Egan's 3-Stage Skilled Helper Model Applied to Workplace Counseling

Introduction to Egan's Skilled Helper Model

Various counseling practices allow individuals to identify, cope with, and manage areas of self-improvement, and to address physical, mental, and emotional needs. The reasons why individuals seek counseling range from romantic relationship issues and adjustments to chronic illness, to spiritual concerns, grief, career choices, stress, addiction, and adjusting to the effects of trauma. In the counselor-client relationship, the counselor aims to listen to and question the client in order to establish how the client understands their situation, clarify thoughts, provide new perspectives, and generate approaches to the problem (Rowland, 1993, pp. 18–19).

One effective model that structures counseling theory within the counselor-client relationship is Egan's 3-Stage Skilled Helper model. Egan's model offers a framework to help individuals discover solutions to their problems and develop new opportunities. The Skilled Helper model is comprised of three stages, each of which involves three sub-stages. Clients are guided through these stages and sub-stages by the counselor to manage problems and to equip themselves with problem-solving strategies for their everyday lives (Forrest, n.d.).

In the following hypothetical exploration, Egan's 3-Stage Skilled Helper model is applied to assist a client with work-related problems. Problems in the workplace are common, as people often suffer from job-related stress, failed communication, and a lack of personal and emotional fulfillment (Pazaratz & Morton, 2001).

Overview of the Three Stages and Nine Sub-Stages

The foundation of Egan's Skilled Helper model identifies the stages of counseling as an exploration of what the client is currently experiencing, gaining new understanding of the circumstances, and taking action to achieve goals (Rowland, 1993, p. 20). The model can be distilled into three guiding questions (Forrest, n.d.):

1. What is going on?
2. What do I want instead?
3. How might I get to what I want?

These three questions are translated into three stages and a total of nine sub-stages. The model is designed to allow the client to study their circumstances, consider new approaches, and make logical action decisions. Egan's Skilled Helper model emphasizes empowering the client to evaluate their circumstances and explore new possibilities to manage their problems more effectively (Forrest, n.d.).

Stage One of Egan's 3-Stage Skilled model is the "Current Scenario," or exploration stage. The first sub-stage of Stage One is to identify the client's story — questioning their perspective to understand what is happening in their life and to establish their concerns. The second sub-stage involves inquiring into blind spots, considering new perspectives, and establishing the reality of what is happening. The third sub-stage includes focusing on and prioritizing needs and wants (Wosket, 2006).

Stage Two of Egan's model is the assessment of the "Preferred Scenario," or new understanding. The first sub-stage within Stage Two is to identify the possibilities of the circumstance and for the client to determine what they truly want from the situation. The counselor helps the client to recognize specific themes, inconsistencies, and behavior patterns. The second sub-stage involves reality testing the client's ideals and shaping the client's agenda to establish goals (Wosket, 2006). The third sub-stage involves commitment and verifying that the established goals are realistic and appropriate.

Stage One: Exploring the Current Scenario

Stage Three of Egan's model encompasses the "Action Strategies." The first sub-stage is the discovery of possible actions and the determination of different avenues available to achieve the goals outlined in Stage Two. The second sub-stage involves eliminating strategies that the client feels will not work and clarifying the best approach to reaching new goals. The third sub-stage requires planning and following a course of action (Wosket, 2006). The client is expected to consider costs and consequences, plan their actions, and implement the necessary steps. The compilation of the three stages empowers the client to explore their feelings, needs, and wants; investigate and chart how to implement necessary changes; and act on their needs to achieve change (Rowland, 1993, p. 21).

The hypothetical client presenting in this case is struggling with problems in the workplace. She works for a small nonprofit organization and is one of six total employees. She is single, twenty-seven years old, and has worked for the organization for three years. Her job title is Director of Communications, which covers a variety of tasks including payroll, accounts payable, managing social media, fielding general email inquiries, and maintaining the organization's website. She is one of four full-time employees, with two additional part-time employees in the office. She is the youngest in the office and the only one who has never been married and does not have children.

Utilizing Stage One of Egan's 3-Stage Skilled Helper model, this client is first prompted to explain "What's going on?" Providing the client with a safe space to tell her story in her own way and acknowledging that she is heard are two key components to ensuring she feels secure (Crago, 2000). During the first sub-stage, the helper employs active listening skills to validate core conditions and asks open-ended questions to promote the client's perspective (Forrest, n.d.). The first sub-stage involves expanding the client's perspective to better understand the full scope of the situation. Questions such as "What else is there about that?" and "What were you thinking and feeling?" allowed the client to elaborate on her scenario.

She explained that among the three other full-time employees, one devotes more than their fair share to the office, another is unreliable and frequently takes personal days or leaves early, and the third is her boss — the Executive Director — who is frequently absent, provides no encouragement to the office, and has very little follow-through. The client expressed feelings of zero accountability in the workplace. She also stated she is never "thanked" and that her boss never acknowledges the significant amount of work she does. She feels her boss does not act like a boss at all.

Transitioning into sub-stage two of Stage One involves questioning blind spots and challenging the client to view other perspectives or consider anything she may have overlooked. Since the client is immersed in the situation, it can be difficult to see it from different points of view. The helper asks questions such as: "How do others see it? See you?"; "What would he/she say about this?"; "What about all of this is a problem for you?"; "Is there any other way of looking at it?" (Forrest, n.d.).

This client admitted to "shutting down" at the office — not asking for help from co-workers and not involving them when a problem arises. She stated she does not trust her co-workers to do their own work, let alone assist with hers. After considering her co-workers' perspectives through open-ended questions, she realized they would not be able to know what she is thinking or feeling, or that she needs help, because she never tells them. Her co-workers might perceive her as guarded and difficult to approach. The client also acknowledged that she can become annoyed and impatient when working with co-workers or when they ask her questions. She feels that co-workers — including her boss — can come and go as they please, while she and one other colleague put in significant time at the office without ever being acknowledged, which has caused her to feel resentment.

The last sub-stage of Stage One focuses on moving forward and prioritizing what is most important to the client. This sub-stage helps the client transition from the "I'm stuck" feeling toward harnessing energy to move forward. To facilitate this, the helper asks questions such as: "What in all of this is the most important?"; "What would be best to work on now?"; "What do you consider to be manageable?"; "What would make the most difference?" (Forrest, n.d.).

After considering her relationships with each co-worker, the client feels the best place to start is the relationship with her boss. She expressed that this is the most critical area, is appropriate, manageable, and is the best starting point if she wants to see results. She believes that if her boss becomes aware of her feelings and she can inquire into his perspective, it could nurture change in the workplace and create an atmosphere of better understanding. The client acknowledges that working on relationships with her other co-workers would also be beneficial, but would not make the most difference in meeting her needs.

Conclusion and Evaluation of the Model

Egan's 3-Stage Skilled Helper model supports a building and reworking approach to thinking and acting. The model progresses through a structured thought process to assist the client with evaluating their situation, exploring new perspectives, and advocating for a plan for change. This is an effective counseling tool that can be used to assist with numerous scenarios, such as relationship issues and career choices.