issues under discussion does not completely satisfy the consulting psychologist, then he offers the client additional clarification of his thoughts, and tries to do this as specifically and practically oriented as possible.

The average time usually spent on completing this stage of psychological counseling is from 40 minutes to 1 hour.

However, this time the procedures mainly concern assessments of the expected effectiveness of the client's practical implementation of the advice he received from the consultant. The special procedure here is to strengthen the client’s confidence that his problem will definitely be solved, as well as his readiness to begin a practical solution to his problem immediately after completing the consultation. At this stage, techniques of persuasion, suggestion, emotional-positive stimulation and a number of others can also be used.

On average, work at this final stage of psychological counseling takes place within 20–30 minutes.

If we summarize everything said above, we can establish that on average it may take from 2–3 to 10–12 hours to complete all five stages of psychological counseling (without the time allocated for psychological testing).

This part of the manual will discuss the various stages of psychological counseling. In particular: the technical stages of counseling are presented in the psychotherapeutic encyclopedia; stages of an hour-long consultative conversation proposed by S.V. Petrushin; a positive seven-step template for psychological counseling developed by V.A. Ananyev, as well as stages of psychological counseling proposed by G.S. Abramova and Yu.E. Aleshina.

The psychotherapeutic encyclopedia highlights the following: technical stages of psychological counseling:

1. Establishing contact for professional counseling.

2. Giving the patient (client) the opportunity to speak out. In a number of cases, people who have the opportunity to talk about their problem, uninterrupted by questions and advice, themselves, during the conversation, begin to “see the problem and the possibilities of solving it differently.” They can stop counseling at this stage, being satisfied with its results.

3. Providing the patient (client) with emotional support and information about the positive aspects of his problem situation.

4. Reformulation of the problem jointly with the patient (client).

5. Conclusion of a dynamic contract. It includes a discussion of organizational aspects and the share of responsibility of the patient (client) and consultant, identifying and correcting unrealistic expectations of the patient (client).

6. Formation of a list of possible solutions to the problem. The consultant offers his professional and life experience only after the patient (client) has formulated 2-3 solutions.

7. Selecting the most appropriate solution from the created “list of solutions” from the patient’s (client’s) point of view.

8. Consolidating motivation and planning the implementation of the intended solution. It can be carried out by direct support or, paradoxically, by “criticism and doubt” from the consultant.

9. Completion of consultation, with the patient (client) being given the right to re-apply if necessary or scheduling a follow-up, support meeting.

“Experience shows that such a program can be implemented in one meeting lasting 2-3 hours, or in a course of 2-5 meetings of 1 hour at intervals from 1 day to 2-3 weeks.”

V.A. Ananyev (2004), in counseling (psychotherapy), noted three components: trust; faith; knowledge.

1. Confidence. The bottom line is that a person trusts even before he receives something.

2. Faith into something. A person has a belief system. This is the threshold of knowledge.

3. Knowledge. He who knows has no faith. Knowledge is acquired experience.

Target a consultant psychologist (psychotherapist) to bring the client to:

● trust in someone has transformed into trust in yourself!

● faith in someone has transformed into faith in yourself!

● knowledge about someone has been transformed into knowledge about oneself!

Thus, human self-realization occurs.

Let's give stages of an hour-long consultation proposed by S.V. Petrushin (2006). Briefly they can be described as follows:

0. The client is assigned a specific time, and payment terms are negotiated.

1. The psychologist creates an atmosphere of trust and safety for the client (5-10 minutes).

2. Statement of the problem by the client. It is necessary that the client not only talk about himself, but formulate his problem and the desired result from the consultation (5 minutes).

3. Joint work to reformulate the problem identified by the client into a psychological problem. Detecting a problem in the client’s subjective reality (15 minutes).

4. Implementing psychological influence - helping the client change his subjective reality so that the problem is solved (20-30 minutes).

5. Determining the client’s level of satisfaction with the results of the consultation and discussing the possibility of further psychological work (5 minutes).

Zero stage. It represents the “preparation” of the client for consultation. “In order for the consultation to be effective, the client must formulate an attitude not towards friendship, but towards a working relationship with the psychologist. Therefore, it is important to create and strengthen the difference between these two levels of communication, because the help of a friend and psychological help are not the same thing. Mixing two types of relationships (friendly and psychological) destroys friendship and makes psychological help impossible” (S.V. Petrushin, 2006).

Basic differences between friendships and work relationships are as follows:

● during a consultation, a conversation time is set, and friendly conversations arise spontaneously and depend on a certain emotional mood;

● during psychological work, time limits are introduced from the very beginning, whereas during friendly conversations, time is usually not limited;

● the consultation ends not because the problem is solved, but due to the end of the allotted time; working beyond the agreed time may indicate the psychologist’s countertransference;

Countertransference– “the totality of the analyst’s unconscious reactions to the personality of the person being analyzed. It is an interfering, distorting factor in treatment. This is the analyst’s emotional attitude towards his patient, including his reaction to certain aspects of the patient’s behavior.”

First stage. It is aimed at instilling confidence in the client in the psychologist. S.V. Petrushin distinguishes two types of trust in this regard: rational - justified and emotional - unfounded. The most important thing for a psychologist is the ability to create emotional trust. “At the same time, the division between “I am a client” and “He is a psychologist” disappears and a common “We” appears” (S.V. Petrushin, 2006).

At this stage it is very important to establish resonant relationships between psychologist and client. Resonant relationships- these are those when two people become some kind of integral community. “The initiator of creating resonant relationships is the psychologist by adjusting his “parameters” to the client. As soon as such an adjustment occurs, the psychologist has the opportunity to influence the client” (S.V. Petrushin, 2006).

The deeper and more complex the problem, the more fundamental the resonant relationships should be. S.V.Petrushin highlights two ways to create resonance: 1) from external to internal, 2) from internal to external.

From external to internal. The psychologist mirrors the client’s behavior (sits in the same position, breathes at the same frequency, repeats the client’s gestures, uses a similar intonation in his voice, uses words from the client’s jargon, etc.).

From internal to external. Here the adjustment is carried out through emotional resonance. “Conventionally, we can distinguish three centers of emotional activity - “physical”, “mental” and “intellectual”. To achieve adjustment, a psychologist must be able to quickly adjust to one or another emotional wave. After ascending into emotional resonance, external adjustment will occur automatically” (S.V. Petrushin, 2006).

Second phase- formulation of the problem by the client (receiving an order from the client). In order to begin psychological work, the client's story must be formulated as a problem. “A problem is a need for something and the impossibility (or lack of knowledge of the means) to satisfy this need” (S.V. Petrushin, 2006). In his order, the client must answer three questions:

1. What doesn’t suit him?

2. What would he like to achieve?

3. How does he see the help of a psychologist?

The psychologist “doesn’t have to figure out what the client wants, much less assume that it’s already clear. It is advisable to ensure that the client himself positively formulates the desired result (that is, what he wants, and not what he does not want)” (S.V. Petrushin, 2006).

Third stage– reformulation of the problem proposed by the client into a psychological one, that is, one that can be solved by psychological means. “Reformulation consists of transferring the explanation of the causes of the problem from objective reality to subjective reality. The search for the cause is transferred from the “external” to the “internal” space of a person” (S.V. Petrushin, 2006).

Fourth stage- implementation of psychological influence. This psychological work to change subjective reality in the direction desired by the client. The problem arises not from the fact that a person does not want to change something in the inner world, but from the fact that a person alone cannot help himself. At this stage, the psychologist is required to: be a “mirror”; to be an “alarm clock”; to be a “mediator”; to be a "doll".

Psychologist as "Mirror" acts as a reflection of the client’s subjective reality. Only through another person can we see ourselves from the outside.

A psychologist can reflect aspects of his behavior that elude the client- these are the movements that a person makes mechanically, without thinking.

A psychologist can reflect one's emotional condition, arising as a result of certain actions of the client.

A psychologist can demonstrate any responsive behavior, that is, not to tell the client, but to show him something important (from the client’s behavior, of course).

Psychologist as "Alarm Clock" keeps the client in the “present” time. As S.V. Petrushin notes, the more problems, the more difficult it is for a person to stay in the present, the more he sleeps, that is, he goes into his world of thoughts, dreams and fantasies. But the solution is possible only in the waking state. This is exactly what a psychologist should create.

Psychologist as "Mediator" between conflicting parts of the client's personality. “The psychologist creates a safe atmosphere in which each of the opposing sides within a person can speak out and be heard” (S.V. Petrushin, 2006). It is important for a psychologist to non-judgmentally and unconditionally accept any traits, words and behavior of the client.

Psychologist as "Doll" plays along, helps to bring out internal conflicts associated with people significant to the client. A person's problem is always a problem in a relationship with someone. When it is touched upon, a dialogue with this significant “someone” starts and this image is transferred to the psychologist. To provide such assistance, a psychologist must develop the following qualities:

● be able to take the position of a “mirror” - avoid imposing your own reality on the client’s subjective reality and focus only on his picture of the world;

● “not to sleep”, that is, to be able to maintain attention and concentrate on the conversation, regardless of the topic and state of the client;

● be disidentified with your role, that is, not attribute the client’s words to yourself personally, but work with them;

● have high level self-acceptance.

Fifth stage- determining the degree of client satisfaction with the results of the consultation. It is necessary to verify the results obtained. The simplest thing is to once again discuss the problem with which the person came to you and find out what has changed for him. “The solution to a problem should always be related to the level of the client’s order in terms of depth and degree of elaboration. If a psychologist works deeper than the client outlined, it means that the problems of the psychologist himself are affected” (S.V. Petrushin, 2006).

Below will be presented "positive psychological counseling template", which contains seven steps.

The technology presented below was proposed by V.A. Ananyev at the training seminar “Selected Technologies of Psychological Consulting”, held in St. Petersburg from March 19 to 21, 2004 at the Institute of Practical Psychology “IMATON”. These “steps” are done at the 2nd session and take 1.5-2 hours.

Step 1.Translating the problem into a goal. Using a positive template, it would look something like this: “anxious --- not anxious (the answer to the question what do you want to become?) --- calm(use of a positive template)"; "tired --- don't get tired --- cheerful, strong." The essence of positivity is that the client (or himself) needs to reformulate what is not formulated correctly, i.e. without the particle "not". Examples: Do not kill - honor life, do not steal - live honestly, etc.

Step 2. Definition of present state. It is necessary to determine a kind of starting point - what is considered to be the beginning. This also acts as an additional elaboration of the goal.

A person comes up with a problem or question. His problem is “resentment, hopelessness.” We ask the question - What would you like to receive as a result of our meetings? This is the definition goals teenager Then we ask – Where is your place on this scale? This serves to identify the real resource. You can reinforce this with the phrase: “It’s great that your condition is like this now, but together with you we will get through it!” Any, even the smallest progress of the client, must be supported!

Step 3.Motivation(work with secondary benefit). The bottom line is that human motivation has two sides:

a) motivation aimed at maintaining the current situation - secondary benefit;

b) motivation aimed at changing one’s condition, at radically solving one’s problem.

Solution balance table

When working with a client, the emphasis should be placed on the “against” column - this will (or is) increase motivation for healing. Moreover, attention should be paid not to the quantity of what is written, but to their specific weight - quality. You can do the following: ask the client to put the pros and cons on the scale, and then ask - which will outweigh?

A person always owes something donate, To obtain retribution. This is the basic principle of life. Moreover "victim" cannot be calculated, otherwise it turns into a pseudo-altruistic position - “You - to me, I - to you.” Sacrifice is when a person does not think why he is doing it.

Spiritual hardening occurs when life itself gives difficulties, and not when a person himself provokes them - “trips himself.” In addition, there must be “significance of the victim.” If to sacrifice something significant means there will be reward.

Balance must always exist. At the same time, if a person only gives, then he develops pride in himself. The “for” column for the client is always a sacrifice (it should be 100%). In the process of work, the psychologist must carefully understand what the person says “for”; the psychotherapist needs to find compensation (or compensate) for the client’s secondary benefit.

Step 4.Past successes. To do this you need to draw a “sun”. Assignment to the client:- you need to write down your past successes on the rays.

Instructions:

1. Write down past successes related to solving this problem. Past successes are linked to the current situation. But it may happen that this problem has appeared for a person for the first time (for example, a break in close ties, relationships), then the next step is taken.

2. Write down your overall successes, in the context of your whole life.

Important point– every ray should be associated with success. The more the psychologist draws rays for the client, the more he orients the client (pressures him) to search for success. After completing this exercise, the client needs to be supported. In the group version, this can be ordinary hand clapping - applause.

Success– registration of the fact of what a person did independently, but together with God. Success– This is a small piece of happiness when a person asserts himself in himself. This is an experience of a state of joy for oneself (V.A. Ananyev, 03/20/2004).

Often this exercise is an element of work that increases a person’s self-esteem. This positive experience is a resource of the past that must be used.

A psychologist (psychotherapist), using this resource, must guide the client to reconsider his life.

In psychological counseling and psychotherapy, you should try to avoid the word “I’ll try.” Example – there is a bell on the floor. Try taking it? You can either take it or not take it! There can be no other options.

Step 5.Resources for achievement.

Resource– This is a sought-after life experience. On each beam, the client registers his resources.

Let's look at the resource map. To do this, we will also draw a “sun” and invite the client to register resources on each ray.

Instructions:

1. On each ray, write down the resources to achieve - to solve the problem.

2. Write shared resources– sources of energy that can fuel a person (example – hobby, travel, dog, knitting, etc.). It's about switching activities. This is called the “ZA” technique. It gives a kind of respite for consciousness, but does not solve the problem.

Important point– each ray must be associated with a resource. The more the psychologist draws rays for the client, the more he orients the client (pressures him) to search for resources. After completing this exercise, the client needs to be supported. In the group version, this can be ordinary hand clapping - applause.

After the “sun” is filled, the client needs to give feedback - talk about the resources. Sometimes you can guide him, give him some hints, etc. We must strive to give a person as many choices as possible. The larger the resource map, the freer a person feels. It is necessary to call a person to action.

Step 6.Ladder of progress.

The number of steps depends on the time required to implement the set goal (changes). The time periodization also depends on the goal to be achieved.

When performing the exercise, the following questions are asked:

1. How will you know tomorrow that you have made progress in solving your problem? Further, “tomorrow” is replaced by a month, a year, etc. These act as a kind of “milestones”.

2. How will other people (close relatives, parents, friends, etc.) know tomorrow (in a month, etc.) that progress has been made in solving the problem?

An important point is the introduction of incentives. It is desirable that the reward be material or unusual (new hairstyle, fur coat, etc.). These things act as anchors in the future, reminding you to solve the problem. Anchors act as signs reminiscent of success.

3. How does a fly sitting on the ceiling know that you have solved the problem? (The technique used here is as if you have already decided). We are talking about emotional and behavioral manifestations. These things prescribe the image of a healthy person. And again the person returns to forming a goal.

4. How will I know that you have solved the problem? What changes will I notice when I look through the window at your life? In this case we are talking about such simple things: - Well planned, half done! Sometimes the word plan is used instead of how you will know you have solved the problem.

Step 7Social support. It is divided into two categories: institutional and interpersonal.

Institutional support– these are various social institutions, organizations, etc.

Interpersonal support– this is family, relatives, church, etc. The more social contacts, the healthier a person is. This support acts as a preventative factor.

Now let’s draw a “sun” and on each ray of the sun, you need to register assistants.

Instructions:

Look, if you solved a problem, who actually helped you with it? It could even be a guess. These people can also be “negative” heroes. There must be specific people. They must be remembered and noted.

Homemade task for a client (given after the problem is resolved):

1. Buy a postcard and write - “I thank you for helping me solve the problem.” In this way, the client celebrates a kind of “celebration of independence” from his problem. Postcards must be sent to the addresses of those people who helped solve the problem (i.e. people who are registered in the rays of the sun). This is also done for the person himself. If he does this, it means that he knows that these people can help him solve the problem (for example, Thanksgiving in America).

This is done only when the problem has already been resolved. Do not use telephone or e-mail under any circumstances, because this can ruin all the work done.

2. Prescribing a diary (begins as soon as work with a psychologist - psychotherapist begins). In the old days, the problem was attributed to the sandy shore. The oncoming wave washed it away - thus the purification of consciousness took place. Nowadays, what remains of this is the expression “written on water with a pitchfork.” Writing a diary begins at approximately 24.00 and subsequently should develop into a habit. Diary writing begins:

● what did I do today to solve the problem? (1-2 sentences);

● programming random access memory– What will I do tomorrow to achieve my goal? (also 1-2 sentences or various, small thoughts);

● prescribing an affirmation - a positive statement about oneself. This has certain rules:

a) there should not be many statements, about 7-9. Some of them may relate to the problem - I am confident, I am independent, etc.;

b) statements must be without the particle “not-”;

c) the writing of affirmations is carried out with the non-dominant hand. The point is that when a person writes with an “uncomfortable” hand, he experiences this state. They need to be prescribed until the problem is resolved.

For this you can use following procedure: Divide the sheet in half. On the left side we write down the affirmation (I’m confident), and on the right side the thoughts that arise at the same time (how confident are you - nurse). This is work on human subpersonalities that interfere with self-acceptance. You need to write on every affirmation to drown out resistance. Write until there are no ironic statements on the right - “dogs barking at me.” As soon as affirmations descend to the unconscious level, they begin to work automatically; those. they must be internalized.

Let's give stages of psychological counseling, described by G.S. Abramova, these include: preparation; establishing contact and building a trusting dialogue; situation research; goal setting; searching of decisions; summarizing.

The main stages of psychological counseling are as follows:

Psychological counseling procedures are understood as groups of psychological counseling techniques united by purpose, with the help of which one of the particular problems of psychological counseling is solved. Its effectiveness directly depends on the thoughtfulness of psychological counseling procedures.

Since the procedures are usually associated with specific stages of psychological counseling, we will highlight them and consider them in connection with the stages that were highlighted and described in the previous paragraph.

At the first stage of psychological counseling, as a rule, no special procedures are identified or applied.

At the second stage, procedures are applied for meeting with the client, the general, emotional and positive attitude of the client towards the consultation, and the removal of psychological barriers to communication between the consulting psychologist and the client.

The procedure for meeting a client includes special actions performed by a psychologist-consultant during a meeting with a client, including greeting him and escorting him to the place where he will be required to be during the consultation. This procedure also includes the choice by the psychologist-consultant of his location in relation to the client when starting a conversation with him, techniques for establishing psychological contact between the consultant and the client, and the first words that the psychologist-consultant utters when starting his conversation with the client. In the next chapter, entitled “Psychological Consulting Techniques,” we will consider these techniques in more detail, with relevant examples.

This procedure includes other specific techniques and actions with the help of which the psychologist-consultant, from the very beginning of the consultation, tries to make the most favorable impression on the client and create in him a mood that ensures the success of the consultation.

The majority of clients who turn to psychological counseling have psychological barriers and complexes that prevent normal communication with people, including with a consulting psychologist. The negative effect of such barriers and complexes is especially strong in an unfamiliar environment, for example, at the first meeting of a psychologist-consultant with a client, in anticipation of a difficult conversation between the client and stranger– a consultant – about your own, deeply personal problems.

To neutralize the possible negative effects of complexes and remove psychological barriers, the “removal of psychological barriers” procedure is used. When applying this procedure, the psychologist-consultant, with the help of special actions and techniques, calms the client, creates a situation of psychological safety for him, liberates him, instills confidence in him, and inspires confidence in himself.

The client’s overall emotional and positive attitude towards the upcoming consultation is ensured not only using the procedure described above - it basically only pre-sets the client and calms him down - but also through the use of a special procedure that pursues the specified goal. As part of this procedure, it is possible, in particular, to use special techniques that lift the client’s mood and cause positive emotional experiences in him.

At the third stage of psychological counseling, the so-called empathic listening procedure actively works, as well as procedures for activating the client’s thinking and memory, reinforcement procedures, clarifying the client’s thoughts and psychodiagnostic procedures (we will consider them further, in the fifth chapter of the textbook).

The procedure for activating thinking may include such techniques as confirmation by the listener, in this case a psychologist-consultant, of the point of view of the speaker - the client, expression of a certain, most often positive, attitude towards what he is reporting, provision of practical assistance to the client in case of he has difficulties in correctly formatting his statements. This also includes the psychologist-consultant filling in unjustified, confusing pauses in the client’s speech to ensure its coherence and remove psychological barriers, asking the client leading questions, reminding him of what to say next, stimulating the client’s memory and thinking.

by gestures, facial expressions, pantomimics and other available extra and paralinguistic means, expresses agreement with, approves, and supports what the client is saying.

At the fourth stage of psychological counseling, the following procedures can be used: persuasion, explanation, search for a mutually acceptable solution, clarification of details, specification. All these procedures are associated with bringing to the client’s consciousness those tips and practical recommendations that the psychologist-consultant develops together with him. The purpose of the relevant procedures is to achieve the most complete and deep understanding by the client of the conclusions and decisions that the psychologist-consultant comes to, as well as to motivate the client to implement these decisions.

This procedure includes such techniques as offering alternative solutions, leaving the client the right to make the final choice of the solution that suits him, clarifying, clarifying the details of what does not suit the client in the proposed solution, inviting the client to speak out about a possible solution to his Problems.

At the fifth and final stage of psychological counseling, the same procedures are applied that were used at the fourth stage. However, this time they mainly concern assessments of the expected effectiveness of the client's practical implementation of the advice that he received from the consultant. The special procedure here is to strengthen the client’s confidence that his problem will definitely be solved, as well as his readiness to begin a practical solution to his problem immediately after completing the consultation. At this stage, techniques of persuasion, suggestion, emotional-positive stimulation and a number of others can also be used.

3.3. Aleshina Yu.E. Organization of a consultative conversation.

For effective psychological influence, the spatial and temporal organization of the conversation is essential, although, of course, much of what can be said about this has already become common truths (Bodalev A.A., Stolin V.V., 1989; Aleshina Yu. E., Petrovskaya L.A., 1989).

Conversation space

The ideal situation for counseling is when a psychologist has the opportunity to receive a client in a specially equipped room for this purpose, where privacy, convenience and comfort are ensured as much as possible, where nothing attracts the client’s undue attention or distracts him from the conversation. But even if this option is not available - there is no comfortable furniture or special room - a consultation can be successfully carried out by specially organizing some part of the space, preferably in a corner where the client could be seated with his back to the door, limiting his field of view and thus focusing it as much as possible on the consultant.

The ideal option for the psychologist and the client to sit is opposite each other and slightly diagonally, so that each of them can easily see the face of the interlocutor, but, if desired, could also look away to the side without much difficulty. It's best if they don't sit too close together and have enough legroom to stand up or sit down comfortably. It can be useful when there is something like a coffee table between them, where you can put something or, when

if necessary, keep a record. But a large table can become a nuisance and be perceived as a barrier between the client and the consultant.

Talk time

Time is a very important characteristic of a counseling session. First of all, right choice the time of conversation, when both the client and the consultant have the opportunity to talk calmly, slowly, with a fresh mind, largely determines how effective and successful the advisory influence will be.

In addition, time is of great importance for the conversation itself, which should have a clearly defined beginning and end. A clock on the table or on the wall is an important attribute of the psychotherapy room, reminding the client and the consultant that time is passing and they both need to work actively and dynamically. Much in a consultative conversation is subject to the passage of time. In order for any remark or interpretation of the consultant to be truly understood and accepted by the client, it must appear neither too late nor too early. The conversation unfolds gradually, but each part, each stage must occur within the allotted time period. Otherwise, the consultant may not be on time, may not meet the appointment time, and therefore not only will not help the client this time, but may also undermine his faith in the effectiveness of psychological influence.

The conversation process.

A consultative conversation can be compared to a literary work, which has its own prologue, plot development, plot, denouement, climax and epilogue. In other words, the conversation between a consultant and a client is far from a random process; it is organized according to certain rules, following which makes it effective and purposeful. What are the basic rules for conducting a conversation in psychological counseling?

Quite conventionally, a consultant’s conversation with a client can be divided into four stages: 1) getting to know the client and starting the conversation; 2) questioning the client, formulating and testing advisory hypotheses 3) corrective influence; 4) ending the conversation. The duration of the appointment, during which the conversation actually takes place, varies significantly depending on the goals and objectives of the consultation, organizational forms, within which it is carried out, as well as the theoretical orientation of the consultant. But still, in most cases, the appointment time is one hour (both here and abroad). Approximately this hour can be distributed among the stages of the conversation highlighted above as follows: I) beginning of the conversation - 5-10 minutes; 2) questioning the client - 25-35 minutes, 3) corrective influence - 10-15 minutes; 4) completion of the conversation -5-10 minutes. Let us dwell in more detail on what each of these stages is, what goals to achieve and what tasks the consultant must manage to solve in the allotted time, what are the simplest techniques for organizing the conversation process.

Starting a conversation

The first thing a consultant needs to do during an appointment is to meet and seat the client. The success of the conversation largely depends on how friendly and friendly the psychologist is from the first minutes. interested interlocutor. The consultant can demonstrate his interest and friendliness from the very first minutes of the meeting, rising to meet the client, or even meeting him at the door of the office; if necessary, you can help remove outer clothing, show where it is more convenient to put the bags, and then offer to sit down. It is better if the consultant encourages the client from the very beginning with remarks like: “Please come in,” “Make yourself comfortable,” etc. What seems important here, where can a novice consultant make a mistake?

You should not fuss too much, flirt with the client, try to enter into active contact with him from the first minutes, offer and promise your help. The situation at the beginning of a conversation for a person who comes to a psychologist for the first time is full of discomfort; he needs to be given time to look around and come to his senses. It's good if the consultant is not too verbose; immediately before starting a conversation, it is better to pause (not too long - 45-60 seconds, otherwise the client may experience a state of tension and confusion, but enough for him to have time to collect his thoughts and look around).

Very important point starting a conversation - getting to know the client by name (the possibilities of using the client’s name to organize a conversation will be discussed in detail in the next chapter). In principle, the client may refuse to identify himself, but forgetting or not inviting him to introduce himself will largely doom the consultation to failure. In Russian there are many possibilities for using a person's name; for example, Lena, Alena, Elena, Elena Ivanovna are all variants of the same name. In the previous chapter it was already said that the optimal position of a consultant in relation to a client is a position of equality, one of the manifestations of which is equality of names. This means that it is better if the psychologist introduces himself in the same way as the client - by first name and patronymic, just by name, etc. (there may be exceptions to this recommendation related to the age of the interlocutor, as well as the specific conditions in which the consultation takes place). It is difficult to predict exactly how the client will introduce himself, so it is better if the consultant gives him the opportunity to name himself first, using a remark like: “Let’s get to know each other, what should I call you?” After the client identifies himself, the psychologist, focusing on his form of presentation, will be able to call himself accordingly - Dima, Dmitry or Dmitry Borisovich.

It happens that at the beginning of a conversation, the consultant is faced with a situation where the client needs to explain what psychological counseling is and what he can count on when asking for help.

This question can be asked even by a person who came for a consultation on his own initiative, but more often the need to explain the goals of counseling arises in a situation where a psychologist has to conduct a consultation outside the walls of a consultation center - at an enterprise, at a school, in a hospital.

In such cases, for psychological help More often people apply who are not sufficiently informed about the possibilities and limitations of psychological influence. It's hard to suggest any universal formula for all occasions, since for different people what seems most important in their professional activities sounds different. Once upon a time, while conducting an appointment at a medical consultation, the author, together with L.Ya. Gozman came up with the following formulation: “We are psychologists, we don’t give advice, we don’t prescribe any medications. Our help to people consists in the fact that we talk with them and try to help them see their own situation from the outside, from a different point of view, and treat things differently.” it and, if necessary, make a decision or change your behavior based on this.” To such formulations it is never superfluous to add a guarantee of anonymity of everything that happens behind the doors of the psychological office.

Of course, such a brief description of professional activity can raise many questions from the client like: “Are you sure you can help me?” In this case, it is better not to enter into a long discussion, not to promise the client guaranteed help, but to suggest: “Let’s try.”

The next step to take is to move directly into the counseling process. It is natural to assume that first it is necessary for the client to talk about himself and his problems. This move is so logical that clients often start talking about themselves without a special invitation, sometimes in such a hurry that they forget to introduce themselves. In such a situation, it is better to interrupt the interlocutor and offer to get acquainted first, at least so that he moves a little away from the story prepared in advance, looks around, and is more tuned in to working together with a consultant, and not to a monologue.

If the client is silent, waiting for what the consultant will say, you can help him start talking about himself with remarks like: “I’m listening to you carefully” or “Tell me what brought you here.” When the client expresses uncertainty about what and how to talk about, where to start, you can add: “Tell what you consider important yourself, and if I need to know something, I will ask you myself, if the need arises.” Sometimes the client can be specifically reassured: “Take your time, you have enough time.”

From the very beginning of the conversation, one should not forget that advisory influence is, first of all, influence through the word: one inaccurate wording or remark - and the client can be unsettled for a long time, take offense at the consultant, become withdrawn, feel insecure and lonely. And then the psychologist will have to spend a lot of time correcting the situation and restoring contact.

Such unfortunate words, which, unfortunately, are often found in the speech of a consultant, include, for example, the word “problem”. Using this word at the beginning of a conversation, before the client himself has used it in relation to himself, can cause a negative reaction. “Problem” may sound like a sentence or diagnosis to a person, while he may assess his situation completely differently.

Another common mistake novice consultants make is excessively fixating the client’s attention on the specifics of the consulting situation with remarks like: “Don’t be afraid,” “Don’t strain,” “Even if you are embarrassed to talk about something, you...”. Whatever form such remarks may take, it follows from them that here one can be afraid of something, ashamed, tense about something, etc.

Sometimes it seems that all the warnings associated with starting a conversation are unnecessary - “once a client comes to a psychologist, he will not go anywhere.” But this is far from true. You can “serve” your time out of politeness, but will it be of any use? Establishing good contact with the client, correctly organizing the conversation from the very beginning - this means in many ways ensuring the effectiveness of the consultation. Unsuccessful contact with a person or issues not resolved at the beginning of the conversation can become an obstacle to the development of the conversation just when it would be especially undesirable. Most often, they serve as fertile ground for the formation of client resistance psychological impact, which may manifest itself as a reluctance to continue the conversation, complaints against the consultant, a feeling that what is happening is meaningless, etc.

Resistance to counseling is a common phenomenon at the beginning of a conversation, when the client, already in the psychologist’s office, still asks himself the question of whether he should have come here or not. So, for example, finding himself face to face with a consultant, he may begin to express doubts about whether he is suitable whether he needs a consultant or not based on age, gender, professional experience, etc. What can be done in such a situation? First of all, you should not insist too much that since the client came to you, then he should work with you as a consultant. It is best to offer to continue the conversation after lunch, so that if the person really needs this, he can contact another specialist. When discussing this with the client, you can bring in some arguments: " Practical psychology- this is science, so my personal characteristics do not play such a big role, it is much more important professional qualification, which you will only be able to appreciate once you start working with me."

It happens that a person who has asked for help begins a conversation with general topics and questions that have nothing to do with him personally - why are there so many divorces now, what is the impact of the peculiarities current situation in the country on relationships between people, etc. Of course, you shouldn’t completely ignore the client’s questions, but interest in the “destiny of existence” is almost never the basis for seeking advice. In addition, the consultant’s time is limited, and the conversation is limited common topics can “eat up” valuable minutes, which later, when the person starts talking about himself, will not be enough (you can only blame the consultant for this, not the client).

It must be remembered that such a discussion most often represents one of the manifestations of resistance, fear of starting a conversation and its possible consequences, so it is better to take advantage of the opportunity and help the client overcome this situation by asking the question: “Why are you concerned about these questions, what brought you here personally?" The client may avoid a direct answer, but the psychologist should make such an attempt, and the sooner this happens, the easier it will be for both to change the topic of discussion.

It happens that a person who comes to a consultation asks the consultant to help not himself, but someone else. His request could be, for example, this: “Invite my wife (husband), daughter (son) here, he (she) doesn’t want to go on his own, but he (she) needs help.” The situation can get funny when the client starts asking for a certificate confirming the diagnosis for one of the relatives, a letter to the court, etc. In such situations, the psychologist should be firm: he works only with those who directly seek help and who are ready to discuss and analyze their life situation from the point of view of their own responsibility for it. Call, invite to a consultation, write letters, etc. - this means interfering in people’s private lives, knowing quite little about it and not imagining what the other side thinks about what is happening. At the same time, it is worth requesting that someone who has already come to the consultation be oriented towards the work, recalling that in any conflict there are two sides, and even if the influence of one of them on how events unfold is, at first glance, insignificant, it undoubtedly exists . Having figured out what it is, you can try to at least change the situation in some way. When entering into such a discussion, we should not forget that an attempt to attribute one’s own problems to another is a classic form of resistance, described and analyzed on the pages of many books and textbooks on psychotherapy (Bodalev A.A., Stolin V.V., 1989; Gunnan A., Kniskern D., 1981).

There is a lot more that can be said about the forms and types of resistance, but actually learning to work with them is not easy, and it is better if there is someone nearby who can give good advice or show effective ways work in practice. The examples given above are just outlines that can help guide a novice consultant.

Questioning the client

Let’s imagine that all the problems at the beginning of the conversation have been solved, the client began a story about himself, thus moving the conversation to the next stage, where the main task of the consultant is to understand his problems as best as possible, to understand what the main conflicts and anxieties are connected with. Let’s conditionally divide this stage of the conversation into two substages, in the first of which the psychologist still does not know anything about the client and therefore is most interested in the latter talking as fully as possible about himself and his situation. The second stage begins when the consultant already has enough information to formulate psychocorrectional hypotheses and begin testing them.