The Gift of Therapy by Irvin D. Yalcom, M.D., is an insightful book about therapy from the counselors view. He takes you through real-life cases and gives suggestions on how to be or become a better counselor. The four ultimate concerns with existence (death, isolation, meaning of life, and freedom) are addressed throughout the chapters. While using an interpersonal framework with his groups, he works off of the assumption that his patients have an inability to sustain meaningful interpersonal relationships in their life. On the other hand, he uses existential therapy with individuals that he works with. With individuals, he assumes that his patients fall into a deep despair as they are confronted with the harsh facts of the human condition.
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Although, I feel like I have been counseling adolescents for the past eight years, I know I have a tremendous amount of things to learn. Now knowing what true counseling really is, I think I was more of a listener who sometimes had good advice to give my students. There were many quotes and information throughout the book that stood out to me. The first quote that resonated with me was actually in the introduction, “Therapy should not be theory-driven but relationship-driven” (pg. xviii). The relationship that the counselor and therapist share is one of the most important aspects in the counseling process. Establishing an admirable relationship with your client will aid with entrustment, understanding, engagement, responsibilities, and other qualities that may help the client with the issues at hand. In the beginning, we should focus on building a reputable relationship with our clients, to better serve them. We must establish a good rapport with our clients to better our understanding of their current situations. Our relationship with clients is the driving force for reputable …show more content…
One-third of Jung’s of clients came for therapy to find meaning.” (pg. 133) One of the four ultimate concerns with existence is meaninglessness. During therapy, we are able to help our clients find some sense of meaning because a lot of people need help doing so. Trying to determine meaning in your life can be a difficult task for some. I recently embarked on the journey of finding more meaning in my life by starting graduate school. Teaching has become not enough for me. I want to find a more purposeful and fulfilling career. I found that I was losing my passion for educating our youth after being bogged down with countless tasks that were not related to my performance as a teacher. I have spent hours contemplating the decision to leave the classroom and leave my students. I found somewhat of an alternative to not completely leave my students. As a school counselor, I can still be present in their lives every day. I can effectively aid them in working through their problems and hopefully build a meaningful relationship with most of them. I will encounter the obstacle of having way more students than I do as a teacher, but I will be able to help them on a deeper level. While existential therapy is typically used for adults, I believe that adolescents could
Although, I feel like I have been counseling adolescents for the past eight years, I know I have a tremendous amount of things to learn. Now knowing what true counseling really is, I think I was more of a listener who sometimes had good advice to give my students. There were many quotes and information throughout the book that stood out to me. The first quote that resonated with me was actually in the introduction, “Therapy should not be theory-driven but relationship-driven” (pg. xviii). The relationship that the counselor and therapist share is one of the most important aspects in the counseling process. Establishing an admirable relationship with your client will aid with entrustment, understanding, engagement, responsibilities, and other qualities that may help the client with the issues at hand. In the beginning, we should focus on building a reputable relationship with our clients, to better serve them. We must establish a good rapport with our clients to better our understanding of their current situations. Our relationship with clients is the driving force for reputable …show more content…
One-third of Jung’s of clients came for therapy to find meaning.” (pg. 133) One of the four ultimate concerns with existence is meaninglessness. During therapy, we are able to help our clients find some sense of meaning because a lot of people need help doing so. Trying to determine meaning in your life can be a difficult task for some. I recently embarked on the journey of finding more meaning in my life by starting graduate school. Teaching has become not enough for me. I want to find a more purposeful and fulfilling career. I found that I was losing my passion for educating our youth after being bogged down with countless tasks that were not related to my performance as a teacher. I have spent hours contemplating the decision to leave the classroom and leave my students. I found somewhat of an alternative to not completely leave my students. As a school counselor, I can still be present in their lives every day. I can effectively aid them in working through their problems and hopefully build a meaningful relationship with most of them. I will encounter the obstacle of having way more students than I do as a teacher, but I will be able to help them on a deeper level. While existential therapy is typically used for adults, I believe that adolescents could