Compare and Contrast How the Cognitive-Behavioural and Person-Centred Models of Counselling Understand the Person, and How These Two Approaches Explain the Psychological Distress Experienced by Individuals. in Part 2, Essays
Word Count:1245
Compare and contrast how the cognitive-behavioural and person-centred models of counselling understand the person, and how these two approaches explain the psychological distress experienced by individuals. In Part 2, reflect on and write about which of the two models appeals most to you and why.
In this assignment I will describe and explain how the cognitive-behavioural approach to counselling reflects behaviour as learned. I will explore how the cognitive-behavioural approach describes dysfunctional thinking as the cause of psychological distress. I intend to explore how the person-centred models of counselling describe the awareness and acceptance of self and how phenomenological thought processes explain…show more content… This relates to a person experiencing emotions that they cannot fully express so they learn to do so through a symbol such as a word or a body movement, he called this ‘experiential focusing’. Rice (1974,1984) suggested similar explanations as Gendlin. Rice stated that distress in a patient is caused by blocked and distorted emotions that prevent them from enabling relationships with others. These problems can be overcome through a process called ‘evocative unfolding’ where the client is encourages to explore the situation that caused them problems. (word count:102)
Comparisons can be made between the cognitive-behavioural approach to psychology and the person-centred approach to psychology. Wolpe (OU chapter 5 pg 140) developed the idea of systematic desensitisation, whereby the client and counsellor work together to develop a hierarchy of fear levels starting with something that is less fearful in a situation and something that is drastically fearful.
The client and the counsellor then work together to overcome the fear but starting with the lowest part of the hierarchy. The therapeutic technique of systematic desensitization is similar Rodgers (CR 1942) idea of the non-directive counselling where the client is finding their own solutions to their own problems. Wolpe encourages patients to create a hierarchy and follow this to slowly
