Personal definition of counselling Stacey has a collaborative perspective on counselling; it is important to her to meet clients where they are

in psychological and emotional terms, rather than impose some predetermined structure or set of rules. In her view, counselling is not something one does to clients she doesnt think her purpose is to change their lives by waving a magic wand. Rather, Stacey wants to work with people to help them wrestle with their challenges and, most importantly, to reach their own formulations of happiness or success, now and for the future, in ways that give them hope. What ideas and concepts guide her in helping people change? Stacey has training and experience in using cognitive behaviour therapy, and is also attracted to a Rogerian approach. This is reflected in her strong belief that the client is central to the counselling the client is the person making the change, that the counsellors role is to be a coach or guide. Rather than imposing her own definition of happiness or success, she works with people at their own pace, helping them to reflect and make their own path. How will an understanding of counselling theories help her in her work as a counsellor? Stacey believes that CAAP 601 will provide her with a much stronger foundation to help clients with complex issues, leading to greater effectiveness and efficiency in working with them by helping her to create a road map and develop more helpful strategies to deal with complex clients. What are her specific learning goals and how will she measure their accomplishment? Stacey predicts that a stronger grasp of theories will allow her to develop a more informed, competent practice. Specifically, she wants to improve her toolbox one that is not manualised, but clearly influenced by theories and techniques, allowing her to tailor her methods to the client. She will measure her success generally by her ability to clearly articulate what each theory is, and how it impacts on her own approach. Specifically, she will measure this by her experience with the personal reflection paper, as well as by her ongoing work with clients is she changing how she conceptualises clients in clinical consults, e.g., her language, her framework(s).