Forms of Therapy That Go Together

Therapeutic Orientation to Counseling My therapeutic orientation to counseling is based on the eclecticism with which I have always approached life. I have found the human condition to be influenced by a diversity of sources and any hope of understanding and treating that condition depends upon approaching it by diverse means. In one sense, this is called being an integrative therapist.

In another sense, it is called being open to the complex patterns and subtle responses of human experience, which may be interpreted and positively treated in any combination of ways. I have chosen the following several theories of therapeutic orientation as examples of my eclectic approach and with each I show how my thoughts, skills, beliefs and values resonate with them.

Supportive psychotherapy is a good starting place for the counselor who believes that every individual's character is a work in process and that structural changes to that work should come from the individual himself rather than from the therapist. Supportive therapy helps the patient to relieve his or her symptoms and to live with them as opposed to attempting to eradicate them from the individual's life over a series of sessions, be they weeks, months or years long.

This orientation is derived from my experience with people who have had various afflictions: expecting them or encouraging them to change their behavior or character or way of thinking can prove detrimental for both parties. The patient can feel as if too much is demanded of him and the counselor can feel as if the patient is unreasonable.

One of my skills lies in the fact that I approach people with empathy and sympathy and an ear for listening rather than a set of codes of conduct that will "ensure" a better, happier life for them. Individuals in need of therapy often simply need someone to support them, to give them confidence in themselves, and to help them identify the strengths and weaknesses in their characters and how they might live with each accordingly. This orientation, however, can be productively coupled with another called motivational interviewing.

This is an orientation that centers on the patient and actually encourages behavioral modifications. I believe that every relationship passes through stages and that a good beginning stage can employ empathy and support while a good secondary stage can employ encouragement and a set of expectations. I value people's ability to transition from one stage of life to the next and believe that that is why people seek counseling in the first place -- to transition.

My particular skill lies in detecting a person's stage through a period of understanding, giving that person the support and confidence he or she needs to proceed to the next stage of life, and then supplying them with a set of expectations that all can agree upon as good to work towards. Another orientation that can be productive is interpersonal psychotherapy, which allows the counselor to draw attention to the patient's surroundings -- i.e., how he or she relates to various persons in his or her life (Rogers 2012).

Even in my own relationships, I have seen how effective it can be to empathize with an individual having friend or family problems and then after a substantial period of empathy has passed, provide motivation for overcoming those problems. This orientation can also be applied with another called family systems therapy. This is a form of therapy that allows the counselor.