3. The process of psychological counseling

Plan

1. Consultative contact

1.1. Definition of an advisory contact and its features

1.2. Therapeutic climate

1.3. Counseling contact skills

2. The first meeting with the client

3. Psychotherapeutic contract

4. Consultative conversation: the technology of reference and the main stages

5. Special phenomena in the professional interaction of a psychologist with a client

5.1. Transference and countertransference

5.2. Resistance

6. Terms of successful counseling for K. Rogers

1. Consultative contact

1.1. Definition of an advisory contact and its features

Consultative contact, although seemingly formal and rather short in comparison with the entire life of the client, is still closer, more intense and more profound than any other interpersonal connection. In consulting, the client turns to a stranger and reveals to him the smallest details of his personal life, about which, perhaps, no one else knows. Told by the client often represents him not in the best light. Sometimes in the process of counseling, new sides of the personality emerge, surprising, saddening and even shocking the client himself. All this makes advisory contact intimate relationship of two people, and specifically intimate, unlike the usual friendship or love relationships.

Consultative contact is the central concept of psychological counseling.

R. Kočiūnas writes that the definitions of a consultative contact are diverse, but at the same time there are two most acceptable generalized definitions:

a) advisory contact is a unique dynamic process, in

the time of which one person helps another to use his internal resources for the actualization of personal potential and advancement in solving a professional (set) task;

b) advisory contact - these are feelings and attitudes that

counseling participants (consultant and recipient) experience one with respect to the other, and the way they are expressed.

Advisory Contact Features

emotionality (advisory contact is more emotional than

cognitive, it implies a study of customer experiences); intensity (since contact represents sincere attitude

and mutual exchange of experiences, it can not be intense); dynamism (when changing the client, the specificity of the contact changes); confidentiality (the obligation of the consultant not to distribute

customer information contributes to confidence);

providing support (ongoing support of the consultant ensures the stability of the contact, allowing the client to take risks and try to behave in a new way); good faith

1.2. Therapeutic climate The quality of the advisory contact depends on two important factors:

therapeutic climate and counseling skills in maintaining communication. Physical components of the therapeutic climate 1. Framework conditions for counseling A well-equipped office.

During psychological counseling, a client with less alertness reveals and investigates his problems if counseling takes place in a well-equipped office. It is clear that it is not always possible to provide ideal conditions, however certain requirements are made to the place of consultation.

Calm environment, in a soundproof cabinet.

We know that the process of counseling at first increases anxiety, therefore, the client must be sure that outsiders will not hear it. If the client hears what is happening in the next room or corridor, he will doubt the confidentiality of communication with the consultant. This may prevent the occurrence of therapeutically effective contact.

It is better that the cabinet was not very large, painted in soothing colors, comfortably furnished and not too elaborate. Light should not fall on the client. In the office you need a table, comfortable chairs (three or four chairs in case of reception of several people, for example: the client’s parents, a couple, etc.).

It is advisable to have a couch for relaxation classes. On the walls you can hang several pictures, place books on the shelves, but the interior should not be overloaded so as not to distract the attention of the client. In the workplace, you should not keep too personal items (for example, family photos) or objects reflecting the consultant’s beliefs (for example, a cross on the wall).

2. Structuring the advisory space

The client enters the room and enters the “territory of the consultant”. One of the main aspects of the interaction between the consultant and the client is what they call “space structuring”. Already happening at the first meeting has an impact on the psychological well-being of the client.

The meeting begins with dating .

At the same time, it is necessary to adhere to a certain etiquette: get up and meet the client halfway, introduce yourself, ask the client to give his first name and surname, invite him to choose a place and sit down before settling himself.

Location consultant and client .

If the consultant and the client sit on opposite sides of the table, then social distance remains between them, and the atmosphere of counseling will most likely be official. This position is suitable for restless customers - the table serves as a barrier to communication. For counseling, on the contrary, the position of the consultant and the client at the table on one side is favorable. Under these conditions, the consultant has access to all non-verbal information coming from the client, in addition, he can change (and allows the client to change) the distance between them depending on the situation of counseling or when the advisory contact changes. Due to an incorrectly chosen distance in counseling (for example, disproportion in the social or age aspect of personal space), some topics cannot be touched at all.

3. Structuring counseling time

The therapeutic climate involves proper time structuring. Already the first meeting with the client should continue for as long as all subsequent meetings. Sometimes the first meeting is delayed because of the need to get closer to the client and gives him hope for an unrealistic duration of counseling. Usually, an advisory conversation with an adult lasts from 50 minutes to one hour. Such a duration is not accidental. A shorter conversation makes both the consultant and the client nervous, giving the impression that they will not have time to discuss deeply enough the issues that have arisen during the meeting. A longer conversation, although sometimes this is desired by both the client and the consultant, will tire both consultants too much. Psychotherapy and counseling require concentration of attention and vigilance, and, as you know, concentration of attention is difficult to maintain for more than 45 - 50 minutes. The traditional 50 minutes regulating the consultative meeting allow us to discuss several issues productively and then devote 10 minutes to recording the main aspects of the last conversation or just relaxing over a cup of coffee. This is also important when taking multiple clients in a row. The duration of the conversation may vary depending on the age of the client. A conversation with a 5–7-year-old child should not last more than 20 minutes, with an 8–12-year-old child — about 30 minutes, and with children over 12 years old, an advisory conversation can last up to 1 hour.

The duration of the conversation the consultant determines at the beginning of the meeting.

The client should know how much time he has to discuss urgent problems. When the consultant does not set the duration of the conversation, he makes the client constantly nervous that the reception may stop at any time. Time limits can be set in a variety of ways:

" We have 50 minutes at our disposal, and I am ready to listen to you ."

“ I believe that you could start with what you expect from counseling. We have 50 minutes of time . ”

“ How would you like to use our time today? We have 50 minutes . ”

At the beginning of counseling, you must also determine the total duration of counseling. Of course, at the very beginning it is difficult to establish how long it will take to solve these or other problems. Therefore, it is possible to conclude a specific contract for 3-4 meetings with the client, and then finally decide whether the advisory contact is productive and how long the consultation can last.

At the beginning of counseling, determine the frequency of meetings. It is usually assumed that one or two meetings per week is enough to establish productive contact. If you meet less often, it becomes much more difficult to get to know the client, remember what happened at the last meeting, and also maintain the continuity of the counseling process.

Emotional components of the therapeutic climate

As already indicated, the success of creating a therapeutic climate is determined by the personal qualities of the consultant and his attitude to counseling.

1. Sincere interest in people and genuine desire to help them. It is important to love not only humanity, but also the individual. We must not forget that clients have a keen sense of whether the consultant is essentially interested in them or only as objects of research.

2. All attention to the client. You can not engage in extraneous affairs (for example: talk on the phone, allow colleagues to enter the office and discuss with them some, even important questions, soar in thoughts outside the office walls, etc.).

3. Providing the client with maximum opportunity to speak. He comes to the consultant not to listen to the teachings and wise advice, but to talk about the oppressive and difficult aspects of his life.

4. Lack of excessive curiosity. A consultant should not be like a detective. What is important is the information about the client, which is necessary to understand its problems. If the consultant forces the client to open up excessively, the client feels uncomfortable after the visit, experiences guilt and often stops consulting.

5. Compliance with professional secrets . If for some reason the consultant is obliged to share with other information about the client (for example, during the supervision of counseling), it is necessary to inform him.

6. Creating conditions for the client to feel at ease during the consultation meetings . For this, the consultant must show friendliness, sincerity, naturalness, be able to enter the position of the client;

7. No condemnation of client problems. The consultant should not evaluate, but listen, hear and understand. When the consultant sincerely and naturally demonstrates the setting of "acceptance", the client feels understood and worthy of respect.

1.3. Counseling contact skills

Maintaining an advisory contact depends largely on the consultant's understanding of the signals that come from the client, as well as their skillful use, along with verbal communication of non-verbal means of communication.

Non-verbal communication. In communication, people continuously transmit information to each other, not only through speech, but also through facial expression, body movements, determination of distance, etc. Thus, when staying together, we can not avoid communication. We express how we feel, what we think, what we would like to do without uttering a word. Non-verbal behavior of a person is very important in the process of communication. In counseling, we also send non-verbal messages to clients and “read” their non-verbal reactions. It is extremely important that the consultant notices the non-verbal messages of clients, responds to them and at the same time recognizes the influence of their non-verbal behavior on clients.

Non-verbal reactions are divided into four main groups. Such structuring helps better understand and observe nonverbal behavior.

1. Non-verbal behavior and time structuring (identification, slow response to partner messages, priorities, relative time for discussion of individual topics).

2. Non-verbal communication using the body.

- eye contact. When evaluating eye contact, attention should be paid to looking at specific objects, looking down, looking at a consultant with a defiant gaze, looking from object to object, looking away from the consultant when he looks at the client, closing his eyes with his hands, the frequency of looking at the consultant. ;

- skin - the condition of the skin matters: pallor, redness, "goose bumps";

- posture - can serve as an indicator of alertness or physical fatigue, indicate self-defense (for example, crossed arms or legs);

- facial expression is perhaps the most important non-verbal “key” of counseling. In the interpretation of facial expressions, a frozen expression, a wrinkled brow, frowning eyebrows, a smile and a laugh play a role. It is very difficult for an enticing individual to laugh - he can be ironic or sarcastic, but he is not able to laugh sincerely, he has a sad face. The consultant should be able to read joy, pain and fear on the client’s face, as well as how one feelings are masked by others;

- hands and gestures - movements of hands and other parts of the body are often symbolic in nature, they may indicate something is amiss;

- manipulating your body - manifests itself in biting nails, crunching joints, pulling out hair;

- monotonous behavior is often a sign of nervousness - it is tapping with the feet, tapping with the fingers, twisting objects and playing with buttons;

- command signals - holding a finger at the lips (an invitation to be silent), pointing with a finger, shrugging, nodding his head, winking;

- touch - can represent a manifestation of friendship or sexuality.

3. Non-verbal communication through voice .

- tone of voice - monotonous, insensitive, with modified modulation, strict, gentle, affectionate, confident, weak, indecisive, trembling, tense;

- rate of speech - fast, moderate, slow;

- the volume of the voice - strong, moderate, quiet;

- pronunciation - distinct, unintelligible. The modality of the voice often gives an internal attitude to the statement. Sincerity is manifested in the clarity of voice, courage - in the hardness of voice; unclear, too quiet speech often means unwillingness to communicate. The tone of the voice can be determined and what it is about, even without understanding it. Nervousness and emotional confusion are best reflected in the voice.

4. Non-verbal communication and structuring of the environment .

- distance - not always a conscious approach to the partner or a desire to move away from him - indicates the intensity of the desire to deepen the relationship;

- clothes - details of clothes will truthfully tell a lot about the installations of the person who wears it, for example, particular attention is paid to clothing, gathering for an advisory meeting, restless customers;

- position in space - this modality is considered when discussing the therapeutic climate.

Factors of non-verbal communication are largely responsible for the emotional mood of the conversation. When non-verbal symbols accompany our verbal statements, they often modify their meaning. For example, the sentence: “Please, come in,” may have a different meaning depending on non-verbal behavior. If we meet a client, look at him, shake hands and say these words warmly and friendly - the meaning of the invitation is one, but it is completely different when we look somewhere to the side without giving the client a look, and we say the invitation indifferently or worse , with a touch of irritation or discontent.

The non-verbal behavior of the client in the counseling situation is very important. First of all, it gives the consultant additional information about the thoughts and feelings of the client. Often the words say one thing, but the tone of the voice, the expression of the face, the body posture reveal a completely different content or a different meaning of what was said. The consultant should pay attention to the discrepancy between the verbal and non-verbal behavior of clients and thereby help them to express real, genuine feelings.

Verbal communication. Despite the importance of non-verbal communication in counseling, the most important events occur on the verbal level.

1. Hearing a customer.

Usually, a conversation between two people is like a verbal ping-pong - the interlocutors speak in turns. However, in counseling and psychotherapy, everything happens differently, especially at the beginning of a conversation. Here the verbal activity of the consultant should be minimal so that the client can focus on the disclosure of their problems and difficulties. The consultant should speak not so much as listen.

There are two important aspects associated with this skill. First of all, each person has the need to communicate with another person on important matters for him.Secondly, our tendency to support others or agree with them depends on how much they listen to us. It is safe to say that the quality of relations between people to a large extent depends on the ability to listen and hear.

In any case, proper listening is an active process. This refers to the great attention to detail, no matter how insignificant. The listener needs to show interest and understanding, but does not prevent the narrator from remaining in the stream of experiences.

2. Using client language.

2. The first meeting with the client

Counseling, even if it is the only meeting, always has a beginning, middle and end, that is, is structured according to certain rules. Of particular importance is the first meeting with the client. Due to the fact that the psychological culture of the population in our country is rather low, the first meeting is often the only one.

1. Acquaintance.

Первой встрече необходимо уделить особое внимание. Необходимо встретить и усадить клиента. С первых минут беседы следует проявить себя доброжелательным и заинтересованным собеседником, поднявшись навстречу клиенту. Важно не суетиться, не заигрывать с клиентом, не пытаться с первых минут вступить с ним в контакт, активно обещая свою помощь. Перед началом беседы лучше сделать паузу (45-60 секунд). Важный момент консультации – знакомство с клиентом по имени. Вначале нужно предложить представиться клиенту, используя реплику типа: «Давайте познакомимся, как мне вас называть?». После того, как клиент назовет себя, психолог может назвать себя соответствующим образом. При разумной разнице в возрасте обычно используется принцип «равенства имен», например: клиент – Таня, психолог – Сергей; клиент – Татьяна Петровна, психолог – Сергей Александрович. Демократичные американцы всегда представляются по имени, в то время как в других культурах к психологу, учителю, врачу всегда обращаются на «Вы» и по фамилии либо имени и отчеству.

Sometimes at the beginning of a conversation it is necessary to explain to the client what psychological counseling is , what he can count on when asking for help. The explanation of the consultation process emphasizes in particular the dependence of success on the cooperation of the client and the consultant, corrects the expectations of the clients and reduces anxiety.

At the beginning of the first meeting, it is important to find out whether the client came by himself or sent him to a psychologist.

Client's story about his problems and what made him ask for help. Sometimes clients start the story themselves. If this does not happen, the consultant may ask the question: "Why would you like to start?", "What brought you here?".

2. Identify the problem.

В том случае, когда контакт установлен, а клиент перешел к рассказу о себе, начинается вторая стадия консультирования (которая может занять 2530 минут), на которой клиент должен как можно больше рассказать о себе и своей ситуации . На этой стадии лучше всего помогают открытые вопросы и реплики, максимально структурирующие рассказ.

Пока клиент говорит, психолог:

1) поддерживает контакт с клиентом;

2) стимулирует его на дальнейший рассказ;

3) способствует целенаправленному развитию беседы; 4) осмысливает то, что говорит клиент.

Обычно через 15-20 минут психолог уже должен хорошо разбираться в проблемах и ситуации клиента и быть готовым к формулированию и проверке консультативных гипотез. Каждая гипотеза – попытка консультанта понять ситуацию клиента. Гипотезы – это, по сути, варианты более конструктивных позиций в ситуации, вероятные способы переориентации клиента в его отношении к своим проблемам.

На второй фазе расспроса основное содержание работы психолога – проверка возникших гипотез. При этом используются в основном закрытые вопросы или вопросы, требующие точных ответов клиента. Основным средством проверки гипотез на данном этапе является анализ конкретных ситуаций из жизни клиента, которые позволяют уточнить особенности его поведения в проблемных ситуациях, характерные паттерны поведения. Чем подробнее рассказ клиента, тем больше у консультанта возможностей для понимания тех аспектов ситуации, которые не осознаются клиентом.

Подробный рассказ о проблемной ситуации должен отражать следующие моменты:

• когда и в связи с чем возникла данная ситуация;

• где именно происходило событие;

• что говорил и делал клиент;

• что говорили и делали другие действующие лица;

• что думал и чувствовал клиент;

• что, с точки зрения клиента, думали и чувствовали другие участники ситуации;

• чем закончилась ситуация;

• какие она имела последствия; • на что повлияла данная ситуация.

Для подтверждения (или опровержения) гипотезы одной конкретной ситуации недостаточно, необходимо описание двух – трех таких примеров. В том случае, если во всех этих ситуациях прослеживается один и тот же паттерн поведения, гипотезу консультанта можно считать подтвердившейся.

Обсудив с клиентом две – три конкретных ситуации, психолог может понять, какая из его гипотез в большей мере соответствует действительности, что в мыслях, чувствах, поведении клиента ведет к возникновению проблем, как можно помочь ему изменить свое поведение и отношение к происходящему.

3. Желаемые изменения.

На этом этапе консультанту необходимо еще раз внимательно проанализировать особенности поведения клиента, лежащие в основе предъявленной проблемы, и попытаться ответить на вопрос: чего именно клиент хочет добиться своим поведением, какие потребности он пытается удовлетворить.

Задачи этого этапа можно считать реализованными только в том случае, если и клиент, и консультант выстроили своеобразную «цепочку» событий. Понимание логики развития отношений, согласно которой клиент хочет чего-то добиться (любви, признания, власти), применяя для этого неадекватные способы и средства, приводит последнего к осознанию того, каким образом его поведение способствует усугублению проблемы. Но сам клиент зачастую испытывает затруднения при поиске позитивных вариантов поведения в проблемных ситуациях. Психолог может оказать клиенту большую помощь, не предлагая конкретных решений, избегая советов и рекомендаций. Только сам человек может решить, чего именно он хочет добиться, какие изменения ситуации по-настоящему соответствуют потребностям клиента.

4. Альтернативные пути решения проблем.

The main task of this stage is the development of several alternative solutions, several ways out of the current situation, allowing to achieve the desired result.

The psychologist helps the client to formulate possible alternatives, critically interpret them and choose the most suitable and realistic behavior.

The consultant assists in the formulation of the largest possible number of alternatives (election fans). Further, through careful analysis, the one that is most suitable in this situation is chosen. The more suitable the chosen option to real life, the characteristics of the client’s personality and situation, the higher the likelihood that the client will really change.

5. Search for resources.

The fifth stage is closely related to the fourth. At this stage, it is important to analyze the client’s available resources that the client can rely on when solving a problem. Sometimes at this stage it is useful to ask the client what kind of person he is, what he values ​​himself for, which allows him to perform difficult, responsible work.

6. Environmental verification.

At this stage, there is a consistent implementation of a problem solving plan . It should be noted that many clients after consulting do not change anything in their lives. Therefore, it is first necessary to find out from the client whether he is actually going to take steps for change. In the case of a positive response, the consultant helps the client to build an activity taking into account circumstances, time, emotional costs, as well as with an understanding of the possibility of failure in achieving goals.

3. Psychotherapeutic contract

An important point of psychological counseling is the conclusion of a psychotherapeutic contract. Usually it is concluded after the psychologist is first acquainted with the nature of the client’s difficulties and mutual agreement is reached on the need for consulting work. The initiator of the contract is the psychotherapist.

The contract includes a discussion of the following points.

1. Explanation of the nature of the work.

A counseling psychologist can inform a client:

a) about the features of psychological counseling as a form of psychological assistance. The psychologist can tell the client about the counseling model he uses. Information is provided to the extent necessary for the client (taking into account the age of the client, the presence or absence of experience of previous contacts with psychologists, intelligence and other parameters).

The client, as a potential consumer of the services of a consulting psychologist, has the right to know what he can count on;

b) about the existing limitations in his work. Duration

the existence of the problem, the current state of affairs, the personal characteristics of the client can be serious barriers to the desired changes. On the basis of a thorough assessment of the client and the situation, the psychologist can inform the client about the difficulties that are present, without misleading him or giving unrealistic promises;

c) the meaning of psychotherapeutic relations (the possibility of transfer

problems from “there and then” to “here and now”, in a relationship with a psychologist). It is necessary to explain to the client that what is happening within the framework of his relationship with a psychologist may be related to his behavior patterns outside the counseling space, and these behaviors are given special attention.

2. Ограничение времени консультирования.

Необходимо уделить особое внимание четкому структурированию процесса консультирования. Необходимо обосновать примерное количество необходимых сессий. Психолог объясняет, что обычно проводится 15-20 сессий, но иногда возможны увеличение или уменьшение их количества.

The limited counseling time intensifies the client’s work on finding a solution to their problems. Consciously setting certain deadlines also contributes to a more realistic attitude of the patient and the psychologist to what is happening. Limiting counseling to 15–20 sessions has the advantage that the entire consultative process takes a foreseeable period of time. Thus, it becomes possible to structure the consultative process: start counseling, build and maintain constructive psychotherapeutic relationships, as well as complete the process.

3. Formal aspects.

Transfers of sessions, non-attendance and late arrival are stipulated, the situation in the event of illness of a client or a psychologist. In conclusion, the issue of payment is discussed. If the psychologist works privately and the client cannot pay for his services, the psychologist must weigh all the circumstances of the client’s life and make a decision that does not degrade the dignity of another person and help him get the necessary help.

4. Consultative conversation: technology of reference and the main stages

Traditionally, the main method of psychological counseling is considered a conversation, i.e. Consultative conversation aimed at social and psychological support of the individual and family and help her.

Consultative conversation is organized according to certain rules, following which makes it effective and focused.

The principles of organizing a dialogue with a client in the framework of psychological counseling, outlined by Yu.E. Aleshina

1. Restriction of speech consultant in the dialogue. The presence of a consultant should deepen the client’s understanding of their own problems and facilitate the adoption of necessary decisions. To do this, the client needs to allow less attention to pay attention to the fact that the interlocutor is nearby, to care less about how exactly the interlocutor relates to the story and how much the story itself is socially desirable. From here it is necessary that the speech of a consulting psychologist should be short, concise and accurate. If the client speaks the case himself, you should try not to interrupt him if possible. Pauses, not exceeding 1-2 minutes, are quite natural and mean that a person works, actively interprets his life.

2. Approximation of the spoken language of the consultant to the client's language. To this end, it is recommended: a) to free speech from words and expressions that can be misunderstood and interpreted by the client; b) make the most of the words and turns that the client uses; c) keep track of which representative system the client uses to organize his perceptual experience (auditory, visual or kinesthetic), use words and expressions corresponding to his representative system.

3. Analysis of the emotional experiences of the client in connection with the events and actions set forth by him. This is necessary for the client to better understand what is really happening to him. Techniques of work at the level of feelings are used for this:

Offering the client several possible alternatives for answering options of feelings that he feels. 2-3 alternatives are usually offered. The purpose of formulating alternatives is not to search for the right answer, but to stimulate the client, to demonstrate samples, based on which, it is easier to describe your feelings.

Emphasizing the emotional experiences of the client through the manifestation of close attention to emotionally colored words and expressions. The signs of emotion in speech are adverbs, adjectives, verbs, indicating the relationship to something, as well as the quality of action. The consultant isolates emotionally significant words and expressions in the client's speech and looks at what is behind them. For example, if a client says that he is usually silent and does not respond when the spouse shouts at him, the consultant may ask him why he is silent. Further, in the client's speech, the emotionally significant words are again singled out, and the psychologist, together with the client, try to make clear what is behind them. It helps to descend to the level of deep, personally meaningful experiences.

Use of paradoxical questions. The purpose of the paradoxical questions is to question what the client considers absolutely obvious or taken for granted. The well-known truths like “To be rude are not good”, “Parents always know better what a child needs” usually serve as a reliable cover for true feelings and experiences of the client. When we question them, we make the client think about what lies behind him personally behind such expressions. A typical formulation of a paradoxical question begins with the words “Why not ...?”. For example, “Why don’t you really say if you think so?”.

Clarifying and deepening wording. The goal of clarifying and deepening formulations is to gradually translate the client's story from superficial to deeper levels of experiences. An example of such a wording: “That is, you would like your mother-in-law to understand how good you are, to appreciate you, at last, by virtue.” When working with clarifying and deepening formulations, the main thing is not to go beyond the obvious. Each step should logically follow from the previous one.

The use of interpretations. It is about to

interpret the behavior of the client in connection with those or other basic human nature of emotions. Yu.E. Aleshina (1993) suggests using a two-dimensional model of the space of human manifestations, where one of the coordinates is the axis of love, and the other is the axis of power. According to the views common in the West, most of human behavior is determined by these basic emotions, the needs associated with them. Therefore, this model can serve as a convenient tool for constructing interpretations. For example, a psychologist asks a client why she is silent when her mother-in-law shouts at her. The client replies: “I can’t be humiliated!” Interpretation of the psychologist: “Ie your silence in relations with the mother-in-law is an attempt not to humiliate yourself, and somehow to rise above her. ”

Rephrasing. What was negative, the basis for anxiety and feelings, should cause positive emotions that can, if not completely remove the negative experiences, then at least significantly reduce their importance and intensity.

4. Ensuring contact with the client during the conversation is carried out through:

Verbal (verbal) contact - through encouragement, praise, expression of support, frequent mention of a client's name, expression of words of agreement and approval, aha reaction.

Non-verbal (non-verbal) contact - through eye contact, facial expression, body posture, tone and loudness of voice, use of a pause. Regarding eye contact , it should be said that one should not impose a glance in the eyes of the client, but nevertheless it is necessary to look at the client, and not to the side. Facial expression should be a benevolent attention. We must try not to betray confusion and confusion. The expression of calm and confidence on the face of a professional who has a psychological impact, by itself brings a therapeutic effect. The posture of the body should not be tense (sitting on the edge of the chair, hands with tension squeeze the arms of the chair, unusual and unnatural posture) or closed (traditionally closed posture is associated with crossed arms or legs). The pose of the consultant affects the pose of the client. If the client is too closed or tense, the consultant may try to indirectly influence him, relaxing and taking up a more comfortable posture.

After a corresponding change in posture, the client will change his emotional state. The tone of the voice should be benevolent, consistent with what is being said. Voice volume can be adjusted depending on the tasks of a consultant. A muffled voice is more conducive to the emergence of a sense of confidence and intimacy in the interlocutor. The consultant may somewhat cool an excited client by starting to talk slower and quieter. The client will try to automatically adjust, thus normalizing its state. The presence of pauses in the conversation creates a sense of leisure, thoughtfulness of what is happening. The pause emphasizes the significance of the above, the need to comprehend and understand. From the point of view of Yu.E. Aleshina, the consultant should pause almost after any statement of the client, except those that directly contain the question. The pause makes it possible to add to what is said, correct, clarify. With the help of a pause, you can avoid a situation where the client and the consultant begin to fight with each other for the right to insert a word, say something. Beginning counseling psychologists are encouraged to experiment with what it means to pause for them, watching the second hand of the clock, the state of their own and the client during pauses.

Conventionally, a consultant’s conversation with a client can be divided into four stages:

Consultation Talks

1) acquaintance with the client and the beginning of the conversation (5-10 minutes);

2) client questioning, formulation and testing of advisory hypotheses (25-35 minutes);

3) correctional effect (10-15 minutes); 4) the end of the conversation (5-10 minutes).

The duration of the reception, during which the conversation itself actually takes place, varies greatly depending on the goals and objectives of the consultation, the organizational forms in which it is held, and the theoretical orientations of the consultant. But in most cases, the reception time is approximately one hour. Let us consider in more detail each of the stages.

Acquaintance with the client and the beginning of the conversation.

The duration of this stage is 5-10 minutes with an average duration of one consultative conversation 45 min -1 h 10 min. During this stage, the counselor performs the following actions:

1. 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.

2. It is advisable to encourage the client with words like “Come in, please”, “Sit comfortably”.

3. After the first minutes of contact with the client, it is recommended to give him a pause of 45-60 seconds so that he can collect his thoughts and look around.

4. After a pause, it is desirable to begin the actual acquaintance.

5. According to R. Kočiūnas, the client must make a decision on his or her entry into the counseling process consciously, therefore, prior to the beginning of the counseling process, the counseling psychologist must provide the client with as much information as possible about the counseling process, namely, the main goals of counseling, his qualifications, about payment for consulting, about the approximate duration of consultation, about the advisability of consulting in this situation, about the risk of temporary deterioration of the client’s condition in the process advising on confidentiality limits. Some of this information is provided at the request of the client, so as not to frighten him before the beginning of the consultation with the flow of information. But some questions, such as the question of payment, it is advisable for a consulting psychologist to raise himself. You should not give 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 of the client to enter the consultation process. This is usually well seen on both verbal and non-verbal levels.

6. It is important to coordinate with the client in advance the possibilities of audio and video recordings, observation through the mirror of one-sided vision, the presence of other persons at the consultation (trainees, students). Without the consent of the client is excluded.

7. It is important not to allow the client to use the consultant for his own purposes, far from consulting. One should not agree to call at the request of the client, write letters, invite for consultation, i.e. do not do anything that could be described as the intervention of a consultant at the request of the client in the privacy of other people.

8. After solving all the above questions, you can proceed to the questioning of the client, which will mark the beginning of the second stage of psychological counseling. It is important to have a prepared phrase that would allow this transition to take place so as not to get lost suddenly under the impressions of the first acquaintance with the client, not to get into a situation when you do not know where to start. An example of such a standard phrase: “What brought you to me?” With the pronouncement of this phrase, the next stage of psychological counseling begins.

Client questioning, formulation and testing of advisory hypotheses.

The duration of this stage is 25-35 minutes with an average duration of the consultative conversation of 45 minutes - 1 hour and 10 minutes. This stage can be divided into two sub-steps:

1. Formulation of advisory hypotheses. 2. Testing advisory hypotheses.

The activities of the psychologist-consultant at the sub-stage

“Formulating Consultative Hypotheses”

1. Empathic listening. Usually when people talk about empathy in psychology, they mean the ability to sensitively perceive the inner world of another person with all its semantic and emotional nuances. The development of empathy is traditionally associated with the deployment of the process of imagination during communication . Ability to empathy is formed in process of development of experience of the consultant. It is enough for a novice consultant to at least wish and externally demonstrate his desire to perceive the inner world of another person keenly. This corresponds to the active response of the consultant to what the client is saying, the frequent pronunciation of words like “of course”, “yep”, “yes-yes”.

2. Acceptance of the client concept at the questioning stage. This means that we should not argue with the client at this stage, expose, incriminate him, so as not to cause a defensive response.

3. Structuring the conversation. The first approach: asking a question, changing the topic of discussion, the consultant should explain to the client why he does it, what causes it, so that the client can at least keep the appearance of the logic of all transitions in the conversation. For example: “You talk a lot about your father, but since we are dealing with a family situation, I would like you to say a few words about your mother as well.” The second trick: a brief comment on what the client says, regularly summarizing what was said. This helps the client to be more consistent and concise in his speech, not to repeat the same thing. In addition, the client gets the opportunity to listen to himself, to hear himself, to understand himself. For example: "So, from your point of view, your former colleagues at work play a big role in this conflict." The client receives an incentive to check himself once again, to consider whether this is really so.

4. Understanding what the client says. Understanding this is intended to formulate one or more advisory hypotheses. The word "hypothesis" comes from the Greek. hypothesis - the basis, the assumption. Hypothesis is a presumptive judgment about a regular (causal) connection of phenomena. In experimental psychology, it is customary to single out two components of the hypothesis — the dependent variable (experiencing influence) and the independent variable (influencing the dependent variable). The dependent variable, it would seem, is always clearly represented in psychological counseling - these are the difficulties that the client has encountered, the events that concern him, which led him to psychological counseling. However, the consultant psychologist needs to identify the essence of these difficulties, formulating them as a psychological problem. In this case, we understand the phrase “psychological problem” as the meaning of this conceptual unit is understood by A.F. Anufriev. The formulation of a psychological problem consists in translating the client's request into a psychological language based on the examination of all information about the client and his situation. For example, in a situation where a woman complains to a consultant that her 17-year-old daughter “has completely strayed off her hands,” a psychological problem can be formulated as deviant (deviating from the generally accepted norms of socialization) behavior of this woman’s daughter. The client’s request, made in the form of a psychological problem, will act as the dependent variable of the future advisory hypothesis. After that, the consultant needs to find an independent variable - what defines undesirable events for the client. For this, he uses all his baggage of psychological knowledge, for example, about deviant behavior. Each hypothesis is an attempt by the consultant to understand the situation of the client, and it suggests options for more constructive positions in the situation, probable ways to reorient the client in his attitude towards his problems. The more hypotheses a consultant encounters when confronted with a situation, the more professionally he is equipped, the easier it is for him to work. A consultant-verbal hypothesis is an interpretation. Here is an example of a consultative hypothesis: "The unregulated matrimonial relations of his parents are at the heart of the deviant behavior of a young man." Такое может быть, когда мать, испытывая досаду на отца, но, не имея возможности ему это открыто высказывать, с раннего детства приписывает ребенку негативные черты, чтобы конфликтовать с ним вместо отца. Юноша просто демонстрирует своим девиантным поведением то, что от него ждут в семье, таким образом, спасая родителей от откровенного разговора и развода.

Девиантное поведение юноши здесь есть переменная зависимая (испытывающая влияние), а неурегулированные супружеские отношения его родителей - переменная независимая (оказывающая влияние). Данная гипотеза в процессе проверки может и не подтвердиться. Тогда можно проверить альтернативную ей гипотезу - «В основе девиантного поведения юноши лежит активное функционирование источников десоциализации в той среде, в которой он живет». Под девиантным здесь понимается поведение, отклоняющееся от социально нормативно заданного, - отказ работать, учиться, хулиганские выходки и т. д.

На первом подэтапе второго этапа психолог-консультант старается занимать по преимуществу пассивную позицию, побуждая клиента к активному и довольно спонтанному (самопроизвольному, без участия воли психолога и клиента) рассказу. Одновременно он старается осмысливать ситуацию и формулировать консультативные гипотезы. Когда у него формируется несколько подобных гипотез, возникает естественное желание занять более активную позицию - задавать конкретные вопросы, направленные на проверку консультативных гипотез, или предпринять какие-либо другие действия для их проверки. Этому, как правило, соответствует и желание клиента услышать что-либо от консультанта; он уже высказал все, что мог и хотел. Переход консультанта из пассивного состояния в активное, связанное с проверкой возникших у него консультативных гипотез второго подэтапа второго этапа консультативной беседы.

Деятельность психолога-консультанта на подэтапе

«Проверка консультативных гипотез»

Для проверки своих консультативных гипотез консультант может избрать два алгоритма:

1. Начать задавать клиенту вопросы, направленные на уточнение возникших у консультанта идей.

2. Изложить клиенту свою гипотезу (интерпретацию) и спросить его, что он по этому поводу думает. Редко бывает так, чтобы клиент сразу же принял гипотезу и согласился с ней. Обычно завязывается диалог, в результате которого гипотеза корректируется, обрастает множеством значимых и характерных для данной ситуации фактов и переживаний, т.е. она максимально индивидуализируется.Но и в том и в другом случае для того, чтобы гипотеза консультанта подтвердилась или была опровергнута, необходимо обсудить две-три конкретные ситуации, которые должны быть:

a) тесно связаны с содержанием основных жалоб клиента;

b) типичны для жизни клиента;

c) желательно развернуты, описывать негативные, позитивные и

нейтральные характеристики отношений.

Работа с конкретными ситуациями важна потому, что чем более подробно говорит человек, тем меньше в его рассказе отпечатков субъективности, односторонности, тем больше возможностей для консультанта понять те аспекты реальности, которые не замечаются рассказчиком.

На всем протяжении второго этапа консультативной беседы необходимо стимулировать клиента на описание собственных чувств и чувств других людей. Чувства глубже отражают действительность, больше говорят о плохо осознаваемых, часто скрытых для самого клиента желаниях и конфликтах, лежащих в основе проблем.

После того как консультант проверит свои гипотезы и, возможно, найдет причину, лежащую в основе проблемы клиента, логично перейти к оказанию воздействия. Переход к оказанию воздействия - начало следующего, третьего этапа консультативной беседы.

Коррекционное воздействие.

Продолжительность данного этапа – 10-15 мин. Данный этап можно условно разделить на два подэтапа:

1. Коррекция установок клиента.

2. Коррекция поведения клиента.

Деятельность психолога-консультанта на подэтапе

«Коррекция установок клиента»

Задача консультанта на этом подэтапе будет выполнена, если в сознании клиента обозначится следующая цепочка