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MCFT-003: Counselling and Family Therapy: Basic Concepts & Theoretical Perspectives

MCFT-003: Counselling and Family Therapy: Basic Concepts & Theoretical Perspectives

IGNOU Solved Assignment Solution for 2021-22

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Assignment Code: MCFT-003/TMA-3/ ASST-3/2021-22

Course Code: MCFT-003

Assignment Name: Counselling and Family Therapy: Basic Concepts and Theoretical Perspectives

Year: 2021-2022

Verification Status: Verified by Professor


Maximum Marks: 100


Note:

(i) Answer all the questions in both sections.

(ii) Answers to questions of Section “A” should not exceed 300 words each.



Section A - Descriptive Questions

(10x6=60 marks)



Q1. Discuss key principles for counselling. (10)

Ans) The key principles for counselling are:

Counseling is a two-way process that needs active engagement from both the counsellor and the client or counselee. Both the client and the counsellor must take on reciprocal, complementary responsibilities in the working process. Each of them, the counsellor, and the client, has their own agenda. The counsellor is in charge of building rapport and steering the conversation in the right direction.


The goal of counselling is for the client to discover a solution to an issue that has been identified. The counsellor imparts knowledge in such a way that the client may utilise it to solve the problem on his or her own. The client will learn to apply knowledge in new ways, acquire new abilities, and change some of her or his maladaptive ideas and behaviours through counselling.


The majority of counselling sessions are focused on the client. The client! counselee’s wants and opinions must be respected. The counsellor must always avoid coercion, ordering, patronising, or intervening on behalf of the client, and only use culturally relevant or sensitive interventions. She or he functions similarly to a knowledgeable tour guide, determining where the client wants to travel and aiding in establishing whether or not the destination is realistic and/or doable. She or he supports the client in locating alternate routes, assessing their individual obstacles, and discussing route selection. She or he assists the customer in overcoming any barriers that may arise. The client may, at some point, require more detailed instruction in the practise of new skills that are required to ensure a smooth and trouble-free travel.


Q2. Outline the purpose of personalising during counselling with the help of examples. (10)

Ans) Building an interchangeable base, personalising the meaning, personalising the problem, personalising the objective, and personalising shifting sentiments are all ways to help a person understand where he or she is in relation to where they want to be.


When you "personalise" a bad, you claim responsibility for it even when there is no justification for it. You come to the erroneous conclusion that what happened was your responsibility or shows your incompetence.


When a mother receives her child's school report, as well as a note from the form tutor suggesting that her child is struggling, she may immediately infer, "I'm sure I'm a terrible mother. This demonstrates how I've failed "..


Personalization instils a terrible sense of guilt. You have a paralysing and crushing sense of obligation that causes you to bear the weight of the entire world on your shoulders. We play a variety of positions with varying degrees of responsibility: teacher, counsellor, parent, nurse, salesperson, executive, and so on, all of which have a significant impact on the people we interact with. But no one could reasonably expect us to keep them under our control. It is ultimately the obligation of the other person, not ours, to do what he or she does.


The goal of personalization is to help the client understand where she or he stands in respect to where she or he wants to go.


It entails the following interaction models:

Personalizing the meaning "You feel... because you...", Personalizing the problem "You feel... because you cannot...", Personalizing the feeling "You feel... because you can't.... and you want to...", Personalizing the goal "You feel... because you can't.... and you want to...", and Personalizing understanding


Q3. Giving examples, explain the statement “Silence is Golden.” (10)

Ans) 'Silence is Golden' in many situations during counselling. Silence allows both the client and the counsellor to be in the state of being, which is at the heart of person-centered counselling. It aids in the processing of both feelings and meanings. "I sense that we need time to cope with this," the silence says to the customer. The client is not bothered by these periods of silence. It also sends a message to the client that she or he can take extra time to think about things.


The origin of this saying is buried by the mists of time, as is the case with many proverbs. Versions of it have been reported to date back to Ancient Egypt. The word was first used in English by poet Thomas Carlyle, who translated it from German in 1831's Sartor Resartus, in which a character expounds on the advantages of silence:


"Silence is the element through which great things come into being, so that they can finally emerge, fully formed and majestic, into the light of Life, which they will rule from now on. Not only William the Silent, but all the significant men I've known, including the most undiplomatic and unstrategic of them, avoided discussing what they were building and projecting. No, amid thy own perplexities, hold thy voice for one day: how much clearer are thy purposes and obligations the next day; what wreck and debris have those mute craftsmen within thee swept away when unwanted noises were shut out! Too frequently, speech is not the skill of concealing Thought, as the Frenchman characterised it, but of completely suffocating and suspending Thought, so that there is nothing to conceal. Speech is also excellent, though not the best. Sprecfien ist silbern, Schweigen ist golden (Speech is silvern, Silence is golden), or, as I might put it, Speech is of Time, Silence is of Eternity, as the Swiss Inscription puts it."


Q4. What are some important assumptions of strategic family therapy? (10)

Ans) Some important assumptions of strategic family therapy are:

  1. From their own viewpoints, all families are considered to be functional.

  2. The importance of the social setting is emphasised, and problems usually involve two or three persons.

  3. Families that are functioning have an acceptable power structure, with parents having more power than children.

  4. The focus of treatment is on the symptoms. Symptoms are strategies that one person employs to deal with another.

  5. Within the family, the challenges presented have a purpose.

  6. The therapist is in charge of determining the structure of the therapy. Change comes not as a result of understanding, but rather as a result of the family following the therapist's instructions.

  7. The emphasis is on the process rather than the content.

  8. In order to comprehend family dysfunction, it is necessary to look at the family life cycle. Families become stuck at a certain point in their lives.

  9. Families are regulated by rules.

  10. The focus is on the here and now, rather than on the past. Emotional expression is frowned upon. Typically, a brief therapeutic model is used.


Q5. Illustrate the use of Socratic questioning and the downward arrow technique. (10)

Ans) This strategy is the cornerstone of the cognitive behavioural approach, and it is a non-judgmental form of asking that does not require a "right" answer. Leading questions aren't allowed by definition. This conversation assists family members in defining and clarifying problems, assessing the repercussions of certain beliefs and behaviours, re-evaluating earlier findings, and developing new ideas. The goal is for family members to be able to apply this questioning technique on their own. The following are some instances of Socratic questions:


What proof is there to back up this claim? What proof do you have that this theory is false? Is there a different explanation for my relative's behaviour? How can I gather more information to help me decide whether my ideas are logical and appropriate? What could be the worst-case scenario? Is it possible for me to go through it? What is the ideal scenario that could occur? What is the most likely scenario? What am I going to do about it? What happens if you believe the thought? What would happen if I altered my way of thinking? What advice would you give a friend in a similar situation?


Consider a scenario in which the wife is upset because her husband used a harsh tone when speaking to her. The therapist may suggest that the wife ask herself questions such as these:


Is it reasonable to assume that my partner was furious with me since he talked sharply?

Are there any other possible explanations for my spouse's tone of voice (for example, he could be sick or anxious at work)?


Does this mean that my spouse doesn't love me even if he or she is angry?

Isn't it true that my partner is constantly grumpy?

My spouse is going to make my life a living hell.

Something went wrong with me.


Experiments in behaviour can be used to test expectations. When one family member behaves in a certain way, the other family member(s) are observed to see if they react in the same way.



Q6. List use of the listening skills with the help of a case illustration. (10)

Ans) Effective listening allows the assistant to gain the person's trust and establish rapport. The person may be anxious, scared to speak, or believe that the situation is little to be concerned about. Anger, hurt, hopelessness, or sadness may also be trapped up inside the person. When a person speaks, they pay attention with verbal and nonverbal cues (head nodding, comments like 'go on,' 'hmmm,' etc.). Listening skills can help a person release pent-up emotions. During the counselling session, eye contact, body posture, tone of voice, warmth, empathy, and honesty are all vital. Skills utilised with the individual in crisis include asking open and closed inquiries, reflecting on feelings, clarifying, and summarising.


The listening process allows the person to reflect on the event and develop a deeper knowledge of it. For example, the person may hold self-blame, such as "Why was our house attacked by the mob?" or "Why did I get cancer when I am so health conscious?" The helper's thoughtful consideration might assist the person in changing unfavourable self-perceptions (such as self-pity or rage) and accepting reality. Some people may believe they are "victims" or "survivors." Change can be effected by channelling negative emotions via activity. The act of listening might resurrect old problem-solving techniques that have been abandoned or simply interrupted by the person. The person is able to re-use own resources, learn healthier coping strategies, and develop new reactions with the assistance of the helper. It is possible to reestablish helpful social networks and cultural customs. Remember that good listening saves time and prevents the situation from getting worse. It is also possible to avoid lengthy hospitalizations, medications, and rehabilitation. The action plan should be based on the person's native environment or community as much as possible.



Section B - Short Answer/Objective Type Questions

(40 marks)



Q1. Write short notes (in about 150 words each) on the following: (5x8=40 marks)

i) Unconditional positive regard

Ans) Unconditional positive regard on the side of the counsellor means that regardless of the client's attitude or behaviour, the counsellor shows respect, acceptance (not necessarily approval), caring, and appreciation. Rogers frequently used the word 'prizing' to describe this state. Accepting the client's own personal constructs/personal values/valuing system is part of unconditional positive regard. It's probable that the counsellor's and the client's valuing systems would clash. The person-centered counsellor is willing to accept clients' valuing systems that are very different from her or his own. This does not imply that the counsellor must share or pretend to share the client's values. She or he must accept without reservation that the client's values are the client's values, that the client is free to hold those values for as long as the client wishes, that the client's values are not deficient (however deficient they may appear from the counsellor's perspective), and that the client's values may never change.


ii) Career counselling

Ans) Career counselling is a one-on-one procedure that aims to help people with career development issues. The process of selecting, entering, adjusting to, and progressing in a profession is known as career development. It's a lifetime process that interacts with various aspects of one's life in a dynamic way. Professional issues can include, but are not limited to, career indecision and undecidedness, job performance, stress and adjustment, incongruence between the person and the work environment, and inadequate or unsatisfactory integration of life roles with other life roles. All activities aimed at disseminating information about current or future occupations in such a way that individuals become more knowledgeable and conscious of who they are in relation to the world of work are referred to as career counselling. Career counselling is for those who are relatively normal and do not have any emotional issues that would prevent them from creating a sensible approach to deciding on a vocational or career path.


iii) Self psychology

Ans) In the 1950s, Heinz Kohut developed the field of self-psychology in Chicago. The self, according to Kohut, is a person's view of his or her own experience of self, including the existence or absence of self-esteem. The self is regarded in terms of establishing boundaries and distinguishing oneself from others (or the lack of boundaries and differentiations). Disturbances in parents' internalizations of "self-objects" are linked to later issues. Although these theoretical schools differ in a number of ways, they are all unified by a focus on unconscious aspects and their impact on mental health. The essential principles of contemporary psychodynamic psychotherapy are based on these psychoanalytical notions.


iv) Reflection

Ans) The practise of assuring the client that the counsellor has heard and understood everything she or he has said and felt. This can be done by paying close attention to the client's main message and replying by summarising and repeating the client's feelings, thoughts, and concerns. It entails reflecting the client's feelings back to them. (1) active and passive listening, (2) reflection of thoughts and feelings, (3) clarification, (4) summarising, (5) confrontation of contradictions, and (6) broad or open leads that assist the client in self-exploration are all used by the person-centered counsellor. These are sometimes referred to as active listening.


v) Reframing

Ans) Reframing is the process of recasting the problem in a way that is both distinct from what the family contributes and more manageable. In most cases, this entails shifting the initial complaint's description from a problem with one person to an issue with the entire family from a structural standpoint. The issues of a "uncontrollable" child, for example, could be reframed as patterns of transactions between an incompetent mother, an undisciplined youngster, and an authoritarian father. The depiction of an individual's behaviour as depending on the behaviour of another is referred to as reframing through complementarity. The child's uncontrollability in the previous example could be linked to the mother's ineffectiveness, which is sustained by the father's taking over; on the other hand, the child's uncontrollability is caused by the mother's ineffectiveness in regulating the child. As a result, all family members might be said to be mutually contributing to each other's problems. All family members can engage in modifying transactions within the family system once the problem is reframed in terms of complementarity.


vi) Psychoeducation

Ans) "Systematic, structured, didactic information on the illness and its treatment that involves integrating emotional aspects in order to help the participants - patients as well as family members - to cope with the sickness," according to the definition of psychoeducation. When viewed through the lens of psychotherapy, psychoeducation refers to the elements of treatment that focus on active conveyance of knowledge, information exchange among persons who are afflicted, and treatment of general features of the illness. After understanding the preceding criteria, one should be able to rule out a number of interventions that could have been misconstrued for psychoeducation. "Pure psychotherapeutic groups are not considered psychoeducation," for example, "just as inpatient groups where every day routine activities are discussed, concentration groups, muscle relaxation groups, or newspaper groups are not considered psychoeducation," and "routine information dialogues between patients or family members and the treating physician or psychologist are not considered psychoeducation."


vii) Family interviewing

Ans) The family therapist asks inquiries regarding the family system in order to gather data that will indicate the family's patterns of interaction, or systemic features. The family grows more aware of its interactions when the knowledge is presented. This provides an environment that encourages the family's ability to change. Family interviewing is the process of questioning the family structure. The primary goal of an interview is to obtain fresh information. Interviewing with the purpose of obtaining information is a relatively new concept. Though inquiry and answering have always existed, approaching a stranger, and discussing intimate topics was unusual not long ago.


It was only with close friends that such chats took place. Parents may inquire about their children's locations, but the expectation was that they would receive responses rather than a discourse in which the children were equal players. The democratisation of opinion is a term used to describe the process of changing people's minds The modern interview encounter is founded on a new value placed on the individual as a vital member of a group, which includes family members. Individuals, even youngsters, are acknowledged as commentators on their own experiences, capable of offering significant descriptions and opinions without requiring the assistance of an expert or authority figure.


viii) Role-plays

Ans) Role-playing can be done in a group setting as well as one-on-one. After the role-play, the feedback given plays a crucial part in keeping the new behaviour. For example, a role-play environment might be constructed to practise conversation skills in various situations in order to improve conversation abilities. The talents can only be gained through repeated practise sessions. In social circumstances, children with ADHD have a hard time behaving correctly. Children with autism and Asperger syndrome, for example, begin conversations and listen to others' perspectives. Role-playing can help you improve these skills. They can be taught desirable answers through role-playing.


However, due of the constraints imposed by the disorder's state, there will be a ceiling limit on the amount of skills that may be learned by a kid or adult with emotional trouble. Other skills that can be developed through role-playing include empathy, presenting oneself to others, listening skills, and money transactions, among others. Role-playing is a powerful tool for transferring knowledge from the clinic to real-life situations. Practice is required to guarantee that learning is transferred to real-life situations.

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