Process Recording

Process Recording

Content

A student taking a professional counselling course conducted a full process recording with a client for the first time in the presence of his supervisor. After doing class work in the college for the first two semesters, I had an opportunity to exercise the counselling skills I had acquired in a class by interacting with the client. My client was a mother who had abandoned her kid because of stress and mental illness. The client is now a drug addict because of the kind of life she has gone through. The client will be identified as client R for private purposes. The client had a mental illness, and therefore, it was her right for her condition to be kept a secret as she demanded. Because it was my first interaction with the client, I was a bit tensed in front of my supervisor. I engaged my supervisor in a couple of questions, and she answered all my questions. Client R is thirty-five years old, and she is now a single mother of two girl children. The client revealed that she was married, but she quitted the marriage because of the physical and emotional torture she received from her husband. Client R abandoned the two kids, and she left them with their father. The stress and emotional torture client R has received made her have some mental illness.

I asked the client R how things are going, and she replied that everything is just fine. I used the first questions to create the necessary rapport with my client. I asked the client R what she thinks about parenting roles. The client answered that the role of a mother in the development of a child is not so much essential. The client believed that the character of a child depends on the decisions made by the child but not on the teachings the child receives from parents. The client suggested that she no longer believes in a family relationship. I gave the client enough time to express her ideas about life on me as I listened keenly. I responded to the client on the role of parents in the upbringing of a child. I precisely explained to the client that all every child requires parental care to grow with all abilities of a normal human being.

I asked client R on the problems she has encountered since she left her family. She responded that she still feels the affection of her children. Every time the children calls Client R, she is left crying. The client narrates that this has exposed her to emotional problems, and the client uses drugs to relieve the stress. My supervisor listened keenly as I advised client R on the adverse effects of drug abuse. I advised client R to participate in a therapeutic process that I offered to deliver to her, and she was willing to continue with the therapeutic process.

My supervisor was very attentive in my entire interaction with client R. When client R left; my supervisor asked me how I thought about the condition of the client. I answered my supervisor that emotional torture had exposed the client to drug abuse. I also added that the state of the client could be controlled through a therapeutic process. My supervisor asked me how I am planning to help the client to resume her normal life. I answered the field supervisor that I will take Client R through a therapeutic process because she was willing to participate in the process. I responded to the supervisor that I will take the client through counselling sessions and some medications, which will help the client to stop abusing drugs.

Reaction

My supervisor pointed out some areas that I needed to improve before the next interaction with the client. Throughout the entire interaction with the client, I always felt nervous. I needed to have more confident will interacting with clients, which will enable me to notice the physical behavior of my clients. The supervisor said that I should always focus on the physical behavior of the client by maintaining eye contact. The supervisor also suggested that I should improve my listening skills to make the interaction more resourceful. I remembered that there was a point in the interaction process where I interrupted my client before she finished talking. The supervisor advised that proper listening skill in the future will make it easy for the client to tell me about her life experiences that are important in determining the therapeutic process I should take. The supervisor and client R engaged in a short conversation. From the conversation between client R and my supervisor, I accessed myself and identified the areas I needed to improve in future interactions. I felt that I started the interview very well by creating a friendly environment for a conversation with my client. However, I realized that I had to boost my confidence while interacting with clients. I would also like to learn other more things in the future to ensure that I have perfect skills in my profession. I decided that I will talk with my instructor on what I should do when my client is not willing to give information about her life experiences.

Values/Historical

The values derived from interaction with client R include professionalism and the need for creating proper rapport. In the interaction, I felt that I created an effective rapport with my client. Rapport is a very important aspect in the field of counselling because a good rapport encourages the client to say about his/her belief and past experiences. The proper rapport I created with client R made her trust me with her information. I felt that I lacked professionalism on the manner in responded to client R. Professionalism involves good communication and listening skills.

My last life experience did not help me to develop the necessary professional skills in the field of counselling. I used to stay in the hostels, and I rarely interacted with people who would help me to improve my communication and listening skills. Through this interaction, I will develop my communication and listening skills to have better interaction with my clients in the future.

Theory/Assessment

Client-centered theory. The client-centered approach states that the client should be the controller of the therapeutic process. The clinician should first accept the client regardless of the condition of the client (Greene, 2017). When the client is accepted he/she has the freedom to discuss the type of therapeutic process she is willing to undergo. Client R was accepted with her condition, and she narrated her whole experience. The client felt because I applied the client-centered theory, which made the client have the willingness to participate in the suggested therapeutic process.

References

Greene, R. (2017). Human behavior theory and social work practice. Routledge.