Different Social, Economic, Culture, and Sexual Contexts

Counselling Relationship, Focusing On the Different Social, Economic, Culture, and Sexual Contexts Name
Institution of Affiliation
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Counselling Relationship, Focusing On the Different Social, Economic, Culture, and Sexual Contexts
The counsellor and client relationship is critical in supporting patients to deal with any issues they have in their life. The client, however, approaches the counsellor from a vulnerable position, noting that the client must trust the counsellors’ knowledge, skill and ability to utilise them. This creates a power differential which if unfettered can be abused to the detriment of the client. Counselling psychology is based on the ability of the client and counsellor to create a relationship. The relationship in a perfect situation should be balanced. However, this scenario is not the norm, the client is in most instances in a position of vulnerability there are power dynamics at play in any relationship. This is more pronounced in a counselling relationship.
The paper, therefore, considers the issues of power within the counselling relationship. The paper will examine the different social, economic, culture, and sexual contexts in which counsellor and client meet. The paper will apply a case study paradigm to the question at hand. The paper will attempt to determine how power affects counselling and how it can be manipulated to best serve the client’s interests. The paper will also examine the positions of ethics as a counter balance to the power differential.
Discussion
It is important to appreciate the meaning of power as applied in the counselling psychology context. Power in this instance refers to the innate or learned ability of an individual to exert influence on the behaviour of another. Where used appropriately, power is an essential tool in a psychologist’s armoury. Utilised effectively it can allow the counsellor to support a client in stopping the detrimental behaviour and adopting good behaviour. Power can be utilised to influence the thoughts, feelings, belief systems or behaviour of others. The exercise of power is not limited to psychology. It is a distinctly human trait. It uses, or lack of use thereof, allows one to manipulate the world around them (Proctor, 2002).
The balance of power and the dynamics surrounding it are essential in any relationship. There are two types or power balance systems; symmetrical and asymmetrical. In a symmetrical balance of power, power is divided in equal or near equal terms. The asymmetrical balance of power occurs where one partner in a given relationship has more power than another. A potent case is a parent-child dichotomy, where the parent has more power than the child. In a symmetrical relationship, a number of features are evident. These include;
• Both partners have equal value in the relationship
• Mutual respect
• Respect for feelings and the interests of the other partner
• Where there are miscommunications; the partners take active steps to resolve these issues
In explaining, the balance of power and symmetrical relationships. It emerges that there is a distinct imbalance of power in the counsellor to client relationship. It is necessary, therefore, to appreciate the counsellor is in a position of privilege. The counsellor can, therefore, profit from this relationship at the expense of the client. In the following section, the paper explores the different contexts in which counsellor and clients meet and form relationships. The key question is determining if the counsellor can profit from these relationships and in what manner.
The Person Centred Approach
The person-centred approach was advanced by Carl Rogers. The approach argues that psychology particularly counselling psychology would benefit from a warmer environment and relationship between the client and the counsellor. The approach takes a humanistic paradigm. It argues that any relationship between humans cannot be subject to mechanical approaches but should be counselled in an altruistic manner. It argues that clients should be encouraged to explore the subjective understanding of their situations rather than underlying n rote acceptance of an unconscious motive influencing behaviour (Lago & Charura, 2016).
The approach differs sharply with the psychodynamic or behavioural approach. These approaches are deterministic in nature. They assume an external person can be depended on to determine the cause of behaviour of another individual.
Sexual Context
The counsellor-client relationship is based on trust. Where the counsellor and client are from different genders there’s a likelihood of a heterosexual relationship developing. The client is in a vulnerable relationship emotionally and mentally. The client is, therefore, vulnerable to sexual advances. The sexual context applies to romantic settings even where the romantic attachment is non-sexual in nature. The 2005 ACA Code of Ethics explicitly prohibits sexual or romantic relations between counsellors and the clients. This is regardless of whether the client is aware and judged to be capable of making decisions. The code of ethics regards any such contact as potentially detrimental to the long term mental and emotional health of the client.
The client can and may knowingly choose to participate in a sexual relationship with the client. However, the power differential continues to exist despite this. The client can, should the relationship fail, argue that they were coerced into the relationship. The relationship further compounds the ability of the counsellor to cater to the needs of the clients, noting that a romantic relationship creates a conflict of interest. The counsellor is no longer a neutral party but has an inherent interest in the emotional and mental health of the client. Thus, any decision the counsellor makes in the treatment of the client after the initial romantic or sexual contact can be called into question. It can further be argued that the counsellor’s chosen treatment protocol was chosen with their interests in mind rather than the client (Moodley, et al., 2004).
Social Context
Social contact between the client and counsellor are prohibited. The relationship between the counsellor and the client must remain professional. Social contact is adjudged to propagate the power differential between the client and counsellor. The counsellor can and will be in a position of enhanced power in any social context. Further to this, such contact, even where it is not in a sexual or romantic context, diminishes the stature of the counsellor (Landa & Duschinsky, 2013).
There is a theoretical perspective from some scholars who presume that sexual contact between the client and counsellor. The argument being that the increased contact between the counsellor and the client can force the client to be more engaged in the counselling process. However, this argument propagates an external locus of achievement, where the client changes their behaviour for an external reason. However, this is untenable in the long run. The client is likely to revert back to their behaviour, where the external stimuli are removed. The counselling process attempts to necessitate behavioural change due to an internal desire from the client. The client, therefore, desires change, due to a logical analysis of their behaviour. This ensures that behavioural change becomes permanent, and rooted in logical and emotional consonance (Bandura, 2001).
Economic Context
The counselling relationship while concerned with the mental health status of the client has an economic component to it. The relationship is predicated on the exchange of counselling services for a pre-determined fee. This exchange is necessary noting the counsellor survives on these payments for their services. Thus, where the counsel...