Work as a Psychotherapist - Narrative Essay

There are several theories that look effective when used but I find psychotherapy approach more appealing to me. As a way of definition, psychotherapy can be defined as the method of using psychological methods to help them change or overcome problems in the desired way. Some few weeks ago a friend came to me seeking for advice of whether to take a high paying but stressful job or remain in a low paying job. As we talked I realized an underlying problem. He grew up in a family where his father worked in a low paying job while his mother had a lucrative job. According to him taking a high paying job would be a humiliation to his father. That scenario had become a course of conflict to him. As a psychotherapist, I was able to identify the existence of an underlying problem which needed treatment.

I find psychotherapy to be exciting and can be easily integrated with my skills, values, and dislikes. A competent psychotherapist needs to be in possession of a sophisticated set of interpersonal skills. Possessing interpersonal skills means that a competent therapist has the ability to express themselves well. I am well skilled with interpersonal skills, and I believe that it will enable me to communicate well with clients by showing empathy and acceptance to the client. Scientists argue that trust and the ability to trust an individual is developed based on the first impression. Based on my inner vibes and personality, I possess the persona that is easily trustable. With this ability, I believe I can be very efficient in carrying out. I am assertive but not rude, and this gives me the capacity to communicate confidently with the client on the course of treatment that I would wish the client to have. It is imperative for a therapist to possess self-insight. Looking at my background, I have a good record of separating my issues with those of other people.

Important process in psychotherapy

There are three main critical stages/ processes in the psychotherapeutic process.

The first phase begins when as a therapist I meet a client and assess the necessity of psychotherapy. Contact is made with the client, and a first impression is made which usually determine the need to have a psychotherapeutic therapy. Charles (2005) notes that formulation of psychotherapy is determined by the interpretation of the client's talk since he considers this as a vehicle for determining the feeling of the client. Once I gain insight about the client's feeling, the next item is to set up a diagnosis. The diagnosis model is determined by the existing conditions which can range from somatic conditions, personal disorder, mental retardation, and psychiatric diseases.

The second phase which mostly takes a significant share of the process since it is considered to be the phase of change in the treatment process. At this point, the outcomes from the first phase are notable and are an indicator of what should be done in the next step of the process. If no progress is noted, a case conceptualization process is recommenced, and the treatment is restarted but according to the observations made from the first phase.

The third stage signals the last and final stage of psychotherapeutic therapy. At this point, the patient is encouraged to practice what they have acquired from the therapy. In most cases, the relationship patterns of the patient depict the changes that the patient have undergone in the psychotherapeutic therapy. The conclusion also involves the process of preparing the patient in order to eliminate any chances of a relapse of the condition in what is called reinforcing gains.

Unique relationship in psychotherapy

The kind of relationship existing between the therapist and the client is among some of the factors which determine the success of a psychotherapeutic process. Duncan and Barry (2010) gives a pragmatic focus on the relationship effects between the therapist and the client. In their finding the note that psychotherapy is effective in determining the outcome of the process. With that knowledge, psychotherapy should always be setup in a way that it maintains a friendly but professional relationship between the therapist and the client.

In the case of psychotherapy, it is imperative to maintain a healthy relationship that fosters trust. However, the fact that the relationship between the therapist and the client is the main drive for therapy and healing makes this relationship so unique. The relationship can be unique for the client because it could be the first instance when they are having a close relationship with another person. Having such a close relationship with the client can therefore be said to as important as the process itself. Because the relationship is of importance, the therapist is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the relationship between the two parties remains genuine and healthy. Giving the client the idea that I have something common with them in some other aspects of life can give them confidence that they can trust me. As a result, patients will gradually open up to me about their social life. The information obtained is critical as it gives a bigger impression of what the patient could be undergoing through. At the same time, the friendly relationship and interactions should be guided by professional principles. It is paramount to remain objective about the goals set for that particular psychotherapeutic therapy process.

Assessment of client issues

Psychotherapy serves the purpose of identifying the symptoms and obtaining an understanding of what could be the reason behind the symptoms. From there, the therapist can figure out the best way of addressing the issue. Psychotherapy assessment takes several forms such as norm-referenced psychological tests, informal tests and surveys, interview information, looking at hospital and school records, and observational information. The process of assessing may also involve interviewing other people who can identify with the client. However, in most cases, this happens only when there is consent from the client. Gaining knowledge about the environmental factors affecting a customer can further guide a therapist into determining the best therapeutic model that work effectively for the patient. The environmental factors largely indicate the outward sources of problems while a verbal interaction is an effective way of telling an individuals attitude, behavior, and emotions towards a specific issue.

One of the very common assessment methods is a clinical interview. When a clinician asks patients about the concerns and history, they are able to deduce what could be behind the patient's suffering. Interviewing in psychotherapy has also become a very common tool for a therapist. Its effectiveness is derived from the fact that psychologists get to learn a lot more from an individual who is trying not to say a lot. From the information that is obtained, a psychotherapist can reach a specific diagnosis and from there develop a treatment plan. Psychotherapists are data consumer whose recommendation largely depend on the quality of the data collected. For this reason, psychotherapists are left with the option of being keen when carrying out an assessment as it could yield wrong and unreliable data resulting to misdiagnosis.

Influencing factors

The success of a therapeutic process is influenced by several factors including but not limited to exposure, planning, and commitment. Exposure is one of the most important factors in the success of psychotherapy. Through exposure, the client is able to learn to acknowledge their fears and emotions without denying or trying to change them. The client's exposure to the therapist could provide a huge impact on the success of the psychotherapy. Scientists have for long sought to prove that exposure between a client and a therapist can ultimately determine the success of the process. The additional information that is obtained during the process of interaction will help the therapist to gain more insight into possible problems that the client is facing.

The process of planning enables the psychotherapist to determine exactly when they will expect to notice changes in behavior. After identifying the problems that the client is facing, as a psychotherapist, I will develop a treatment plan that is going to yield the desired behavioral output. That could mean that I develop a collaborative method from the versatile options available

Commitment is an act of investment and it is extremely imperative for the therapist to help the patient to commit themselves and give the healing process their best attempt. The process of healing needs a combination of several factors which shall favor the process. The first step is accepting that there is a problem that needs to be attended to. From there the patient can commit to the treatment program that has been formulated.

Outcome assessment

The outcome of the treatment process can be assessed by laying out a plan that will enable the therapist to keep track of the goals that were set at the start of the treatment. The act of planning involves describing the negative behavior that is being targeted. At this point, the patient characteristics are well documented form the start to the end of the treatment period. However, other indicators can be used depending on the variables which can influence this particular parameter.

After that, a baseline will be set indicating the starting point, the frequency and the duration of the therapeutic process. Treatment processes need to have a baseline that can act as a point of reference for the treatment process. In psychotherapy, a point of reference will always indicate the progress that has been registered over a specific period. Without a set baseline, all the involved parties may have diminished motivational levels with the knowledge that they are not under the infringement of time. Therefore having a baseline can point out the achievements that have been made as far as treatment is concerned.

The goals would then be determined and that would pave the way for the development of a strategy for assessing any positive change in the healing process. Goal setting would also involve the process of taking an analysis of the data that was presented before the start of the treatment program until the end. In every treatment process, it is imperative to keep records and report major incidences that happen during the treatment process. Record keeping aids therapist to optimize on treatment. Collected information can act as point of reference in future and can as well be used when dealing with cases of relapse.

Cultural, legal, and legal considerations

There are cultural, legal, and cultural considerations that should be made in this method of therapeutic process. Culture is a sensitive issue which in most cases can define the success rate of a treatment project. The main reason for this is because different backgrounds have different attitudes towards some practices and appropriate behaviors. Derald (2012) makes it clear that for effective counseling and therapy in a culturally diverse setup needs cultural competence. The main reason for this is because Derald (2012) appreciates that beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors vary accordingly. To achieve tangible progress in psychotherapy would mean the application of cultural astuteness to navigate that sensitive issue.

Psychotherapy presents legal considerations that should be put in mind when carrying out this practice. Peter (2012) introduces the topic of therapy in virtual environments. However, in his observations, he notes that ethical and legal issues present in a virtual environment are similar to the ethical and legal issues to the individual and should be treated with seriousness. Peter (2012) notes that confidentiality, patient well-being, and clinician competence are some...